These Units Are For Buying…

Some people just don’t get it. Whether they are in sales, service, or just existing in the world, some people just straight up don’t get it…

A few years ago my friend was looking to rent an apartment outside of Washington D.C. After a few hours of looking he came across an apartment that was for sale. He wasn’t particularly interested in buying, but he had a good job, and so he figured he could at least take a look.

He walks up to the door where he is greeted by a real estate agent. She takes one look at him and says, “these units are for buying.” Then she closes the door.

Oh Snap!

You may be thinking, “well, maybe she didn’t want to waste her time on someone who wasn’t a serious prospect. Wasn’t she just qualifying her leads?”

I could see how you would think that. But then you have to remember that he hadn’t even opened his mouth yet! This was a few years ago when he was just out of college, but still, that’s kind of ridiculous.

Here are three lessons our rude real estate agent could take away from this:

Never Assume

It’s easy to make giant assumptions and judge people based on a quick look. People are so overwhelmed that they feel compelled to quickly judge and remove things to keep their plate clear. But assumptions are a great way to get into trouble and miss out on opportunities.

My friend wasn’t actually a buyer. But she didn’t know that, she just assumed it based on his age and look. In this case she may have been right. But in how many cases would she be wrong? Keep in mind, this was in the late 90s during the Dot Com boom; a 22 year old millionaire would not have been that shocking. Also, some people look younger then they are. And some very wealthy people don’t feel the need to dress up. (For example, I have a friend who is very successful who can often be seen wearing Hawaiian shirts and Mickey Mouse watches. If you judged him by that, you could miss out on a big sale (and commission))

There’s nothing wrong with qualifying your leads. Just do it intelligently.

Think Long Term

My friend didn’t want to buy a place at that time. Does that mean he would never buy a place? Probably not. Definitely not, I suppose, since he does now own a nice two bedroom condo apartment. Could she have kept in touch and cultivated that relationship until he was ready to buy? Perhaps.

Could my friend have known other people who were looking to buy, or would be in the near future? Perhaps.

Whether either of these two things would have happened or whether it would be worth the effort to stay in touch is a judgement call. But in this real estate agent’s case, it’s a call she would never get to make because she literally closed the door.

Being rude may save you a few minutes in the short term, but think about what you might be throwing away in the long term.

Don’t Be a Jerk

Yes, sadly this needs to be said. There are so many reasons to not be a jerk: word of mouth, karma, referrals, relationships, follow-up business, your own stress levels, etc. But for some reason, so many people just resort to rude jerky behavior.

Once in a while you need to play the “jerk card”; there are some people who will respond to nothing less. But that card should be played later, after you have properly determined that it’s needed – not as the very first thing you do, before the other person can even introduce themselves.

The next time you want to write someone off with just a quick look, take a moment to reflect on the rude real estate agent, hear her say, “these units are for buying,” and then remind yourself that you never know…

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