It’s one of the most common complaints that I hear from real estate agents about home inspectors is “they always scare the hell out of my clients.” As an industry, we all get a bad reputation for the actions of just a few bad apples. Maybe if we’d all just stop and think for a moment before we opened our …
Walking the Tightrope in your Business
Many years ago, before entertainment was available on demand in the palm of our hands, a traveling circus was considered to be one of the most enjoyable distractions available for middle-class families. I have many fond childhood memories of an evening’s enjoyment watching the various attractions presented under the big top. Without a doubt, one of my favorite performers was …
Investing in Your Business
It’s not our fault. Really, it’s not. We were all trained the same way; all indoctrinated into the same mindset by the same school system. As author Seth Godin is fond of saying, we were all raised to be cogs in the wheel of industry. Put the peg in the hole; eight hours a day; five (or six or seven) …
Enough To Go Around
It seems that no matter what type of business we’re in, there are going to be many different points of view on how to run that business. Some people are generous and believe that there’s enough customers out there to sustain everyone that’s willing to put serious effort into their business. Most people, unfortunately, operate under the belief that everything …
Giving Away Your Hard Work for Free
Every real estate agent loves a good business opportunity. It’s even better when it seems like a great deal falls from the sky without warning. Wow, it’s gonna be a great day! Think about getting a really good listing. You get a message from a potential client, who heard about you from one of their friends you’ve worked with in …
Is There a Shortcut to Success?
Practice makes perfect. We’ve all heard that old axiom. As a child, we probably heard it enough from our parents to make us sick. But, like most old sayings, it was grounded in truth. Think back to your childhood, to any skill that your parents forced you to learn. Would you have ever achieved any level of proficiency without the …
Just Give Me a Chance
When starting a new business, you’ve got plenty of things to worry about. There are lots of technical details to work out, from getting your tax id number to starting a bank account. But, often the most difficult thing to tackle is how to actually get the creative part going. Figuring out what you’re going to do, how you’re going …
Emotional Rescue. Caring About Your Clients Can Work Miracles
Think about the last time you shared a dinner with friends at a nice restaurant. Was it an enjoyable experience? Can you remember all the details? How carefully was the food presented? How professional was the service? How clean and comfortable was the restaurant? Was the noise level acceptable, enhancing the meal? Overall, did you have a pleasant experience, and …
Wiggle Room
Give the people what they want. It’s an often-repeated business mantra. It seems like a simple-enough way to run a successful business. Find out what your client is looking for and give it to them. You would think that every businessperson already knows that this is the key to running a business. But you’d be wrong. Just by doing this …
A Shock to the System. How Starting a New Business Can Drive You Crazy
Starting a new business can be a shock to your system. We all think that we’re ready for this new adventure. We’ve read some books, talked to some experts and watched some YouTube videos; how difficult could it be? After all, if (insert name of a despised competitor here) can do it, it must be really simple. The reality is …