Different Eras, Same Connections

Years ago, when I was starting out in the business, real estate agents used to do something called "Floor Time," where everyone in the office took turns answering the company phone. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, since it saved the brokerage from having to hire a receptionist, and a newer agent who didn’t know anybody was able to speak directly with real people with real estate needs.

Back then, the phone would ring every 5 or 10 minutes, and most of the time it would be a call for another agent or some administrative matter for the office; but roughly one out of every four calls would be someone asking about a sign they had seen. For those occasions, we had a Floor Book handy, which had a copy of every listing in our inventory that we could look up, give the caller the information they wanted, and make arrangements to show the listing to them if they wanted to see it.

Fast-forward to the present era, where the phone still rings throughout the day, but it’s the one you carry in your pocket, and it also has access to all the answers you need, so you don’t have to stay at the front desk all day.

Interestingly enough, between spam, personal and live project calls, the ratio of getting to connect with someone new looking for advice or information is remarkably similar to what it was back in the day. 

Regardless of whether the inquiry comes via a phone call, text, email, Messenger, or WhatsApp, it’s a novel experience every time a voice on the phone or a name on a screen evolves into a person of significant presence in your life experience. These connections often transcend what one could have ever expected from just answering a phone.

During the course of showing or evaluating the project in question, I like to ask the client to tell me about their ideal result and ask if there are any insights I can lend that would help get them closer to that result. From there, my team and I get busy chasing down details, doing research and negotiating terms. 

Over the course of the days, weeks, months, or years of working alongside someone, bonds form out of the shared adventures that ensue, and these include the many positive relationships that have evolved with my fellow professionals during the course of collaborating with them, often from opposite sides of the table, but with a shared standard for getting things handled correctly between the different parties involved. 

Whether it’s a home, an investment property, or a business, you cannot overstate the importance of the connections that make for a positive result. Although the title by someone’s name says they handle real estate, in the end, it’s just as much about the people.

Regardless of the era, that crucial connection you need to make good things happen is often just a phone call away.