There are two types of people. Those that are proactive and take action no matter what the circumstances and those that make excuses.
The former will be successful no matter what the odds while the latter will blame everything and everybody but themselves. It's the Government's fault, the economy is bad, people aren't spending, I can't find work…. You name it, they have an excuse.
Martha, a close friend of ours, related just such an example the other day. It provides some interesting lessons.
Martha owned a house in Bellingen, a small town up near Coffs Harbour in NSW.
She's had it for years, but it had been untenanted since last October.
Wanting to sell it, she contacted the Real Estate agent she'd originally bought it through.
They'd changed hands, but she went with the new guy, Nathan.
The property was in prime location, right in the middle of town, so Nathan thought they'd get $485K for it.
As the months went by, and the property sat on the market, Nathan kept making noises about how bad things were and suggested dropping the price down to $449K then $429K.
"I'm desperate to sell… Is there anything I can do… anything that needs fixing?” "No, everything's fine. It's in such a good position, it'll sell”.
Frustrated, Martha found another agent, Claire who said, "Oh what a cute cottage, it's so sweet. I can sell this for you.”
Martha never heard from her – so about six weeks later asked what was happening…
"Oh, things are bad. The market's slow… times are tough, nothing's moving…” and that was it.
In desperation, Martha actually drove up to Bellingen and went to the cottage.
She was absolutely horrified at what she saw.
There was a big ripped, dirty awning hanging down the side. The paths were completely mossy and the shrubbery had completely overgrown.
No wonder it wasn't selling. And as for Nathan? He thought it all looked fine.
Enough was enough, so Martha marched down the main street and walked into the first Real Estate Agent she could find.
The office was in chaos. The first woman she saw had a huge box in her hands.
Martha walked up, introduced herself and said, "I have a property I want to sell.” The woman nearly dropped the box and said, "I'm terribly sorry, we're moving, but can I help you now? Where exactly is the property?”
Minutes later, a guy walks by, also carrying boxes, but stops, puts them down and is introduced. The lady briefs him in a few sentences.
Martha's response? "They couldn't do enough for me. For the first time, I felt I was getting really good service.”
They met at the property the next morning about 7:30.
"Look, I've got clients who are looking for something like this. It'll need to be cleaned up – the paths de-mossed, hedge trimmed etc. We'll then take professional photographs. All at no extra charge.”
The interesting thing is the Real Estate company knew its value. Guy Saddleton, the agent wouldn't budge on the commission rate of 3.2%. "Do you want to sell the property? We can do it, but we need to be paid.”
"As to price, high $400's are unrealistic in today's market, we'll try to get around $400K for it.”
And that's exactly what happened.
About 3-4 weeks ago, Guy rang to say they had a buyer offering $365K – "But please don't accept it… I'll go back to them”
After some toing and froing, they got the price up to $395 which Martha gratefully accepted. The property settled yesterday! Martha is extremely happy with the result.
All of which brings us back to those two types of people (and the businesses they run).
In Martha's own words, "Nathan was lovely to talk to on the phone, but if I'd met him I'd have realised he was never going to sell it.”
Naturally, I asked why…
"He was so laid back – he just didn't make any effort. He couldn't see there were things that needed to be done and didn't inspire any confidence.”
As to Claire, she didn't even bother to get back.
But Guy Saddleton and his business partner Robyn were the exact opposite. They wanted the business, were proactive and got a quick result, no matter what the prevailing circumstances.
So they thrive while others lament.
It's all a choice. Which one are you making?
Rashid.
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