Realtors: Do your peers trust you?

There are very few professions where you character and integrity are called into question on a daily basis. A Realtor is one of them. Its funny almost. You have this love hate relationship with the general public. Your very existence relies on people trusting you enough that you will help them get what they want. Your every action, words and decisions are scrutinized. It can be uncomfortable. Most of this stems from the average person not knowing the real estate process. That's your job, to educate customers so they know exactly what to expect and reduce your risk.

There is risk you understand. Selling real estate, negotiating contracts, puts us in a very liable position. If we screw up, it can cost us a lot of money. If the customer screws up, it can still cost us a lot of money in lost fees. But the one thing that you can always control is you. How you come across, what you say, how you treat people. All of this is under your control. In most cases, we can earn a customers trust very quickly and never have a problem, and the customer will come back over and over again.

But I am seeing a trend in the real estate business. Realtors deliberately causing problems for other Realtors. I don't know about you, but there are enough things in this business to worry about and having to watch my back isn't one I care to endure. Sure, this is a competitive business, but it's also one that occasionally calls for us to be friends and help each other out. I can't even count how many times I've helped a fellow Realtor out. As long as it doesn't put my client in a bad position, then why wouldn't we want to help each other.

Another thing to remember is reputations precede us all. Think about the agents in your area. Are there ones you enjoy working with and ones you don't? Why don't you want to work with these people? Were they verbally abusive? Did they try and undercut or undermine you? Were they incompetent? There could be many reasons, but the simple fact is you can't stand to work with them. Don't be this person. Be the one we all want to work with.

Take my advice, we all have to get along. We all need to help each other to get what we want. And karma is always in play. You will reap what you sew, and always get whats coming to you.