When you’ve experienced success in the Manhattan real estate market as a real estate professional, it can be easy to forget your humble beginnings and even get a little cocky. Confidence is a must but cockiness can be detrimental to your business. Case in point: 3 of my most recent listing presentations resulted in someone else procuring the exclusive right to sell the property.
- The Referral from a Friend (Upper West Side Studio): Most of the friends, family and past clients who send me business are my most solid referral sources so I sometimes take for granted that whomever they are referring to me is "already mine." Bad assumption…these prospective clients are entitled to the same presentation as anyone else would be and some would suggest that they should get even more hand holding. In this instance, the seller of the property had an existing relationship with another broker so it was up to me to convince him that I was bringing something more to the table. I neglected to do a thorough marketing presentation providing just what the seller needed to feel confident in hiring is current broker to do the job.
- The Coincidence/Referral from Attorney (Upper West Side 1BR): A couple of weeks ago i boasted about an open house that I had in which more than 80 people attended and we received 7 offers over the asking price. One of the attendees of the open house owned a very similar property in the building next door. She liked the way we marketed this property but wanted to first call her attorney for his advice as she had been trying to sell her home on her own up until now. Her attorney coincidentally suggested to her that she hire me and my team to sell her apartment. After sharing this information with me, I again felt the property was "in the bag" and foolishly neglected to do a proper and thorough listing presentation. She hired one of my colleagues who sits just a few desks away because they had "chemistry."
- The Cold Call from a Prospective Seller (Upper West Side 1BR): On Friday we received a call from a prospective seller who wanted to meet with me and my team on Sunday evening. We suggested that Monday morning would be better because it was more "convenient" for my schedule. Yet another foolish move on my part. Upon awaking this morning, I turned on the ole Blackberry to discover that my 9:30AM marketing presentation was canceled by the seller because they met "several brokers on Sunday night and already decided who they were going to hire." Again, my cockiness bit me in the you know what.
So today I blog after a big breakfast of humble pie. Humility is good! I didn’t get to where I am in this industry by sitting on my bum and expecting business to just come to me. I have worked very hard to get where I am and need to remember that the hard work that got me here must continue. These 3 experiences have served to remind me that no matter the source of a referral or prospective business, I must stay mindful of the hard work and effort that has gone into serving all of my past and present clients. This revelation will most certainly breed future success. So to those who hired my colleagues instead of me, "thank you!"
