A commentary by Tami Bonnell, CEO, EXIT Realty Corp. International

Many real estate agents stop doing business right after Halloween or the U.S. Thanksgiving – certainly by the end of November they are in holiday and planning mode.  When you look back over your real estate career, ask yourself how many lives you touched.  Did you make your connections really personal or were you in a hurry to move on to the next event, the next Facebook post, the next closing?  Remember when you bought first-time home buyers pizza on closing day so they could eat off paper plates and keep unpacking?  Did you stay in touch with them? Did you reach out on their purchase anniversary? Often we start out with the best of intentions, we find something that works and then we let it lag because our focus shifts or we go on vacation or we start to make a lot of money and we forget about the people whose lives we impacted (and who impacted ours) along the way.  These are the ghosts of real estate past.

This is the most forgiving time of year so if you haven’t stayed in touch with someone you met last month, last year or even five or ten years ago, this is the perfect opportunity to reach out with a call or personal note and say, “You know, I was going through all the people I have to be thankful for and I realized I dropped the ball with you.” or “I heard about something going on in your life and I didn’t bring it up. I feel really bad about that.  I’ve been reflecting on it now that we’re at the end of the year and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Take a moment and look towards New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 2018 – what does your life look like? Your business? In order to get there from here, you have to plan now and execute specific activities throughout the coming year.  You already know what works.  There are things you’ve done in the past that you let slide and there are things you always meant to do (like get your database in order?) but never got around to.  Don’t be haunted by the ghosts of real estate past.  Put them to rest and move on.

From my family to yours, all the best for a joyous holiday and prosperous New Year.

 

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