I promised last time that I would veer away from technology temporarily and talk about the people aspect of my new real estate career.
Meeting new people, talking about their aspirations and dreams, then trying to help them realize those dreams is a pretty rewarding way to spend time. Take any one of those three activities and it remains rewarding on its own.
While real estate is fraught with competitive practices and is cutthroat to some extent, the people in my office have been wonderfully supportive.
Then there are the house hunters and sellers. These are the clients in the business. While I recognize that as soon as I identify myself as a “salesperson” many people immediately feel the bile rise in the back of their throat, I’m impressed at how friendly most people are. The bad reputation attributed to salespeople of all stripes is something I fully understand, since I myself hate the schmoozy, schmarmy aspect of selling. I joined this industry with a somewhat idealistic goal of helping people accomplish something they already wanted to do. I grasp the concept of “closing” a sale being a process of addressing objections. But I want to remove obstacles as opposed to sweeping them off the negotiating table onto the floor where they remain a tripping hazard.
All this wide-eyed idealism is something that I don’t apologize for, but my manager gave me a great perspective today by pointing out that learning the business involves taking cues from a variety of sources, while remaining true to our ideals. In other words, she advocates ongoing learning in the sales process and adapting things like lead generation and closing techniques to our own personality. I can’t argue with that.
I could provide many more examples of people I have met and situations I have found myself in where human behavior truly impressed me. The more people I meet the more I realize why society works: most people are good and ethical. Even salespeople.