I Want to Hold Your Hand

It is a chilly October Sunday morning. I hesitate to turn on the antique beast that is in my basement that is only good at taking the chill off the house. So instead I have opted for a nice mug of raspberry tea. On the stereo is "Breakfast with The Beatles", a weekly slice of heaven for my ears. I have listened to the same Beatles songs for decades now and never tire of hearing them.

My regular readers may have noticed that every posting is the title of a Beatles song. Some familiar to most, some a bit more obscure. This aging and all too quickly passing musical phenomenon has been the backdrop to my entire life. Even my morning tea mug is emblazoned with their name and pictures.

Another ritual of my Sunday mornings is reading the latest issue of Realtor Magazine. Not the most invigorating reading some may think, but I find it most edifying. It helps to keep me on trend and focused in my chosen career. Not only does it give me fresh ideas and perspectives, but it also, sometimes almost eerily, gives credence to my already held beliefs and practices.

For example, in an article entitled "Creating Raving Fans", the suggestion for creating better customer service practices is the idea of giving customers more understanding of the home buying process. Let people know where they are in the process, from first making the offer, to negotiations to title searches to problems that may have arisen. This has always been my way of providing customer service. There is no advantage to keeping your clients in the dark. It only creates a climate of confusion and distrust. Although, in theory, it may seem comforting to let someone "take care of you", in practice I feel that knowledge is power. When dealing with what for most people is the biggest investment in their lives, whether the first or the last, knowing that they have a say in how that transpires gives them the satisfaction they deserve.

Also mentioned in the article is the element of surprise. At first, this sounded like a recipe for disaster. But upon further investigation the idea was actually focused on making a person's experience unique. The article goes on to relate a story about a hotel chain that offers each customer the option of having a goldfish in their room. Sound fishy? Not at all! It is a simple thing that makes the customer's stay a little more personal and makes that hotel chain stand out in their minds.

My own quest for making myself stand out and thus my services, has culminated in printing out my own personal business cards, each with a black and white photo of one of The Beatles. The pictures cover the entirety of the card, with my own photo playing a very minor part. These cards have fostered many conversations and some people request all four! Imagine someone actually asking for not one but four of your business cards!

And so, we get back to The Beatles.

Find your own backdrop to your life. Embrace it. It will give meaning and focus.

Imagine.