Excellent, Howard, excellent.

Howard, very much appreciated. It is so true. Also Proverbs 27:2 says we should let others praise us and it should not come from our own mouth.

And I might add: We also can't be humble and proud of it. lol.

Quiet confidence, I love it.

Another 5 for you.

The five most important words in our business: HOW CAN I HELP YOU

It never was about the agent personally. . . only the level of service they can deliver.

Excellent post!  You made me think of my first week of employment at a company of about 6,000 employees.  The bottom feeder in an entry level position!

I kindly gentleman approached me in the cafeteria at lunch.  Introduced himself.  "I haven't seen you before.  Are you new? May I join you?"  Mind you, that lunch room was pretty darn crowded!  We enjoyed our lunch, he introduced me to a few people who stopped by to say hello to him.  Asked me how I came to choose that company to work for.  Lovely man.

Imagine my surprise when I found out later that he was the President of the company!  He always remembered my name, asked me on several occasions how things were going when we passed in the hallway.  He was always in the hallways!

He was well-along in his career at that time and retired about two years later but I "bled Blue" for that man!  So didn't everyone else.

I stayed there about 15 years and while it was never the same, his humility and grace permeated the company for many years after his retirement.

Five stars.....you just brought back a great memory while reminding me of what makes a great leader.

What's the one again about if you have sex it shows?  Didn't quite catch all of that, Howard.  

It shows up on a video at the divorce proceedings.

Thanks for this post. I thought I was the only one who felt this way.

I am new to having my real estate licence so I thought that it was just jealousy I was experiencing. The other day I was with an agent from my office previewing my new listing when I suggested we talk to the neighbor who is a FSBO since this is what I specialize in.

The other agent when on and on about how she has seen this market so many times before, 20 years was quickly becoming a chant. I could see how turned off this gentleman was. Why should he care about someone who has no vested interest in his problem and offers no solution? I hope to remain humble long into this career.

Matthew

LOL Matthew . . . there's a guy in my town who says at least 3 times in any conversation, "I don't know how long YOU'VE been in this business, but I've been in the business 17 years!"

As soon as someone leads with "I don't know how long YOU . . . " or "I did THIS MANY sides  . . . " my mind begins to yawn.  I'm sure the public feels the same only worse.

Good one, Mike!  I expected no less from you!

Great post Howard. Phil - I didn't get the money-sex thing either but it sounded good. Two of my favorite things!

I don't care what you say, Howard... YOU ARE #1 today!

Nailed it on the Head, Howard...no not the Sex part but the "all about me syndrom".  

I like ADVAnce's Slogan:  We are not number 1, but  you are.  Great Slogan!

www.calgriffin.com

Edisto Beach-Now That's Heaven!

Howard,

That is so true.  I have a flier in my office from Floyd Wickman.  It says "People don't care what you know until they know that you care"

It seems like the more you help other people, the more other people help you.

Have a great weekend!

Rob

Fantabulous post Howard! Deserves SIX stars.

Our office has the standard hallway lined with the plaques given to all the "MILLION DOLLAR PRODUCER!!" winners. My broker gave me the form to fill out for that last year. I told him I wasn't going to do it as I thought it was a bad way to market in this day and age.

Two weeks later, I'm walking down that hallway and see my name on the wall. He'd filled it out himself....  

I came out of some store one day, and there was a flyer on my car.

"NUMBER 1 AGENT IN PHOENIX!!"   "TOP RANKED WEB SITE IN ARIZONA!!" it loudly proclaimed. I'd never heard of the guy before, and he looked like he was 20 years old (not that there is anything wrong with being young). I am very familar with all of the top web sites in the area, and had never heard of this one.

So I went home and looked him up. He'd been licensed for 3 or 4 months. His web site was a single home-made page that was awful.

I thought surely no one buys his drivel. But someone probably does.

It is **all** about customer service.

Howard, it's all about helping YOOOOOU! :)

Lovely. I enjoyed both your piece and the article you referred to. Thank you for sharing it.

Matthew, would you want to move to Kansas? Love your attitude.

Never heard the money/sex thing, leave it to you guys. lol

Howard, I am sending you the $50, the check is in the mail......

Howard, you have my vote for today.  Your post is excellent.  Ten stars.

Howard gets my vote for today (as if there was any doubt).

It's Jay for Today!  

Jay for the 1st, I mean.  I hope Howard gets it for "today".

Excellent post Howard. I know you've heard me says this before, but I'll say it again... Do your best for your clients everytime and the "rest" will fall into place. Five stars, my vote , a gallon of your favorite slow churned ice cream!

MICOS

Speaking of Rad, where is he lately?

Rad is changing Brokers and will be back!

Good post Howard.  I have always hated the multi million dollar producer tag.  Biggest flaw we have made in our advertising.  Joe Public doesn't understand this means our production, not our income!  I had an acquaintance that would call me Easy Money!  I don't know about you but I am not a millionaire and there is nothing easy about our business!

