Clients First: The Two Word Miracle

Chapter 23

The Path to Clients First

“But tell me,” she said, “what’s the real reason for your success?” That question haunted JoAnn and me. We kept telling people that putting Clients First was the reason, and they kept saying, “Sure, uh-huh,” and then they would drift away with an unsatisfied look on their faces that said they just knew that we were holding back or hiding something. We were keeping a secret, the real secret to success.

Gradually, the questions began to change. I guess enough people had heard our story enough times that they began to think we might just be telling the truth as we saw it and that maybe, just maybe, there might be something to this Clients First thing. Then they would ask, “But how? How do you put Clients First?” Sometimes I think we just traded one unanswerable question for another. Or maybe that should be one questionable answer for another.

To be fair, we might just be a couple of ambitious folks who got lucky. If you were to question our clients, they might say they come to us because of our marketing, or because so-and-so recommended us, or because JoAnn is such a good dealmaker. They might say we make them feel good. They might even say we put them first, but most likely they won’t say that. If you ask other agents, they might offer anything from how nice we are on the phone to some grumbling complaint of inequity born out of their own competitive spirit. They certainly wouldn’t latch on to the idea that we treat our clients better. Most agents ...