Service First: Proving Value & Gaining Trust
The fastest way to prove value & gain anyone's trust is to advise them to do something in their best interest that is against your own best interest.
The easiest way to do this is to always advise your clients as to what's in their best interest. Most of the time, your interests are 100% aligned. When you provide great guidance in these cases, you are proving value. Sometimes, your best interest aren't aligned. It's these edge cases when your interests aren't aligned that you gain trust.
Example:
Kasey met with potential sellers who were interviewing agents in November. She showed them that there is a 7.6% statistical price difference between homes sold in the winter and homes sold in the spring. This expertise proved value to the clients. Through the course of the conversation, she learned that they were under no stress to sell and could easily carry the property through the spring. She advised them to wait and list the home in March because the difference in the sales price far outweighed the carrying costs. This advice was clearly in their best interest while against her own (since she didn't get a quick sale.)
She earned their trust and won the listing over another agent who came with 20+ years of experience in the neighborhood.
(Fun aside: They were originally going to list for $700k. They listed for $760k and sold for $835k.)
Placing excellent service for others above short term personal benefit will result in greater long term personal benefit.
Proving Value First to Your Co-Workers
Our hope and goal is that everyone loves their job and wants to do a great job. We're all here for a paycheck, but knowing that you're a valued member of the team who is appreciated is what makes a job you
enjoy, rather than one that you simply
do. Everyone knows what is expected of them at a minimum. In order to prove value to your co-workers, you go above and beyond when you're able to, and your co-workers know that you
really care about the team. In the short term, this could be viewed as "in the team's best interest and against your own." If you work late on a Friday, that can can definitely cut into your social plans. However, it's 100% in your long term best interests. If you take on additional responsibilities, that will be recognized, and you will either earn a promotion/raise, or you're justified in asking for one.
Example:
Bailey started working for Bramlett on an hourly rate as a general assistant (she was Employee #1 here.) She took on a ton of responsibilities that allowed Eric to increase his production substantially. After 6 months, she approached Eric and asked for a salary and bonuses. This is a pretty quick transition from hourly to salary with bonuses and Eric's initial reaction was, "That's too fast. Probably not." Bailey showed Eric what she was already doing to justify the promotion & raise. Eric's decision was then to either take those responsibilities back on, give Bailey the promotion/raise, or hire someone else to do the work. It was an easy decision and a win/win to give Bailey the promotion/raise.