Follow through is that wonderful quality of the successful person – that says
I not only promise
But I DELIVER
You can count on me
As a parent, as a teacher, as a businessperson
I will be there
Even if later I find that I have to work a little harder than I thought or take a little less –
You don’t have to worry –
I will be there
Let me tell you a little story about Vivian – one of the greatest real estate brokers that I ever met –
Vivian was an old lady –
She had a small one room real estate office –
the walls were lined with file cabinets –
she had another old lady who answered her phone
And she had her husband Al – who was also old and had arthritis and was kind of bent over –
Two old ladies and an old man in a one room office –
and they made MORE money in the real estate business – then TWO dozen – average real estate agents – over a million dollars every year
In those file cabinets, was personal information on all of her clients – names, and names of children and birthdays and anniversaries
Here is what Vivian did –
For every occasion, Vivian sent a card
she specialized in the sale of waterfront properties in two towns on Cape Cod in Massachusetts –
no more than a few hundred homes –
She knew EVERYTHING there was to know about those homes –
Who owned them – when they bought them – what they paid –
She went out of HER way to meet every one of those owners and to pledge personal service to them –
Almost all of those people – owning waterfront homes – were wealthy – some only using the homes for a few vacation weeks a year –
The rest of the year –
should they worry? – NO –
Vivian was on the lookout for any problems
over the years – Vivian developed such trust with them – she had keys for most of the homes –
before the owners arrived for vacation –
Vivian would check the houses and put milk and juice in the refrigerator –
If work had to be done on the house, contractors could get the keys from Vivian –
If you needed to be picked up at the airport – call Vivian and she’ll send Al
There was never any charge for these services –
Today, when I teach real estate agents about selling real estate – I will tell them the Vivian story – and you can see their eyes glaze over –
File cabinets? What are they? Today’s agents have automated contact management programs – who needs file cabinets?
Today, in those two towns on Cape Cod – there are at least six offices trying to do what that one little old lady used to do with her old secretary and her old husband.