I am such a strong believer in being 100% transparent and vulnerable. Most of the time, people appreciate that and they absolutely reward it! This time last year I was in one heck of a mess with a real estate deal. It worked out in the end, but not without some stress, frustration and financial loss. It was a situation that highlighted a strength of mine…by admitting a mistake and owning it.
I had to buy a house. A big and expensive house. The reason I bought it goes back to that whole “do the right thing” theory. Due to an oversight on my part, some clients of mine were in a real tough and stressful situation with the new home they just purchased. I owned my mistake and purchased the home back from my clients to get them out of their bad situation.
Upon re-selling the home after I purchased it, some folks came to an open house. They really liked the house but were obviously curious as to why the house was back on the market again so quickly. You could tell they were asking me this question with that look on their face like “this is going to be good…can’t wait to hear what kind of story he comes up with on this one”. You know the look!
This is where the rubber meets the road! This is where we become what we tell people we are! These moments are when our true colors shine through and they are moments of significant opportunity to build trust and build meaning behind our personal brands. Crucial moments indeed!
In the heat of the moment, I told the truth. The entire truth! I told them I screwed up and that I had put my client in a bad situation. You could tell that they were shocked to hear me owning this mistake and not coming up with some crazy story as to why the home was for sale again.
Now, a year later, I sold that house and these folks are back in the market. They ended up buying a home shortly after our encounter at the open house and they aren’t happy with it. They have decided sell their current home and buy a new one and have reached out to me to help them with both.
They appreciated my transparency and honesty in the heat of the moment and decided that’s the kind of person they want to work with!
They clearly saw my willingness to be completely transparent and vulnerable by putting myself out there as a strength, not a weakness, and they are going to reward me for it!
Chivonne and I attended the annual RE/MAX R4 Conference in Las Vegas in March. Patrick Lencioni was a guest speaker and talked at length about his new book Getting Naked! Patrick is awesome and this is a great book!!
Check it out…Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty.
While listening to Patrick’s talk, I couldn’t help but think about the situation that I described above. After reading the book, it was absolutely a “naked service” moment for me, my brand and my business.
Key takeaways for you;
Be vulnerable…it’s OK!
Be transparent. It will be appreciated!
Be REAL! Might as well, because you’ll be found out eventually!
These qualities will impress people more than sales figures and sales records. I promise!