15 May TRUST – Take It With A Pinch Of Salt.
Trust - Take It With A Pinch Of Salt.
Essential though it is between realtors and prospective clients, most often trust is substituted for a sense of hope.
A vendor that hopes they've made a good decision. That, their realtor can deliver on what was promised.
On the Veracity Index of Trusted Professions, real estate agents came in the bottom three. Alongside, politicians and journalists. Not a good place from which to begin.
There's plenty of agents, mind, that will tell you they are trusted. But they would say that, wouldn't they?
Trust doesn't derive from 5 star reviews and "Best in Show 2021" awards that are handed out like candy at a kids party.
Trust derives from utter transparency. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Instead, what we get is perfected and polished. Glitz and glamour. Selling Sunset for Suckers.
Of the people who are behind the brand, no sign. Other than they might be happily married with two children, a dog, a love of football and a lengthy career in real estate that positions them as an 'expert'.
Worse still, it's the same story told by thousand of other agents. All competing for the same instructions.
Without any evidence of what they say being gospel.
"Take it with a pinch of salt" can be good advice until....
Until agents summon the courage to be themselves. Instead of what they imagine others would have them be.
Until they stop chasing after every 'lead' with a warm pulse and start being selective in only working with clients that are a good fit.
It's only when agents are capable of being themselves that vendors find affinity. When an agent has the courage to 'go first' with vulnerability, to share their core values & beliefs, to emerge from the 'mask' we all wear to hide our insecurities, only then do those we seek to serve reciprocate.
There's nothing worse than a stranger, a self-appointed 'expert', asking questions without first making some effort to connect emotionally. Why would we place our trust in someone that tries to be everything to everybody?
"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King.
The content of their character?
Real Estate agents would have you judge them on their competence, their ability to persuade and on the " value of the Marketing appraisal." Nothing else - not even a glimpse of Who they are. Instead, how well they do what they do and how much better they do it than every competitor.
Should an agent be trusted that doesn't take the time or make the effort to be transparent? Someone who hopes to convince and convert within the space of an hour-long appraisal? Someone that has all the scripts ready to overcome the objections. Someone that loves to 'close' the deal? To push for the business because what they have alluded to in the past hour hasn't inspired the vendor to come to a logical conclusion that they are a great fit?
Should we trust an agency that makes everything transactional? That asks us to believe their 'comparable evidence' that what has worked for someone else will work for us? Even though it is a different home, a different client and a different market?
Of course there are agents that are utterly transparent. That thrive in the spotlight of their personal brand.
They share the story not only of their success, but of their failure and of their heartache.
Authentic, original, and very different from the commodity sector that is real estate. Very different in that they are believable.
It's not that other agents lack character - they're just not used to leading with it. For them, they crave respect, not trust.
Respect that comes from competence. From success. From competition.
But here's the thing: an agent that is trusted will pick apart, every time, an agent that is merely respected.
"When you're sizing people up, you learn a lot about their character, traits, tendencies, fears, affections, strengths, weaknesses and skills, but all of that feeds into the single most important attribute that you're invariably looking for; trustworthiness. It's the one quality that strips away mystery, illuminates the truth and is indispensable to a positive relationship." - Robin Dreeke.
The category of Trusted Realtor/Estate Agent is up for grabs. All that's required is to be different to every other agency. Different in Who you are, not in what you do, or how you do it.
When you are the Category Leader, a Trusted Agency, you won't need to compete. To be better than others. You won't need to have vendors make a comparison. You're different because you're trusted.
When your agency truly has trust, it is bulletproof.
Clients don't invite any other agency to appraise.
That trust speeds up the whole process, bringing with it efficiency.
If you're looking for help on how to be that trusted agency, you've come to the right place.
Check out my website www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk
Then, if you've got the courage to be different, to stand out rather than to fit in, get in touch.
I'm always happy to help.
For now, thanks for reading.
Chris.
chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk
chris@remarkably-different.com
mob: (44) 07369251435
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