“How much does a Good Reputation cost?”
May 8th, 2007 by Rich JacobsonFor real estate professionals, as it is for many different sales-oriented businesses, there are a gazillion different plans, programs, and systems available that you can employ to market yourself. You could invest a nice chunk of change for a high-end website, complete with all the latest and greatest visual bells and whistles. Or, you could spend a ton of money for a personal coach to slap you around and to make sure you’re managing your time wisely. You could even buy a Hummer and convert it into a moving billboard to promote your image/services.
But of all the marketing and promotional tools at my disposal, by the far the most effective and lasting, is my reputation.
Five of the transactions I’ve enjoyed so far this year have come from repeat clients. These were all people who purchased homes through me, and valued my services enough to entrust me with the sale of their homes.
A potential client calls me out of the blue, asking if I would be willing to help sell his home. A good friend of his knows of me, and says I have a good reputation; someone he can trust.
Reputation. It isn’t something that’s easy to achieve. It doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistent behavior and performance. It takes a long time to earn and develop. In some markets, it can take years and years.
Unfortunately, a good reputation that takes years to cultivate, can be easily destroyed in less than a minute.
With one word or one action, an entire lifetime of good reputation becomes questionable or suspect.
When my kids were little, they used to watch all the Veggie Tales videos. One was entitled, “Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space.” In the story, a character named Junior Asparagus tells a lie. Each time he’s confronted about his indiscretion, he lies to cover it up. This ‘Fib’ that starts out very small, gets bigger and bigger as the video progresses. Pretty soon, the ‘Fib’ is GIGANTIC, totally out of control, and about to destroy the town!
That’s the way it is in real life. We start out telling little white lies. The lies become larger and larger, and turn to grey. Pretty soon, the web of deception is HUGE and pitch black. A career is ruined.
One small compromise leads to another small compromise. Pretty soon, compromise becomes a consistent practice, a way of life. A lifelong reputation is destroyed.
How well do you protect your reputation? What checks and balances do you have in place? When temptations present themselves (and they will and do, daily), what keeps you from giving in to compromise? What ensures that your reputation can never be bought?
A good website? $ 1000 start-up, $ 75 per month
A business coach? $ 3000 annually
A good reputation? Priceless.
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