How important is it for a Guelph Realtor to be discreet, while helping his or her clients buy or sell a home? I’d say very important.
To explain my position, I offer this brief story. I showed up, not too long ago, to present an offer on behalf of some clients. I knew we were in competition… hardly surprising given the Guelph real estate market at that time. I parked a few doors up and started to walk towards the house. And then, there it was. The car. Not just any car… the wrapped mega-power-agent car that screamed, “I drove in here all the way from Mississauga, and I’ll kick your ass in this competition.” (He didn’t.) My first thought was, “oh, crap… this looks intense.” And then, literally in the next instant, I smiled. I knew I had no reason to be intimidated. Why? Because the car wasn’t about the client, or the competitive offer in hand… the car was about the agent.
This is a highly competitive business. As a Guelph Realtor, I can see that my colleagues and I are all searching for ways to stand out and find a niche of sorts. And, yes… large-scale, self-promotional branding is one way to do that. So, fair enough. I get it.
But, on the other hand, I quite honestly don’t get it, because (at least as I see things,) a significant part of what can make you a truly great Realtor is the understanding and the acceptance of this one true fact: It’s not about you.
Here’s the thing. Not every real estate transaction has a happy event in its core. Is it fun to work with the still-madly-in-love newlyweds in search of their first home? Yes! Fun working with those same folks a few years down the road, when the family is expanding and they are bursting at the seams in that first house? Yeah, that’s awesome, too.
But, let’s get real.
Life is messy. I get it; I’m divorced and I know how life’s “plan” can sometimes change in sweeping and monumental ways. Not every home purchase or sale emerges from a happy life event. I’ve assisted Guelph home buyers and sellers in transactions that have had, at the root of them, a divorce, a death in the family, a dire change in financial circumstances, and someone leaving a home to move into a treatment facility or hospice.
This aside, many people, myself included, value their privacy. They don’t necessarily want the whole neighbourhood to know that Suzy Realtor is out front, coming over to talk about selling.
To each his own, but for me, the over-the-top branded vehicles have it all wrong. We Realtors don’t need the attention. We need to keep the attention focused where it belongs – on the people we’re helping. Let’s safeguard their privacy and let’s focus on them… not ourselves.
But, of course, that’s just my opinion. Thanks for reading.
