"You've-got-to-get-yourself-together. You're stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it."

Lyrics, courtesy of U2.

Bono wrote the song about the suicide of his close friend, Michael Hutchence. The song is written in the form of an argument about suicide, in which Bono tries, after the event, to convince Hutchence of the act's foolishness.

"It's a row between mates.  You're kinda trying to wake them up out of an idea."

Then, I heard Tom Panos talking this week about The Declining Mental Health of Real Estate Agents

"I think people are lonelier than ever. I think people are struggling more than ever. I think a combination of lower turnover in the marketplace, income is being impacted and there's a lot of people that suffer. And what I've learnt is that a lot of business issues are caused by non-business issues."

It's a worrying situation and more likely to deepen over the coming years as the business environment fragments.

It's one thing to glorify the million-dollar agents and encourage less successful agents to imitate those processes, but in my opinion, it's a flawed premise and contributing factor.

The life of a solo entrepreneur is extremely challenging and to encourage any agent to adopt practices alien to their natural persona is probably adding to the stress rather than alleviating it.

persona: derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask.

I've written previously of the mask that all agents wear, whether as an individual or as a corporate employee.

And quoted Bruce Springsteen:

"Trust, in a relationship, is a complicated thing. Trust requires allowing others to see as much of ourselves as we have the courage to reveal.  Allowing others to see behind the masks. The masks we all wear to overcome fear."

That's the problem for estate agents and realtors.

A lot of them are trying to be somebody they're not.

The perfected and polished version, in an attempt to appeal to vendors.

Sometimes, the fault lays at the door of the corporate agency. Promoting unrealistic goals and rewarding certain types of behaviour that produce a desirable result for the agency.  But, at what expense for the employee?

Sometimes, though, it's entirely down to an individual. Adopting the self-employed model often results in living a life on the edge. Working too many hours, burnt out by adopting a low-fee strategy with no other discernible differentiation.

As Tom Panos said, "I think people are lonelier than ever."

Consumed within a digital workplace, conversing through chatbots and putting on the mask, when they finally get out to meet a client.

It doesn't have to be that way.

You've-got-to-get-yourself-together.

Whether you know it or not, whether vendors know it or not, each is looking for clues in conversation and in disposition.

How do they act? What words do they use? What cadence is emphasized? What tone of voice?

If you're putting on an 'act', showing yourself in the best light, vendors can spot the ruse.

And while you might employ all the tricks and scripts to convince and convert, the sad truth is that you may have lost them on Hello.

 

 

It takes courage to be transparent.  To be who you really are and not worry that others may, heaven forbid, not like you.

But it takes all the stress out of life and leads to a richer, more successful and more fulfilled life.

Vendors haven't had that from most estate agents and realtors.

Instead, they've had the mask. The act. The script. The close.

And most prevalent of all, the view from the cheap seats.

Why Not Try Something New?

Try personal brand. Try story. Try relationships. Try emotion.

Try different, not better.

Try being who you are - not someone you think others want to see as an estate agent.

"Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty & wisdom will come to you that way." -Christopher Hitchens.

Stuck in the moment? Can't get out of it?

"It's just a moment, this time will pass."

If you think personal brand might be for you, check out www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk

It's a site exclusively focused on creating personal brand for estate agents and realtors.

Helping you be different.  Helping you be who you are. Telling your story.

Thanks for reading.  If you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Chris.

 

 

 

 

 

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