Never underestimate the power of laughter.

About 15 years ago I was working on obtaining a $2,000,000 listing along with Robert, another agent who was working in my office. Normally the two of us didn't partner on listings but this time we decided to see how we could do working together as a team.

Robert and I were very different from each other. I was much more conservative and always dressed in a suit while Robert was a sport coat, slacks, and tie kind of a guy. He also had a much wilder, off-the-wall personality, too.

We met with the owner of the building in his office in Downtown L.A. and proceeded with our listing presentation. When we were finished with the presentation we handed him the listing agreement we had prepared and asked him to sign it. He thought for a moment, paused, and then told us he needed some time to think it over. What happened next is something I will never, ever forget...

Robert was standing in front of the owner's desk looking at him. Robert then began to loosen his tie, change his body posture, and move his head to one side jiggling it around while saying, "I tell you I get no respect!" He had spontaneously gone into a full-blown impersonation of Rodney Dangerfield right in front of the owner--and he wasn't going to stop until the owner gave him what he wanted!

I just sat there in stunned silence. I couldn't believe that Robert would do something so unprofessional during a listing presentation. However, still sitting in his chair, the owner of the building was laughing hysterically! He loved what Robert was doing! In fact he immediately did an about face, signed the listing agreement we had given him while he was still laughing, and sent us on our way back to our office. I will never forget that moment as long as I live.

So what did I learn from my experience with Robert? I learned just how powerful laughter can be during real estate negotiations. What I had previously thought was uncalled for, unprofessional behavior turned out to be exactly what needed to happen in order for us to walk out the door in that exact same moment with the listing!

The truth is that people love to laugh. And in many business situations the tone can be very, very serious. So when you make people laugh you make them feel good about working with you which will only help your opportunities for success in your real estate career.

Now, with all things being equal, wouldn't you rather work with a salesperson who made you laugh?

Published: May 27, 2003

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Jim Gillespie, Ph.D., is America's Premier Real Estate Coach℠. He has over 20 years of experience in real estate sales and is a past president of three different real estate companies. His FREE real estate E-newsletter with tips and creative ideas to help agents make more money is now read by over 35,000 agents nationwide. You can subscribe to his FREE E-newsletter by visiting RealEstateSalesCoach.com or contact him at Jim@RealEstateSalesCoach.com.