My First Contract

I would love to tell you that I knocked my first contract out of the park. I did not. I prepped the best I could for the home tour and armed myself with as much knowledge about the house and neighborhood as possible.

Truthfully, this house was so far out of town; I hadn't been to that area of the city yet.

On the day of my first sign call, I dressed in a power suit because it made me feel all professional and ready for work. When I pulled up to the house (15 minutes early), my stomach told me that I was uncomfortable. I reminded myself as I unlocked the door that I was not there to be comfortable. I was there because I wanted to be successful. I swung open the door and showed them the house.

Yeah, I bombed.

I floundered through the entire showing like a wet fish stuck on a beach.

But here's what I did right:

I answered questions I knew the answers to. I gave them a basic pricing report for them to take away - prepared the day before. And I found the answers immediately to questions I didn't know.

The family and I were tearing through the house. It was chaotic. The kids were excitedly picking out their bedrooms while their parent's measured the master for their king-size bed. At the end of the showing, we were chatting in the kitchen, and here came the grenades.

Who am I?

What do I do? 

What is my life like?

Remember, clients, work with agents they know, like, and trust. They had started the process of wanting to know me. I knew my answers already and gave them as calmly and confidently as I could. My main goal at this point was to make it crystal clear that I wanted to work with them. If this house wasn't right, I'd love to see the next one with them.

They listened and, by the end, said very little. In fact, they didn't commit at all.

Later that day, I received a call from the client, and they wanted to put in an offer at a specific price and wanted me to write it for them. Whoop! Whoop! Right? Negative, ghost rider. Here came the grenades.

When we hung up, I realized two things:

I was not prepared to write an offer. I was not really sure how to fill out the new sales agreement. They didn't teach that in the real estate course. I had breezed through it on one of my office days and had an idea of what it was about, but the details were foggy. 

I had not asked her anything specific. For instance, the closing date, who her lender was, or if they were a cash offer. Her last name even?! Geez. I pulled that family through that transaction with all the grace and grit of a drunk date on prom night. It involved all the curve balls you could expect your first time out. I found I was ill-prepared in another area: having a team of inspection experts that I could call on and trust to do right by my clients.

Despite my errors, I was determined to do my best for these amazing people. The rush was addictive. I was craving for another one. I still have that same hunger today.

Do you? Share your experience below.

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