I wanted to take a few moments and discuss something that drives me nuts, people that are in the people/relationship business, that simply do not understand the process of getting out of your car. I see it all the time, I pull up to Biggby, the bank, the pharmacy, or any business and there is this thing called the drive-thru. Nine times out of ten, I will choose not to use it. Not because it's not convenient, but to me relationship building is not built on convenience. Yes you can say hey, yes you can stay warm on a cold day, or dry on a rainy day, but are you truly understanding the potential of getting out of your car?
I have done this for years, and sometimes people that are in the car with me, will say, don't you wanna go through the drive thru, and I respond with, no... I like going inside. There is a method to this, but not for reasons that are strictly business. It's the fact that I love people, I love interactions, and there is not that much of that that happens when the window slides open, they hand me a cup, or I talk to them on a 6 inch screen or through a speaker. So, the process of getting out of my car, is a result of me being an extreme extrovert, lover of discussions, and person that just likes putting a smile on a face, joking around, or sometimes it may happen like it did 3 months ago when I walked into a bank. I was getting something from the front desk, a print out of statements and receipts (something I could have pulled online), but I decided to get out of my car. The customer service agent asked me, Tug, you are in real estate, could I ask you a couple questions. Of course, I said sure, that's what I do. I don't go into a place and say...let me tell you what I do, I go into a place and say Good Morning, or how's your day, or simply say THANK YOU! Then it happened, and it's not the first time. 3 weeks later, I get a text from a random number...(8pm) Hey Tug, it's "Ashley", (Front Desk, from this branch) my husband and I met with the lender today to start the mortgage process. Because I'm an employee it takes a couple days to get a definite answer on what we will be pre-approved for...but there is a house we REALLY want to look at in Delphos. Can you help us out??... My response at 8pm (10 seconds later)... Heck yeah! Let me know which one and I can get us scheduled. Now Iet me tell you a few things that will tell you right off the bat that I am here to serve people in this area without concrete evidence that it is going to work out. 1. I had no idea who Ashley and her husband were at the time of this text 2.Judging by her question, we had interacted by me going into a bank (I thought I remembered who it would be, because 3 weeks before, I remembered being asked questions about real estate). 3. They were not completely pre approved at the time. So why would you respond with a HECK YEAH? Because I seriously love meeting new people, because you never know how you can help them, or how they will impact you. So, long story long, the text was on January 30th, we go see the house January 31st, we put it under contract that same night, and will be closing on it, here shortly. It has truly been one of my favorite stories in my career, because it simply continues to invigorate me to continue caring about people first, and the rest will work out. I love the fact that I helped their family find their dream home (I think I get to show their kids, with them, tomorrow), but more than that, I love that someone trusted me, based off of the interaction that we had, simply in the norms of daily life. I want to get one thing straight about getting out of your car, when you walk into a place, people will know if you truly are real, or if you are trying to sell yourself, choose to be real. I called Ashley, and asked her permission to share her name, and let her know this is one of my favorite stories of my career, because she was the one that asked me about real estate, I did not tell her about it. I simply said hi, may have joked around while she was getting the documents I needed, for no reason other than, that is who I am. She saw that and trusted me. Thanks for reading, and may this be an encouragement to you to put in the harder work in life, and don't make it about yourself!
