I have been buying and selling houses for almost 10 years. In that time, I have seen and heard stories that could shock you. What makes me a trusted agent, is that nothing shocks me. I have had all sorts of requests and desires that are not considered conventional in any professional setting. I have helped clients store personal and private belongings in my own home. Even storing furniture, in order to help them in their time of transition, just like your best friend would. A strong point to keep in mind, just because someone is friendly sometimes, doesn’t mean they are your friend. My experience has taught me not to let the petty things in life affect you or your potential to make money. Everyone says they understand the saying that “business is business”. If they did, nothing would shock or vex you, this is the attitude I have chosen. There is no demand, criteria or concern that is too big for me to try and help you with. My 10 years of experience have taught me to ask you to share your dreams with me. Once we share these intimate details, I can turn your fantasy into reality. This might sound like an embellishment or exaggeration, yet how can it be, when I have made dreams come to reality for 10 years? An entire decade of dreams and fantasies is being brought to life, not through miracles and magic, but with hired expertise.

 

In these 10 years of making fantasy into reality, I have been offered a great honor and privilege. My consistent success and dedicated service to my clients have brought me the joy of helping their extended families. A short example would be the Bourne family, whom I have helped broker their properties since 2008. At the time, there was a divorce and splitting of assets that followed. I was able to sell the original family home in 5 weeks while finding both the wife and husband a new house in their price range in less than 7 weeks. Since this experience, both divorcées bought and sold another home each, making a total of 5 houses brokered. Followed by their new partners selling their old homes to consolidate with their new partner making a total of 7 houses. The Bourne family children have now approached me to help them buy their first homes in the Toronto area. In total, the Bourne family members have bought and sold 8 houses with me in less than 10 years. And that is only one family that I have helped, out of the hundreds of people I have helped over this past decade.

 

One of the keys to success in life is realizing the value of your relationships. Relationships are priceless and never die or go bad. As long as you nurture and develop your relationships once in a while, they should last you forever. The best way to look at your relationships is that they are bridges that we cross, in order to reach our objectives and goals. If you are surrounded by broken bridges, how are you supposed to get anywhere or meet anyone new. Building relationships is what has generated my success and reputation. We all have a brand, an image that represents who we are to the outside world. How strong is your brand if you have no bridges to cross, how does one find success in the perilous times of the 21st century, with our relationships. You never know when someone might be able to help you with something. It’s impossible to assume how useful someone can be to you until the time comes for their skill to be presented. This is what has made me a preferred and trusted agent for so long, my ability to mix business with a friendly touch, that makes the experience just a little bit personal in all the right ways.

 

Most people say it’s a tad cheesy, but is it that lame of a concept if it’s proven to be true. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just that little extra”. From a real estate perspective, there are so many little extras that you can help provide a better experience for your clients. A great and general one is knowing the city, the neighbourhoods, and what they have to offer. Knowing school services and businesses that are considered local or within walking distance. This shows your clients that you are knowledgeable and that you care about them and their situation. A second tip that has helped me greatly along the way is bringing people together. Knowing people in different industries that have different talents and professions. As a broker, I know painters, accountants, insurance experts, catering companies, staging consultants, and many other professionals whose talents often complement each other in various ways. By bringing these parties together, I help make their lives easier and help them reach their goals. As a result, they, in turn, return the favor and recommend my broker services to any of their contacts who are in the real estate market. This comes back to all the bridges I spoke of previously. I want to build as many bridges as possible and cross them as often as I can in order to check on the “relationship statuses.”

 

I hope you have learned and enjoyed this quick read, in closing, I would like to recap the important points of what makes me, and what could make you, a trusted real estate broker. Friends and family are very important, especially for a business that is highly based on networking and the forging of relationships. If you don’t know that many people there are ways to change that. Some suggestions include taking classes, joining organizations, and frequenting a local religious facility regardless of the religion. Going to events and parties both corporate and private. The key is realizing that people are the greatest resource you have in your life, which applies to all things in life, not just real estate. The final important factor is your personal brand and the brand equity. How people perceive you and what do they think you are worth. This factor is maintained by the kind of individual and business person you aspire to be, when around people and clients. Always be the nicest well-mannered and informed individual you can possibly be. A person in real estate should never say anything bad about anything or anyone. Opinions should be positive or neutral as often as possible. So, use your friends and family, be a good person, and meet as many new people as possible, I promise this will lead to success.