Self-help guru Earl Nightengale often talked about how having an attitude of service would actually help increase your income. I suspect he’s right.
When you Google the term “be of service” you get this:
be available to assist someone
That, it seems to me, is a pretty good definition of a real estate professional’s real job. After all, you’re helping people with what may very well be the biggest purchase of their life.
You’re able to help because you’ve invested your time and money to learn what you needed to learn to get your license. Plus, unless today is your very first day, you’ve invested even more time in learning the ropes of the real estate industry. You can successfully guide people through selling and buying property.
The most successful pros in real estate are the ones who consistently operate with an attitude of service. They actively want to help and this shows through.
Prospective clients sense those agents who truly want to be helpful, to be of service. They do repeat business with these agents and refer business to them.
Check out your thinking. Sure, you want to earn that commission, but is that your primary focus? Do you tend to see potential customers with dollar signs? Or do you see them as an opportunity for you to be of service?
If it’s the latter, you can gradually retrain your mind to think service instead. Spend a few moments writing out an affirmation or two. They might be something like this:
I love being of service to my clients, or, I give my customers the best service possible.
It really does work to say affirmations out loud to your self, and/or to write them down 10 times each morning, and/or to paste them where you will see them often.
Some people confuse an attitude of service with not being assertive or allowing clients to walk all over you. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
A true attitude of service includes setting boundaries and standing up for yourself. Another way to say it, is it takes true humility to be of real service.
Here’s what I mean. You’re being of service when you take a listing and you’re being of service when you refuse to take a listing because of the client insisting on a totally unrealistic price. Do you see that?
Here’s another. You’re being of service when you show a property. You’re also being of service when you refuse to take calls while watching your kid’s play. This is a little tougher – here you’re being of service to your family, knowing full well the client can wait an hour or two.
Being of service is truly a win-win for you and your client and when you consistently have a service attitude you’re income is almost bound to increase.
Please, share some other examples of being of service, and the results.
Before Anne Wayman became a writer she sold real estate in Southern California. She worked with her father who learned the business from his father. Not surprisingly she learned a few things along the way. Since then, she has been freelance writing for over 30 years – she is a grandmother, loves cats and writes about a wide variety of topics including real estate.
