Hold the Pity Please

Happy Holidays! Tis the season of holiday parties, mingling, and, yes, talking about what I do for a living. So why do I keep getting this…

“Oh, you’re a Realtor…bummer.”

WHAT? Bummer? Hardly!

Yes, let’s acknowledge the big elephant in the room…the economy is lousy, the housing market is slow, and in many ways the Real Estate market is having one of the most difficult periods in memory. But that doesn’t mean that I’m sorry that I do this. That doesn’t mean that I wish I was doing something else.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other night whose sister bought a condo from me last summer. She still loves it and I still remember the excitement in her voice when I called to tell her the seller had accepted her contract. That is why I do this. Nothing can match that feeling of helping a first time home buyer find a great property.

Not all of the stories are as happy of course. Last weekend I consulted with a couple who are relocating to Houston because of the husband’s job. They need to sell or rent but are awful short either way and are facing some really tough decisions. I talked to them for a while, laid out all of their options and painted some pretty tough pictures. The next day I got an email from the husband thanking me for my time, and the information, and saying he looked forward to working with me. I hate that he and his wife have to make these choices, but I am glad that through my knowledge and professionalism I can help provide counsel for these two as they go through those decisions.

Even in a down market we as Realtors take pride in our job. So please, when you see me at a party, talk to me all you want about the tough market. Ask me where I think it will go next year. Grill me on where rates are or how a short sale or foreclosure works. But don’t offer me pity for a job I love.

For my part I promise not to mock your Santa neck-tie.

Advertising? Don’t forget to get Personal.

There are lots of great ideas out there to help people advertise their business. Lots of ideas. From “old- fashioned” newspaper ads, to personalized web sites and blogs. From snail-mail postcards, to targeted e-mail campaigns. The Internet and Web 2.0 has opened a ton of new opportunities for businesses to get their stories out to the world and to publicize their services, and this is awesome.

The problem that I have with all of these methods is not that they are used. I use most of them myself. The problem that I have is many of them are used exclusively and at the expense of people talking about their business.

As a Realtor® I have watched a number of new agents come and go. They couldn’t make it in sales, and people have felt sorry for them. “Oh, it’s too bad the market went south, you just got in at a bad time, nothing you could do about it…”

I’m sorry, but I don’t agree. Are markets tough? Yes. Is it a tough time to be in the business? Yes. But is it possible to be successful? YES, and the evidence is all around.

What made a difference for me, and continues to make a difference, is the willingness, and even the desire, to talk about my business.

I’ve done a good amount of business in this year. A down year for most people in the business. And most of that business has come by being personal. By letting people know what I do and that I’m available to help, and by asking them for their business. Two clients this year came from one simple act. I saw a group of colleagues from a former job, and went up to them, struck up a conversation, and handed every single one of them a business card and said, “I’m in Real Estate, have been for several years. If you’re thinking about housing, please give me a call.”

So far one of those people has bought a house this year, I am working with a second to find a place, and one of them referred me to his cousin who wants to move in the spring.

No amount of Marketing is as crucial to your business as this:

1. Talk to people you know
2. Let them know that you are in Real Estate
3. Ask them for their business

Don’t be that agent who has to listen to their friends say “Oh man, I had no idea you were a Realtor®, we just moved last month and didn’t know who to call.”