By Marty Douglas
After this column, 12 issues more. One year to get it all out, to swallow the emetic, to achieve catharsis, to settle scores, to apologize, to be at peace with the decision. Yikes – sounds like a eulogy. Actually, it was intended as a lead-in to the ramble because once again, my deadline looms and I have no clue where this chapter is leading.
So let’s start with one of my favourites – people watching. Have you noticed we spend a lot of time studying failure? The homeless, the jobless, the challenged, the illiterate – entire government departments are tasked, billions are spent – frequently for the same studies to begin again in a new format a decade or government or two down the road.
The real estate industry is splattered with task forces and studies, navel gazing as to why certain things happened or forward peering into the gloom, predicting how things will turn out. Of the latter, all too often it seems the purpose of predicting the future of real estate is to give astrology a good name. We shoot an arrow in the air, where it lands we know not where, but we’ll call the landing spot the target.
Royal commissions, commissions of inquiry, ad hoc committees – all meet the definition as referenced by Sir Barnett Cocks, clerk of the British House of Commons, “A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.” And on the theory that there is no such thing as a horse so dead it doesn’t have one more flog in it, merrily off we go, clutching our per diem.
But we should ask ourselves, or our boards of directors, isn’t that issue a dead horse? As Richard Mendenhall, NAR past-president observed, “When you find yourself on a dead horse, the best thing you can do is dismount – not form another task force to change the form or lower the standards.”
Speaking of lowering the standards… What I would willingly pay for and do pay for judging by the books on my shelf, is more studies of successes. Never mind what the mediocre salesman is doing, what is the above-average salesman doing? Never mind giving the rookie a list of networking ideas, task them to study a top producer or several of them, to determine if they have the work ethic to do what it takes to create a rewarding career. There are plenty of role models for a subsistence career, if that is their choice.
When I interview a prospect for a career in real estate, the best indicator is their past work experience and the attitude they have toward “work”. Did they own the job or just rent it? Were they respectful of their chosen trade? Do “their loyalties fade as fast as a Zeller’s apron” as Peter Newman once offered or do they follow the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius: “Give your heart to the trade you have learned and draw refreshment from it.”
I’ll quickly hire the check-out clerk, car or furniture salesperson, teacher or nurse who shows enthusiasm, empathy, product knowledge and work ethic and who wants to take the next step in their life-long earning.
I was in the office early – 0745 – not by habit, more as a result of my Rotary Club meeting ending ahead of schedule. The next two people through the door were my two top producers. One of them took the time to rinse out a few cups and glasses that had accumulated in the kitchen sink, saying, “There, now people can be happy!” None of the cups were hers. Just a random and anonymous act of kindness taking three minutes out of a hectic schedule to do something – get this – for the team.
Part of what it takes to be a top producer – early bird gets the worm, in business for yourself but not by yourself and caring for those you work with.
Top people do attract resentment – you remember resentment, defined by Paul Beckow as “the poison you drink hoping someone else will get sick.” One of our top producers shrink-wrapped a trailer for use by his clients and legally parked it beside a busy street. Then he wrapped his pick-up truck. Then a smart car.
When the smart car remained overnight in the office parking lot, the paranoia dam burst. Convinced potential clients were attending the lot after hours or on weekends and copying down his contact details, some in the office came to a boil. We are currently negotiating the release of the hostages by moving the car to spot that is just as visible, but out of our line of sight. Like all good negotiations, from management’s point of view, everyone should feel like they won.
But what I think in my inside voice is: “What a waste of time!” Rather than focusing on what others have, we should be asking if we can learn from their success. Not all top people shrink-wrap their vehicles or even have any evidence on their car they are in real estate. How do those top people maintain their altitude? How did they get there in the first place? Networking? Cold calling? Farming? Were they Bresserized or Buffinied? Did they drink from Richard Robbins’ fountain? Do they – gasp – write personal notes?
In summary, three fast quotes.
E. Bunker Hunt: “The price to be paid for success – is paid before.”
Mike “Pinball” Clemons: “If you’re not passionate about what you do then we’d rather you went somewhere else.”
Or if you prefer succinct, Henry VIII to his wives: “I won’t keep you long.”
Contact Marty Douglas by email at [email protected] . Follow or connect with Marty on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. He is a managing broker for Re/Max Ocean Pacific Realty in Comox and Courtenay, B.C. He is a past chair of the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance Corporation of B.C., the Real Estate Council of B.C., the B.C. Real Estate Association and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board.