Jana

Sorry Howard for coming here late, I was busy :)

I just wanted to tell you how true your post is.

My teacher is Mr Experience he is a 24/7 teacher..

Vance

When did Shelly post?  Hers was a favorite for me, as well.  Can that be considered yesterday or tomorrow.....I'm confusing myself.

I, too, am late coming in, but I am struck by your post, Howard.  It's spot on.  Clients who care about that sort of thing will ASK you about your sales and experience.  I rarely even get asked, it's all in the presentation, I guess.  Why tell people about what they don't care about?

5 Stars for you my man.  Oh, and MICOS.

Yes Howard, I was trying to put out a fire all day.

Vance

Great post Howard! Hope everyone who posted read the highlights of the article you were quoting from.

Howard, I just got past the guardians at the gate and finally got to read your absolutely spot on, relevant, professional, timely, literate, well written article. It is what I love about all true gentleman, humility.

.....that, and big feet :-)

MICOS 2

Vance, I hope you got your fire out

Great Post.  5 stars from me too!!  Howard, thanks for bringing this small, but significant difference into the spotlight.  It is how we do business every day and it shows.  Folks know we are producer, they can look at my website and see the listings.  They know we are producing, they only have to try to get an app't (lol).. what they want to know is will they be #1 with us?  Of course, you are all #1.

by the way, Vance, is that really your tag?  I absolutely love it.  hmmm, is it registered?  ; )

Shelly  (MICOS)

So true!

We do need to dress professionally and our cars need to be clean.  So we do have a certain professional image to uphold, but I don't know too many agents driving up in those huge luxurious cars of the past.  Besides I don't want to freak out if the clients pops a car seat on my new leather upholstery!  I bring snacks in the car and I don't want to have to worry about grease stains either.

I would rather receive a nice thank you letter from my clients than a trophy.  Referrals would be nice too!

Jana

Phil,

I'll wager a one word addition would clear up your confusion:

“Money is like sex APPEAL, if you have it, you don't have to talk about it, and it shows.”

:-)

I absolutely agree with your points, Howard.  If anyone wants to check to see how well your marketing message follows Howard's advice, check out this website:

http://www.futurenowinc.com/wewe.htm

You can get an instant analysis of your web pages or marketing copy that will point out how customer-focused your message is.  Always good as a double-check.

Kathleen

I know what you are saying about the luxury cars. No wonder Joe Public is always trying to get us to drop our commissions!  They think we roll in it.  

I tell my agents the same thing one of my past brokers told us.....your car doesn't have to be a new model every other year nor does it have to be fancy.  It just needs to be well maintained and clean.  Which reminds me, I need to clean my car!  I know an agency that requires their agent's cars to be less than 5 years old and they require a average of 4 closings per month.

When I first moved down here 10 years ago before I joined the RE ranks, my future employer had a real estate agent meet us after our interview.  I didn't even have the job at that point but figured I was going to get offered the job because of this.  The REALTOR came by the university in her Mercedes and took me back to her office so we could talk.  I had never been in a Mercedes in my life so I complimented her on her car and said that she must be doing well.  Do you know what she said?  She said, "well, my husband bought me this car as a birthday present."  Found out much later that her husband was a cardiologist.  Duh!  She was a fairly good agent (retired now) but didn't have to have sell a home every few days to make a decent income because of the circle of friends she had.  Of course, they were in the higher end housing market around here (higher end around here now is over 300K).  You can get by on selling 1 a month and still have a good income when your husband is a cardiologist and you're selling in the top 1% house price range!  ANYWAY, my point is that I never felt comfortable with her nor her agent friend who covered for her while she was on vacation.  They were always trying to get me to look at homes that were 15k or 20K above the price I wanted to buy. I could qualify but I didn't want to obligate myself that much.  I ended up working with a new agent who let me be in charge.  (I tend to be a control freak with I'm in a buying situation. You should see me buying a car!).

Yes, indeed it is all about the client - always has been but some just didn't know it because they were too busy running their stats for the newspaper ads.

Kathleen, Interesting website.  Thanks!

I am here making choco cookies.  Where do I send them?

Trying to cut down, Rad but glad to see you here. :)

To me!  Did you see the new girl, Radz?  Works with your favorite shield!

Cars are funny!  I drive a 1998 Mercedes SUV, second hand. Really cool dents.  In the spring a front end loader carrying firewood drove up onto the hood (it was parked while I was previewing a house).  My clients ask why I don't get all the dents repaired or buy a new one.  "I call them 'Realtor War Wounds' and I don't like car payments and big insurance bills".  They seem to appreciate that I'm a "working class" Realtor!

I love this post, Howard!

We have a new gal on the board?  Where, where, where?

LOL Cathy . . . I have war wounds on my truck big time from four wheeling it out on showings . . . no dents, just scratches. I think I've been clear coated about 5 times . . .

If I point her out, do I get cookies?

Hi Rad - I'm the "new gal" working for your "favorite shield", lol.  

Get to baking Rad, this is all gonna happen real fast!

