In real estate sales, first impressions are very important. Non verbal language is louder than the spoken language. When you are late for a meeting with a client or potential client, you are sending a non verbal message that will start you off on the wrong foot with your new prospect. Can you recover from that? Maybe. Maybe not.
How much effort would it have taken to be on time in the first place? This is something you need to understand thoroughly. If you have an appointment at an empty house at ten o'clock. The drive time from your office to this house is thirty minutes in the worst traffic. If traffic is light, you might make it in twenty minutes. You need to leave your office at 9:30 at the latest. If you arrive a few minutes early, you can open up the house, turn on the lights etc. If you leave the office at 9:40, and arrive at ten on the dot, that is not extraordinary.
Old time football fans are familiar with the phrase,"Lombardi time". If you are not, you need to be. http://www.adoration.com/2010/lombardi-time/ . Google it. The younger you are in business, the more you need to understand "Lombardi time".
Promptness is a non verbal message. Your customers will get the message whether you realize it or not. Promptness is virtue. Promptness is a habit. Tardiness is also a habit. I know you are busy. Everyone is busy. Your customer is busy. He is way too busy to wait for someone that obviously can not keep a simple commitment known as an appointment.
Once when I was selling houses every day, I received a phone call from a stranger about 2:15 in the afternoon. The stranger asked if I was available to show my listing at 123 Residential Street. Of course I was available. They told me they were at a restaurant near my listing having lunch. We made an appointment for three o'clock at the house. I showed them the house and they bought it. I later learned that they had an appointment with another real estate agent at 2:00 at the house at 123 Residential Street. At ten after two they left and went to the restaurant to get lunch where they called me. They bought the house from me with no waiting. People do not like to wait. They will wait for judges and CEOs and other big shots. They don't like it but they will wait for big shots. When you are waiting for Mr. Big Shot, what is the non verbal message? The message is that Mr. Big Shot is more important than you are. If that is the message you want to convey to your customers, show up late. If you want to convey that Mr. Customer is important, show up early or at least on time. Tardiness is expensive. The real estate agent in the previous story probably does not know to this day why she did not sell a house to that couple.
This is the twenty first century. There are a lot of people,including me, that won't wait for tardy people. I will wait for the judge. I will wait for Mr. Big Shot. I will wait for my customers. I will not wait for someone that is selling me something that I can get elsewhere.
Your customers are the same way. With less effort than it takes to apologize for being late, you can just be on time. Be on time. Make it a habit. It will put money in your pocket.
If we can help you with your real estate career, contact us at www.climerrealestateschool.com .
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