There are more than a few deals every year that you can get or lose simply based on your reputation. If you are someone that people want to work with, you will find yourself getting the benefit of the doubt more often than not. Conversely, if you are demanding and generally difficult to work with, you will find yourself left wondering why deals are constantly passing you by. Your reputation and how people perceive you are two of the most important assets you have in your real estate business.
It is often better to under-promise and over-deliver. If you are one of those people that constantly tells others you can do every deal in every scenario, but in fact you can’t, sooner or later you will be exposed as a fraud. Once that happens, it will be difficult to regain the trust of the people around you. If you can’t do a deal or don’t feel it is the right time, there is nothing wrong with saying that. Seasoned investors and people in the real estate business know that not every deal is a good fit for every investor. Instead of backing out a few weeks into the transaction, it is far better not to get started in the first place. Use effective communication in such a scenario.
Everything you say and do in business is judged and evaluated instantly. It is important to remember this and the long term ramifications it can have. All it may take is one investor to be burned on one deal to start the dominoes falling. People in real estate are in constant communication at networking events and investment club meetings. There is always time before meetings for storytelling and you never want your name or reputation to be the focus of the conversation.
There is nothing wrong with asking questions and finding out how a process works before you get started. Many investors are leery of asking questions for fear that they won’t get consideration on a deal because they don’t know everything. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have never dealt with apartments, tax lien auctions or even seller financing, it would be natural that you ask questions and do your due diligence before you invest. If you don’t know, your reputation can take a hit, but your bottom line could be impacted as well.
Every real estate transaction involves a buyer, a seller, two attorneys and sometimes two real estate agents. There are a lot of people that could be dependent on what you do and how you do it. If you make promises that you cannot keep you draw the ire of almost half a dozen different people. They will certainly remember your name and almost certainly not want to work with you in the future. Getting the deal towards closing is important, but how you get there is important as well. There are plenty of people who will remember every conversation and every pressure moment throughout the deal.
It sounds simple enough, but if you can’t follow through on your promises, it is best to say nothing. You will not be overlooked on future deals if you pass, but you may have a hard time if your promises exceed your performance.
