To Be a Pro, You’ve Got To Be Con…sistent

Have you ever visited a restaurant where you really enjoyed the experience (meal, service, ambiance, etc.) so much so that you told people about it and got excited thinking about the next time you’d return?

Have you ever pulled into the parking lot of that same restaurant, eager to see how they would blow you away again only to be disappointed that your expectations were too high and the food, service or ambiance wasn’t as good as the last time?

For the customer it’s usually not that big a deal because you’ll eat out again soon and you can just pick some place new. The restaurant will suffer losing one customer but they can surely be replaced with another without even noticing the missing patron from the week before.

My guess is you’re probably not in the restaurant business if you’re reading this. You’re in the real estate business so you know that in real estate, we don’t get a chance to impress a customer or client again every week. It’s more like every 3-7 years.

It’s a simple question – how consistent are you?

Do you follow up with every visitor to your Open Houses, leads from your Internet or social media presence, and caller on your voice mail?

Do you send thank you notes to people who refer you business?

How consistent are you?

I read a cool story over the weekend in the USA Today Sports section. It was buried on the last page, way down in the corner. It was about a gentleman named Terry Wallace, the track announcer at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Wallace, who is 65, recently called his 20,000th consecutive horse race at Oaklawn. He’s called every race at the track since 1965.

I don’t know much about horse racing or what there is to do in Hot Springs, Arkansas but I will bet you good money that people go to Oaklawn, not just for the horses or the gambling, but to hear Terry Wallace call a race. And I’ll bet he called the 20,000th race with the same enthusiasm and vigor he did on his first back in ’65.

Terry Wallace is consistent.