The Kumbaya School of Real Estate Brokerage Values Service Over Results

by Jeff Brown

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

For all you real estate boys and girls out there, if you haven’t had the pleasure of going to an Apple Store to buy something, or have a problem solved, I heartily recommend a field trip. Find the biggest most trafficked Apple Store in your area and go there just to watch, listen, and learn. And learn you will. I’ve had what Dad taught me about the difference between service and results reenforced every time I walk through their doors.

These pages have, pretty much from Day 1, screamed about delivering service, a concept with which nobody, including this company owner would credibly disagree. But results are what BloodhoundBlog is all about. Some, however, have screwed up the order of importance of the two. (Has there ever been a better place for a that said?)

That said, and this is what I’ve been sayin’ since Dad’s fiercely burning eyes so congruently highlighted the dripping tone of sarcasm when he spit out the words to me — it’s about producing results, genius. I’ll take a gruff, mildly rude manner and give back a thank you if it comes at me hand in hand with timely, stellar results. Yeah, I know, you’re muttering ‘duh’ under your breath. You’d think that would be universal knowledge, right? We all know that’s ultra malodorous crap.

What many refuse to allow unfettered into their consciousness, is that world class service is as effective as a gelding trying to generate the next Secretariat when it’s not complimenting equally world class results. Think about it. “Yeah, Bob said your service was the best in town. You hardly ever produce results, but your service is without rival.” When was the last time you heard that?

Think of any service company or store selling product — would you use them again if the results were fabulous, but the service not so much? On the other hand, would you return if the results were uniformly disappointing, but the service on the way to the predictably inferior results was orgasmic? I know I’m risking the tag of heretic, but I’m gonna say it anyway.

Those who believe ‘Oh my God’ service is or will ever be the basis of their success are fools. They’ve bought into the Kumbaya school of feel good failure.

To the degree possible, I’ve emulated Apple Stores in my approach. I won’t go over the details here, as 99% of the RE licensee readers are house brokers, which I am not. So what happens when you walk into an Apple Store?

First of all, you learn quickly their employees, with hen’s teeth rare exceptions, know what the hell they’re talkin’ about. Ask a question — get a robust answer. Robust. Have a problem? They have the GeniusBar, where they keep their TechGeeks. I’ve never seen an Apple Store understaffed, though on occasion I’ve seen them overstaffed. Which do you prefer?

I offer my experience recently at one of their more popular stores, the Fashion Valley store in San Diego. I’d spilled just a bit of my morning coffee on my newish MacBook Pro, missing the keyboard, but not the mouse-pad/clicker thing. (It’s OK to laugh, I’m not ashamed of my TechTard upbringing.)

They told me over the phone what to do/not do, then set an appointment for me with their GeniusBar folks later that morning. Got there, they took it into the back room where they keep the hobbits, and had a look-see. Seems I’d been lucky, as there was no visible problem, and would I please stop settin’ my coffee cup on the same surface as my laptop? No problemo.

On the way out I noticed an array of very cool multi-purpose office machines. I have a couple Xerox WorkCentre C2424s, which print, scan, and do so exceptionally well, and wirelessly. They take mammoth space, ink like the NY Times, and are a royal pain in the ass to set up, but work fine. At $1,500 each, and five years old or so, I’ve been a happy camper with their performance. Still…

So, I stopped one of the zillion blue-shirted sales folks and asked about the stuff on the table. He steered me away from the one I’d picked, saying it would definitely do the job, but given what I needed, would cost me an arm and a leg in ink, as it was an ink jet printer/scanner, that worked wirelessly. I now have a laser printer for so cheap it’s almost, (but not quite) embarrassing. With the $100 rebate I’ll add one their cool $99 scanner/printers as throwaway backup. I’ll be putting the same setup in my office next week.

If you’re already a pretty hard worker, let’s say half as hard as Greg Swann, who’s perpetually pissed cuz he hasn’t figured out how to work without sleepin’, AND you’re able to provide consistently top notch results — where would you be this time next year? Indeed. Once you’ve done that for a year or two, you then learn what happens at the next level. That’s the most exciting professional epiphany one can experience, IMHO.

Imagine you’ve been producing consistently wicked good results for a year or more. Know what happens next? Folks expect golden results from you the same way they expect the sun to rise in the east and set in the west. They come to you assuming dazzling results are assured. When you first realize you’ve reached that level, I can’t begin to tell ya how your professional life will change.

First thing you’ll notice is how ya don’t hafta spend nearly as much time convincing clients your advice will work. In my experience it’s been about an 80% reduction in time wasted explaining why A will work infinitely better than B. Allow me a real life, real time example or two.

In order to separate the wheat from the chaff, since the early ’80’s I’ve been able to charge an upfront fee to take on a client. When I was younger it went from their Levi’s to mine. Now though, it’s a retainer of sorts, $3,000 — which is immediately credited back to them when they close a transaction for which I’m paid. When folks balk at this setup, I smile, say I understand completely, knowing I’ve dodged a bullet. I no longer have to take the risk of working with folks who’re wannabe talkers, not doers. The serious investors come to me assuming they’ll get results, so they don’t hesitate showing faith, especially since it’s being credited back anyway.

When I list property, they must agree to do everything I ask, even if it costs them. I make this exceptionally clear up front. Occasionally they balk in mid-stream as we prepare to list their property. Again, I smile, then let them know they don’t hafta do anything they don’t feel comfortable doing. I then refer them to a local agent I know will get the job done, but will then deal with the needless back and forth with a seller who knows more than the pros. Last time I did this, a fellow Bloodhound listed and sold the property for me, and did a fantastic job. ‘Course the sellers paid more than the heavily discounted listing commission I was gonna charge — five figures more. What I’d wanted them to do would’ve cost less than $1,000 — but what do I know?

Decades of producing superior results allowed me that luxury.

Another example is an incredible Florida agent I’m kinda sorta mentoring. She’s no rank beginner by any stretch. In fact, she’s the poster gal for fabulous results in her market. Before she ever heard of me, local agents/brokers in her area have been listing their own properties with her, even though some of ’em own their own brokerages. They do this for one reason — they know signing a listing with her is akin to going to escrow. She and I have been talkin’ periodically about tweakin’ her M.O. a bit so as to turbo charge her income. In my judgment, she’s capable of makin’ seven figures a year — and I’m confident she will. She’s incredible, already a 2-percenter. I’ll be writing about her later this year, as she rolls out some of her new approaches.

Putting service ahead of results is a classic example of puttin’ the cart in front of the horse — a worthless endeavor guaranteeing abject failure if results remain second banana. Go to your local Apple Store to watch this in real time. Watch how their customers ask questions and bring problems there with the assumption they’ll be answered and solved.

Now imagine yourself being thought of like that by prospects who come to you. I promise, your life will change forever.