Patience, persistence, & perseverance

Every REALTOR® can benefit from these qualities—but a Buyer Representation Agreement doesn't hurt either.

by Louise E. Hull  H. Melton Schlieker was a salesman for Tom’s Candy Company in the 1940s. He had recently returned from the war and chosen this career as a way to support his family. His job involved loading a delivery truck with a mix of candy, cheese crackers, and peanuts and then driving throughout Central Texas to find small grocery or drugstores that might display his wares.

There was one particular drug store that he had called on many times. The normal procedure was for Melton to line his products up on the counter and then "ask for the order." The owner was usually grumpy and would just shake his head and walk away when asked to buy. On one memorable occasion, at the end of a long day, Melton decided to make one more call on his way in–and the next stop was this drugstore. On this particular afternoon, instead of walking away, the owner took his hand and rudely raked all the samples off onto the floor and stomped out.

Now, the next week when Melton passed that way, he walked into that drugstore and once again spread his candy and peanuts over the counter. This time, the owner bought everything he brought and continued to be a great customer for years.

When I heard this story, I thought there is no way I would have gone back in that drugstore! Melton’s answer was that he knew that the owner’s reaction had nothing to do with him and everything to do with other events that must have been going on in that small businessman’s life.

I find agents experiencing so much disappointment and rejection in this business of real estate. I often think of this story and remind myself that we just can’t take it personally. How many times have we had a buyer who we thought had confidence in us–one who we thought would be loyal–only to find out that they had chosen another agent or purchased a home "for sale by owner?" When I chose real estate as my career, I never expected such disappointment.

Thanks to TAR, we have a Buyer Representation Agreement that can go a long way toward protecting us from some of these disappointments if we can learn to use it with all of our buyers. While this will not protect us from all rejection–some amount of rejection is inherent in the sales process–the number of times that we spend a weekend with a buyer and then lose them as a customer could be greatly reduced.

By the way, Melton Schlieker was my father (pictured above with me on his knee). Thanks, Dad, for teaching me that patience, persistence, and perseverance pay!

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