Last spring I was scrolling through Facebook reading some posts in one of my favorite groups. It’s a real estate related group and focuses on every day issues as well as some big picture stuff, both in the business and beyond. One of my good friends, Michael McClure from Plymouth, Michigan, serves as one of the main administrators of the group. He does a tremendous job posing questions and initiating discussion as well as keeping the comments constructive. Sometimes the vitriol gets a bit heated…and sadly sometimes personal, so McClure and his co-administrator Leslie Ebersole, quickly filter out the “bad seeds” who were stirring any controversy.
For some reason, this thread from last spring popped up on my news feed this morning. It was a question McClure posted that said..
As I scrolled through the comments, it kind of occurred to me that religion serves as an inspiration for many. Much like other forms of inspiration – books, songs, movies, quotes, people – you never know when something will ignite that proverbial “pilot light” in your soul and get you motivated. As the old cliché goes, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
I was obviously inspired that day last spring to compose my “10 Commandments of Real Estate” as I saw it then and you know what…not much has changed. Much like the real Ten Commandments, it’s not a bad idea to go back and review them every now and then.
Here’s what I said then and I think these all still apply today.
1. Thou shalt have no other tasks to do each day before you focus on business development.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is derogatory or doesn’t represent yourself, your broker or your customer in a good light.
3. Thou shalt not say the name REALTOR in vain…or pronounce it Real-a -tor or real-it-tor; for NAR will not hold him guiltless that taketh their trademarked name in vain.
4. Remember Black Sabbath and Tony Stark are only Iron Man in fantasy. Take a day off every now and then. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. If God can take a day off, so can you!
5. Honour thy clients. If you don’t know what this means, see “Fiduciary” in the dictionary.
6. Thou shalt not kill. You can, however Crush it, “kill it,” kick ass, bring the energy or whatever else you call it when you are firing on all cylinders. People love to be around high energy, focused people.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery – or as we say in real estate, don’t screw your fellow agent. Your reputation will be around much longer than the commission check.
8. Thou shalt not steal clients who have a written relationships with another agent.
9. Thou shalt not send crappy marketing to thy neighbourhoods. Buyers buy homes but Sellers buy image. Always make your marketing a little better than you think it needs to be.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house. You may list it, show it and sell it…but never covet it.
So what do you think? Do you think you can get behind these “unofficial Commandments” and continue to deliver remarkable service to your customers and clients? What do you need to do each and every day to create memorable experiences for your home buyers and home sellers and all the people you interact with over the course of each transaction? Do you feel you can help “raise the bar” when it comes to professionalism in our industry?
Maybe my 11th Commandment should be “Build relationships, solve problems and have fun,” huh?
Photo Credit: JBTaylor via Flickr