DO YOU TRUST ME YET?
Legendary Sports Agent Dicky Fox got it right when he said, "the key to this business is personal relationships."
I've spent more than 40 years trying to understand and perfect the agent/client relationship; first as a 3rd generation Talent Agent, next as an Ad Man and now as a Realtor. It’s a complex relationship; a heady mix of collaboration, compassion, and financial co-dependency. Learning how to navigate the most effective way to offer your clients objective input and expertise without imprinting your subjectivity on their desires and best interests is a lifetime’s work.
During this time of guiding, shaping and protecting the career and business interests of my clients, I have learned that above all else, what lies at the heart of successful representation is mutual trust.
My Grandfather, Paul Small, sealing the deal with client Ed Wynn in 1944. 20 years later, my father Edgar Small and his client Ed Wynn did the same.
Salespeople often reference trust as a commodity; something that can be gained in an introductory call, a meeting over coffee or a few written words like these that you’re reading. And while we may occasionally intuit something that gives us immediate faith in another, trust typically results only after proving oneself accountable in highly stressful, game-time situations.
So, how do I develop trust?
Trust develops when you recommend your ingenue client turn down the lead in a major motion picture because you know the associated 7-picture deal would lock her into lousy career choices for years to come. Trust is generated when you encourage your game developer client not to spend $5M on a TV ad buy because you know the audience won’t be receptive to the game’s release. Trust is confirmed when you advise your home buyer to walk away from a property in the first week of escrow because you know it needs more work than it’s worth.
Did those decisions compromise commissions? Without a doubt. Did each benefit the client in the long run? Most certainly.
Realtors are often described as salespeople. But representing the best interests of my clients has very little to do with sales. Rather, my role is almost entirely devoted to helping you get clear on your goals and dreams and then, relentlessly sourcing opportunities that will help you achieve those desires.
And, how does that manifest itself beyond the outward trappings of top dollars and smooth closes? It means as a list agent, getting to the open house early to ensure the front gate opens easily, to clean away cobwebs, to turn on lights and fluff pillows so the customer experience is perfect. It means as a buyer's agent, looking beyond a listing's physical specs, recognizing that clients fall in love with the intangibles; a late-afternoon breeze that flutters curtains, the way light filters through the branches of a sycamore, a quiet nook that gives them the ability to imagine their family’s future.
But most of all, it means I will always, always counsel for your best interests ahead of my own.
So, how do you develop trust?
This is the less talked about part of our relationship. How do I trust that your commitment is as great as mine? Again, it mostly manifests itself in small gestures; the signing of an exclusive agreement, timely and open communication, allowing your agent the latitude to sometimes miss, and the forethought to always keep the end goal in sight.
I LOVE to work with people who will demand all of this from their realtor relationship. Who will insist that each member of the team roll up their sleeves and conduct business as an accountable partner; dreaming big, willing to build mutual trust so that we can all learn from setbacks together and come back stronger because of it.
Is that you? If so, let’s begin a conversation.