Nice pic, Candice :-) BIC never did say if I would get a desk closer to yours and didn't even give me a pat on the back for my win. Maybe I will go to work for Radz instead.

I think besides sex appeal and money, intelligence and class also need  not be touted to be apparent. A little shameless self promotion in fun is okay, though. At least I like it . . .

Heaven help you Gene . . . LOL . . . although you would certainly have 'almost' as much fun as if you worked for me. We should both ask the BIC for a light, huh?

OK Howard. Any innocents in here? Time to go, skip along now, I didn't think so . . . done.

<<That's how I was as a real estate consumer and that's how I am as a real estate agent.>>

Bingo!

So many of us got into real estate as a result of what wasn't done properly when we were 'civilians'.

Remembering to 'do unto others' is half the battle won.

Hi There Sarah !!!

Have you heard about the new Rookie tradition?  I was the old Rookie but did a good job so now they let me break in the New Rookies.  As the New Gal, do you know how to make chocolate chip cookies?

she's busy! she's got no time to bake cookies!

Howard, is it the Vue Hybrid?  I've been seriously thinking about the Vue Hybrid or Escape Hybrid when I get ready to buy but I don't like to buy brand new cars.  I never lease and I'm not going to make car payments either.  I'm not sure that I want to buy a used hybrid anything until the technology has been around longer.  

Hi Michaela, I'll bake them for her but does she know the recipe?

Thanks heaps, Sarah!  I was holding out on him.  No cookies for me now!  Because of that, you have no "protection" from the local mob!  You're on your own.

Hey Howard, enjoyed your previous post about not advertising yourself as a multi-million dollar producer and then showing up in a big fancy car.  I think it sometimes can send the wrong message about Realtors in many markets, however, here in Chicago when you're showing along the North Shore, it is almost expected that you should be driving an upper-end car.  My situation is that I can end up showing anywhere from an $85k condo up to a $4MM+ estate in any given week.  So where do you position yourself car-wise???  I drive an Infiniti M45 which is very nice for the upper-end market, but not too nice for lower end markets since you don't want those clients/customers to feel uncomfortable either...seems to work well for me so far.

Of course, Gene saw my "other" car...a Saab 9-3 convertible...to which he said "Now I KNOW you don't sell R/E", lol.  Seriously though, I use that if I'm showing vacation property up in our Chain Of Lakes area where it's not unusual to see convertibles, boats, & R/V's since it's a major recreation area for Chicagoland.  Any other thoughts??....

LOL, a burn notice for Radley . . . don't burn the cookies . . .

Hi Rad - Do I know how to bake cookies?  Of course...where do I send them?  Uh-oh, Michaela said I don't have time to do that...wait, what's the recipe?

so, now you see why Sarah get's the premium parking spot :-)

No kidding, Michaela. I can just see Sarah and Radley FedExing cookies to each other. Note to self, buy stock in FedEx . . .

Hm, I just hope we'll see some cookies here in the office sometime?

ok, time to take off. Have to retake some listing pics before it gets dark out and drop off flyers. No time for cookie talk.

Actually making cookies today.  I will see what I can do.  

Sarah, are you on computer right now?

Sarah, as soon as Michaela leave you alone, say hello and we'll get to the next level !

Sarah's been warned ...!!!

Oh Michaela, please do not worry.  I will be nice to Sarah !!!  Go drop off your flyers and take the pictures before it gets dark !!  

Sounds like we're on the same page, Howard!  

Uh-oh, Michaela...should I be worried?

For a four cylinder that doesn't sound very good.  My Crown Vic is a 8 cylinder 4.6 liter and I get about 18 in town and 26 on the highway and it's 11 years old.  If I can't get at least 30, I might not buy something else  :) .  I do buy larger cars because of my back. I just can't be in a smaller car more than 15 or 20 minutes without a lot of pain.

Did a test drive last summer in a Geo tracker and I couldn't get it back to the dealer fast enough.  I hurt for days after that test drive.

I believe it truly is time to do away with the "Why I'm The Best" marketing pieces. Before I was in Real Estate, I owned a small business that I took from Mom & Pop, to the industry top by learning how marketing should & should NOT be done. The consumers don't care about YOU, what YOU do, and who YOU are. They care about what is in it for them. The trick is still selling yourself but doing it in a way that shows how you & what you do benefits them directly.

Howard, You are sooooo right! Thanks for reminding us that most people really respond to confident humility/

You said:

The real estate consumer of today wants someone that will listen to them and find the solution to their problem rather than hear about your awards, statistics or how great you are.

Humility and modesty used to be a sign of confidence. Most people steered away from the braggarts of this world because they sensed a lack of confidence lurking beneath the surface.

I'm a bit late coming into this post but I remember when I was first looking to buy a home and seen a realtor say they were a multi-million dollar producer and was thinking I was in the wrong business if someone is making that kind of money in real estate....

Now I know...it means we made 20 or 30k...

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to REliberation in the month of August! There were a lot