I used to have a training center on the second floor of a loooong flight of stairs. When I held classes, I would haul 5 gallons of water up the stairs to make sure my students had water to drink during the course. I would put these gallons on water on the stairs and every time I came up the stairs I would grab a gallon or two and take it with me.
Not once during all the classes I had at that school did a single student offer to carry water up for me - even when they saw me grabbing it on the way up. Not once, that is, until a broker decided to audit one of my classes before sending his new agents to it. He immediately offered to bring up the water.
What is the moral of the story? Well, it seems obvious to me. The broker is likely successful as a broker because he notices the world around him and wants to be of service. Unless those agents learn that lesson, it's likely that they will miss out on a lot of potential business over the years.
I can't tell you how much business I got over the years because I offered help to someone. Whether it was the woman at Staples considering buying a chair that I owned and I offered her advice on it only to find out she was opening a brokerage and needed a trainer to come in. Or the man who was lost walking down the street who I stopped to help with directions who turned out to be shopping in the paper for open houses. You never know where you'll find the next piece of business, but if you're focused on being of service to those around you, you'll find - no matter where it's hiding.
Kelle Sparta is the author of The Consultative Real Estate Agent - Building Relationships that Create Loyal Clients, Get More Referrals, and Increase Your Sales, as well as being a speaker and trainer specializing in the real estate industry. Kelle is the founder of Sparta Success Systems, a real estate training company that provides tools, products, and training to empower agents and brokers to create lives and businesses they can love. For more information, visit her website at http://www.spartasuccess.com/. © 2007, Kelle Sparta.
Five stars for a great post. Success is simple if you understand the basics of being a good citizen. Be involved in your community, give back, be friendly and helpful to strangers and you will be successful. It all comes back around.
Have a great week.