The power of trust.
Man, I’m not a millionaire (yet), but I feel like one.
Maybe it’s because after years of bad times, when life gets a little better, you can appreciate the subtle differences and be grateful for all the good things that happen to you, no matter how small.
But it took me years to feel good inside my skin.
Here is the spiritual lesson that, if I had known, it would have accelerated the process.
The most potent spiritual lesson I learned was to make people trust you.
Everything you need in the world is in someone else’s possession. And that someone will only give it to you if they have a good reason.
Understanding this changed my life.
After going broke, I got a job selling apartments. At that time, I had no money to eat in restaurants, and I was out of the house all day, so I ate dollar burgers at McDonald’s for two months.
Desperation made me sell apartments. Something I never thought I would do.
And I soon discovered that the secret to selling apartments (and to any area of life) was to build customer confidence.
Customers are not stupid.
People know that in every human relationship (commercial or not), there are always interests and expectations. Many people, if they don’t see clearly what interests or expectations move your actions towards them, they run away from you.
And they do well because, as my grandfather used to say, “he who hides his intentions does not usually have good intentions.”
That’s why you have to break the ice, being transparent with people and letting them know what you expect from them and what they can expect from you in return.
Without this previous step, any relationship is contaminated by mistrust.
You must learn to align your objectives with those of the customers and people around you.
Everything in life is a negotiation. And therefore, sometimes you have to lose a little to gain a lot more later.
Learning to give in is difficult. It is also challenging to learn to keep going when you have already given in a lot.
But when you manage to maintain the balance between giving in and not giving in with someone, you usually have generated a bond with that person that allows you to be imperative (sometimes) because the person understands that you are doing it for their good.
The best pressure is no pressure.
When I started selling apartments, I realized I didn’t have to be obsessed with selling the offers in my portfolio but to make the client understand that I was part of his team and working for him, not for the owner of X or G property.
In some cases, I suggested to my clients not to BUY any house they want to buy.
Why?
After active listening, I realized the apartments needed to meet the client’s requirements: to be well communicated, close to kindergartens, not to have noisy neighbors, etc. And sometimes, the client didn’t choose an apartment that meet the requirements.
When you have the sale assured and don’t sell, you win the client forever.
That client will not buy that apartment that he was fascinated with, but be sure that if the client buys an apartment, the client will do it through you.
And not only him but all his friends and relatives of your client.
Trust is the best business card.
When you do your job well, and you don’t try to pull the wool over people’s eyes but solve their problems with any of the products (in my case, apartments) that you have, people understand that you are not only working for the commission but to do a good job.
And the intention that moves your actions (which is the most spiritual thing you can do in your job) is to help people with your work.
And that news spreads like wildfire.
It may take you six months instead of selling an apartment to a client in one month, but be clear that you will not have sold only one apartment: you will have sold that apartment and all the apartments that will buy or rent you in the future, all the people to whom your client will recommend you.
The growth of good works
I started selling apartments in a luxury real estate agency in Madrid. Thanks to my spiritual work policy, I went on to buy and sell apartments for investment funds, and finally, I dedicated myself to the commissioned client.
I had so many referrals that people would tell me how they wanted an apartment and where they wanted it. And I would do the research for them and offer them 8 to 12 different options.
Then, I would group the visits to those apartments with the clients so that they would waste as little time as possible.
From the shortlisted apartments, I would negotiate prices with the owners of those apartments on behalf of my clients and investigate any possible hidden problems in the management, such as uncomfortable neighbors, noise at night, or future charges that might affect the property.
I left that business years ago, but a friend of mine continued with the same approach and today has one of the top-selling real estate agencies in the center of Madrid.
Application to your life
- The first thing you need to do to benefit from the spiritual and exponential power of trust is to make it clear to people what your interests are and what you are looking for in them, whether it is sentimental or work-related.
- The second thing you have to do is to take the first step and actively listen to the needs of others.
- The third thing you have to do is provide a solution to those needs that also reward you in some way but, most of all, completely satisfy the person you are dealing with.
If you do that, you will never lose friends or clients because nowadays, being a good person and professional is not something that abounds. And when you gain the trust of others, they will recommend you to their entire inner circle.
And when you want to realize it, you will have clients and friends. And a much better social life than you ever imagined.
A virtual hug
AG
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