Sometimes things are forgotten. Items slip our mind. That is essentially what makes us human. And even as a real estate coach -- it can happen to me. So how do we handle it when we do? Or better yet, how should we handle it when it happens to us. Here's a true story of his..

I dropped the ball. Simple as that.

Those of you who have had me as a real estate coach know that I look at most everything as a learning and/or teaching experience and I'm not afraid to expose my own fallability.

I had my first coaching call with this particular agent last week, a follow up call now. Since I'm on the phone all day I'm hard to reach, so I told him if he had any questions he should email me because I can respond more quickly.

Guess what? I dropped the ball. I not only didn't respond to his email from last week, I totally missed it and never opened it. When we spoke today, he wanted to know why I didn't respond. When I did a search in my Gmail inbox, there was his email ... unopened. I told this gentleman the truth and apologized sincerely to him.

We all really have two choices when this happens to us. We can accept that the other party has errored and move on from there. Or we can make it known that this is unacceptable.

This time, the client responded by telling me that dropping the ball is unacceptable and went into a long explanation as to why. He then continued to berate me over the phone.

What isn't acceptable is treating others with disrespect. Quite frankly, my blood started to boil. My father taught me as a child that to get respect you have to give respect.

I thought about two items: Had he ever dropped the ball? And would he admit it? 1. Have YOU ever dropped the ball? His answer: I've never dropped the ball for a week with a client. I then asked him "Would you admit it if you did drop the ball." I never got an answer to that one.

Look, we're all human and make mistakes. Like anyone, I make mistakes and I'll be the first one to admit it. I set a high standard, but I miss the mark occasionally. The fact that I'm willing to admit it has earned me a lot of trust with my clients and I take that very seriously. It not my goal or anyone's goal to make mistakes.

Anyone who looks at me as less worthy because I make mistakes (and treats me accordingly) is not someone I want to be associated with, and is not someone today's consumer wants to be associated with either.

So be kind to others when humans errors are made -- especially when it isn't a habit. And always be sure to treat your customers, clients, and colleagues with respect.

As an agent, you encounter a lot of skepticism from today's consumers and some of them are none too kind in their criticism of you and real estate professionals in general. Set a high standard for yourself, and if anyone ever treats you as less than worthy stand up to them. Be willing to walk away from them. There is no one more worthy of success than YOU and you should never willfully subject yourself to that kind of treatment. You don't deserve it. And if you keep your pipeline full, you won't feel so shackled by these types of people.

Published: March 13, 2009

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