The Small, Yet Highly Important Things in Life
I recently had a conversation with a close friend of mine about the small things he does to make his wife happy. He told me about a ritual he conducts every Sunday in an effort to appease his wife. He heats up her coffee cup with hot water before pouring in the brew to ensure the cup and coffee are hot enough for her liking. He does this because he is aware of how particular she is about the temperature of her coffee and wants to make her happy. I loved everything about this small gesture and it got my mind brewing (pun intended) with ideas.
I started to think about my life and the small gestures I do on a daily basis in an effort to make people happy. I looked at both my personal and business life, and started to focus on what I do that makes people happy.
Personal
After my fiancee and I were dating for a few months and we would text each other goodnight, I would always sign off with “XOXOXO”. These were the days before she and I started telling each other, “I love you”, so dropping the “XO” was a big step. Fast forward to the point where we started announcing our love for one another, I was finally able to explain the “XOXOXO”.
This was my way of telling her “I love you”, but in code. You see, I would add three “XO’s” to signify each word in “I love you”. To this day I still use three “XO’s”, sometimes I even pepper in three emojis, whether the kissy face, eggplant, or heart because I know she understands the message I am conveying.
We also play this game, most of the time it is in the morning when she is departing for work. I walk her to the door and after we kiss and say goodbye to one another, we spout off, “I love you”. As she walks to her car I yell, “I love you more!”.She pretends to not hear me and just before she climbs into her car she responds with, “I LOVE YOU MORE!”, and then shuts the door. If I’m lucky, I can squeeze one more “I love you more” in before the car door shuts.
My sometimes subtle, yet meaningful expression of feelings means a lot to her, and this is something that I know makes her feel good. I want to continue to let her know that I love her, because she is the type of person that adores hearing things like this. Even if it’s in some weird eggplant expression, I have recognized that she appreciates words of affirmation and I am always looking for creative ways to demonstrate my love for her.
Business
In business I have similar gestures. Perhaps I’m not directly telling my clients I love them or send three eggplant emojis, I do make an effort to show my appreciation for them.
Real Estate is a hard business to scale. There is only so much work one person can handle, which is why forming a team has become so popular; it’s more efficient and most people like working together. When I first joined my team, I was extremely impressed with the operation. We have systems in place for everything, which has helped whittle down my job, which is to get property under contract. We have a Client Concierge, as well as a Listing Coordinator (Oh how I appreciate you Julie and Shalom), that handle everything from there on out, which frees up my time and allows me to focus on my primary goal.
My first two years in RE I didn’t have a structure like this, and I would often get bogged down. I handled everything from nurturing the client, educating, showing property, drafting offers, executing contracts, setting up inspections, requesting repairs, dealing with lender issues, coordinating with the title company, I mean the list goes on! While all of this was going on, I thought I was strengthening my relationship with the client due to the amount of interaction we had with one another. I now realize the balance was off, and even though we were interacting, it was primarily about business. Now that things are much different, I have been able to delegate certain tasks and balance out my personal touch with each client.
My focus has always been on my clients and ensuring they are comfortable with what is going on. Previously, this was very challenging to juggle and would sometimes slip. My current structure removes me from most of the “minutia” and allows me to spend the time on what is most important, building relationships with people. I frequently text, email, or call my clients to ensure they are getting everything they need. Most of the time I keep it personal and I don’t really need to talk about business. I remind them I am here to help and if they need anything to please let me know. Throughout getting to know them, I understand what method of communication they appreciate, I make sure to understand their humor, I make an effort to learn more about their hobbies and recreational activities, I focus on actually getting to know them, not just corresponding with them.
How
I have always been good at recognizing what people appreciate. Whether it’s the way I communicate with them, small gifts to remind them I understand what they enjoy, invites to events to make sure they know I value their presence, or just a friendly reminder that I am thinking of them, people appreciate the small things.
This has been my main focal point for a very long time, and not just since I have been in RE. I have been doing this out of pure enjoyment for making people happy. I know, it might sound strange, but I get enjoyment out of making other people happy. Making someone laugh, smile, or blush makes them happy, and when I make people happy, I feel happy. That’s why I do it.
There is no better feeling in the world than being loved, so spread the love people.
