I am a Realtor server not a born salesman. My first cut at sales was at Thrasher Elementary school on Signal Mountain, TN. Each year the students sold chocolate bars. We raised money for classroom window air conditioners. I still remember the first house in Skyline Drive subdivision I walked up to. The older lady came to the door, and with my best pitch “I stammered, ‘You don’t want to buy any chocolate bars do you?’” Turns out she didn’t. I don’t remember getting any award prizes for most sales. Funny, I don’t remember selling many, but I do recall the chocolate was pretty good with almonds.
Fast forward, to my junior high days and a desire for a Schwinn ten speed. The stakes were higher for personal gratification and a need for travel. Instead of buying a bike, my parents bought boxes of commercial grade freezer bags. They said. “Sell these and with the money you raise we will match funds to buy a bike”. Brilliant idea on my parents part. I like to quickly get things done, so I loaded most all the cardboard boxes onto hand trucks. After all there are only 10 sets of bags each box and 4 boxes, how long should this take? One half mile later the only thing I had attracted was a thunderstorm, and zero sales. Lack of first day success did not deter me. I wanted a 10 speed. It took much longer than I first thought, and many more doors, but I did sell all the bags. I learned to help demonstrate how special the bags were, what a great deal they were and the story of why I was doing this. Funny thing was, looking back, I had folks calling me a year or two later asking if I was still “selling” them.
Being a Realtor “sales” person was no easier for me. I worked in the family real estate biz. First I worked for Mom in relocation. That was fun. We set up a room for counselors to help parents understand the schools, get acquainted with the city, etc. Next on my list was setting up tech stuff. Being a nerd, I became the first I/T guy. I set up telephone and computer systems. Being on salary bored me, so I got my license to sell homes. At the time we belonged to a Better Homes and Gardens franchise. My first sales event was an Open House. My first “salesy” thing to do was call people (this was before the “Do Not Call Laws”) that lived in the neighborhood and “invite” them to visit the Open House. I was very nervous. The first lady answered and listened to my invitation. I nervously asked her to the big event, and she starts scolding me for not doing a good job with her landscaping. I do not think she ever believed me that Better Homes and Gardens sold homes and yards instead of maintaining them. When I realized that people need help not a salesman, I felt more at ease.
How can I serve my clients and customers to help them is my job. I am very comfortable with that role. God gave me skills to quickly jump into helping and researching. That comes naturally. So the more experience I gained and understanding, I realized I am a Realtor server not a born salesman.
