Building community is an act of giving for which we don’t generally expect rewards. Even so, it can have unexpected impacts that help you build your business.
You may already host client appreciation parties or celebrations of new offices, with prominent local officials and leaders in attendance. We do that too.
I also encourage you to host an event about something unrelated to your business. Throw a fundraising party, networking party or an event around an important theme that affects your community. Make it about them and not about you. For example, our team recently hosted a streaming event for International Women’s Day.
Having a party for someone else or a larger cause helps reveal you to be someone who gives and connects. Most consumers think of real estate agents as self-interested. We may not rank as poorly in the opinion polls as used-car salespeople or politicians. Still, undoubtedly our ranking is not high.
Show the world what you are really like by being genuinely community minded.
I know an agent who has created a free community centre for local school events, non-profits, book clubs and other local groups that need a place to meet. If the centre needs a new set of curtains or a fresh paint job, he happily pays because he knows it’s good for the community.
Like most community-minded agents, he doesn’t do any of this out of self-interest. In fact, he seeks to avoid bringing attention to his giving and asked that I not name him in this article.
Even so, it repays him in spades by generating awareness and client loyalty.
Nicole Lopez is chief operations officer at Mark Dimas Properties in Houston, Tx. According to a recent article in Inman News, she helped create a group called the Texas Relief Warriors to help the hardest hit when a hurricane overwhelmed her city in 2020. The Relief Warriors worked to provide help for communities hit hardest during storm seasons.
When you take on initiatives like the Relief Warriors, Lopez’s advice is to lead with your identity as a local rather than your persona as a Realtor. Agents who give back generally do so because they desire to have a positive impact on others – not for personal gain.
There may also be a reason that givers seem to be the happiest people around us. Acting generously has been proven to increase happiness in a study in which scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging to see the brain in action.
Other research has found that older people who are generous or spend money on others tend to have better health and lower blood pressure. The impact on blood pressure can be as significant as that from medication or exercise.
When you set yourself up as a local leader to whom others turn for help, inspiration and advice, it’s only natural that they also turn to you for professional assistance in the real estate market.
Being generous is paradoxically a form of selflessness that also rebounds in your self-interest. When you help your community, people get to know you, and more importantly, they come to trust you. Giving back to your community is good for your community and good for others.
Although this shouldn’t be your motivation, it is also good for you.
Yousaf Iqbal is director IQI Canada, the Canadian arm of real estate technology group Juwai IQI.
