“Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?” – Confucius
For several years, we had enjoyed a friendly respectful relationship. But her failure to return my calls after I’d left two courteous messages on as many days had left me disappointed. Not only did her behaviour clearly demonstrate a lack of professional courtesy, but at the time, it precluded me from providing my seller with valuable feedback comments regarding my listing that she’d just shown. My seller was not impressed.
Such a request may not be important to a disrespectful unprofessional, but someone’s deliberate effort to contact you should certainly indicate some level of importance to the caller. Take a few moments to return the call or complete the brief on-line feedback request! Such a response serves us all.
In a similar vein are missed showing appointments. Anticipating a buyer agent’s arrival, a conscientious homeowner often meticulously prepares their home and inconveniently vacates to facilitate your buyer’s viewing privacy. When your buyer cancels, promptly call to cancel or reschedule the appointment. It’s not only common courtesy – which sadly seems less common these days – but you can also avoid an unprofessional conduct fine.
On each occasion when you fail to behave professionally, not only is your professional standing tarnished, a tiny sliver of respectability is sliced from our collective industry reputation. And we must all work a bit harder to re-earn that fragment. Think about the rather substantial advertising dollars being spent by your board or association to instil a sense of trustworthiness in our industry. Frankly, it is money we shouldn’t have to spend. It can take many years to build a respectable reputation – and only moments to destroy it.
Never underestimate the importance of public perception and just as significantly, how you’re perceived by your peers. Consider what goes around comes around. For all practical purposes, think of your colleagues as partners because one day, you might find yourselves sitting across from each other at the negotiation table. A friendly, respectful relationship could ease the proceedings toward a mutually rewarding conclusion.
The public is poorly served when you treat your colleagues irreverently. Why? Because it’s so easy for buyer agents, when assembling properties to show, to “mistakenly” overlook your listings. Don’t give them any emotional justification to be neglectful of their responsibility to consider all appropriate listings. Both you and your sellers could suffer the consequences. Your level of integrity, ethical behaviour and sense of fairness will contribute to your success – or lack of it – over the long term. So, start building a credit account today.
Along with being likable, if not lovable, for an enduring successful career, it helps to not only respect others, but to love and respect yourself as a sovereign power. To be able to professionally influence people, you need honest, ethical power over them. And that power begins with self-respect.
As the late Blain Lee, BA (Psychology), MA (Educational Psychology), Ph.D. (Instructional Design), co-founder and former senior consultant with the Covey Leadership Centre wrote in his illuminating book, The Power Principle, three types of power exist. “As fear is the source of coercive power, and fairness is the source of utility power, so respect, honour and even love constitute the base of principle-centred power.” He believed that “there is a universal principle for being effective with others, maintaining power with others and sustaining influence with others. Honour is power. The more we are honoured, respected and genuinely regarded by others, the more power we will have with them.”
To be rude or ignorant, or to be a courteous consummate professional, is a personal conscious choice. Maybe if we all chose the latter, we might witness a reversal of declining public respect. Respect others as much as you respect yourself (or more) and remember the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Public perception of our profession is up to each of us – every day.
“If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.” – Abraham Lincoln
Ross Wilson is a retired real estate broker with extensive experience as a brokerage owner, manager, trainer and mentor over a highly successful 44-year career. His book, The Happy Agent – Finding Harmony with a Thriving Realty Career and an Enriched Personal Life is available where print and e-books are sold, including the TREB, MREB, RAHB and OMDREB stores. Visit Realty-Voice.com.
