Picture it . . . the elders of the real estate community placed on ice flows to drift away from civilization!
How many of you opened this post hoping to read that this was now the official plan to rid your market of these seasoned salespeople? NO, that is not my wish nor the intent of this post even tho I've read many comments that come close to this concept recently :0)
This morning as I was enjoying a glass of ice water, and I was again reminded, looking at the glass, that we only see 10% of the ice above the water's surface whether it be in a glass in the form of a cube or in the Arctic Ocean, just a wee bit larger.
80 - 90% of the ice is below the surface and mainly unseen to the majority of us. We don't really know what goes on below the surface of the ocean just as we don't actually see what goes on with our seasoned Realtors.
A modern day Realtor is out there in the social networks, taking advantage of every technological tool available. We see what is working for these Realtors. We hear them proudly declaring their inclusion of these new forms of conducting business. A few will share their actual results but I find too many acting like lemmings racing to the edge of the cliff. Better yet, monkey see, monkey do. They jump on the band wagon without having a full understanding of what, why, when etc. There are so many businesses that are there simply to make money off of Realtors. They come and they go.
What we don't pay attention to with these seasoned experts is what they do that looks to come naturally to them. Maybe it does come naturally or maybe they've been doing it for so long, it has simply become second nature?
These Realtors seem to be known everywhere they go. Always a wave out the car window at people waving back. Known in all the small cafes and diners. They do business with the same shops and businesses year after year. They have often sold the first home to a client that has been loyal to them for 30 or 40 years now. They moved up the ladder with them as job promotions and larger families required a bigger home in a nicer area. They were invited to the children's weddings and then helped them with that all important first purchase. Seasoned agents are called on to help the new Grandparents to downsize perhaps to a nice pricey condo?
They're always thinking ahead, staying one step ahead of the pack. They automatically look for changing trends in real estate purchases. They take in a situation and immediatly try to think of which client could benefit from the change. They look to connect with their age group. The same people who are not computer literate and feel progressive because they have voicemail instead of an old tape answer machine. They don't try to flaunt technology in the face of someone who has no personal need of it. They know that most of their friends and acquaintances do not own cell phones
[on an aside, did you hear that Antonio Bandaras purchased his first cell phone just a few weeks ago? The clerk (about 16 years old) was astonished]
They're working all the time, thinking all the time, connecting all the time. What we see on the surface is just that 10% of their total activity.
In a nutshell, they connect with people of all age groups because they've assisted all age groups with their real estate needs and build relationships with each and everyone of them. That's because, in a seasoned Realtor's mind, that is our job!
That's what I want to be when I grow up - a super star, well seasoned!
Susan Emo, Salesperson, RE/MAX Riverview Realty Ltd. Brokerage
Gananoque/Kingston/Brockville 1000 Islands Region
613 382 2211
that. I do not care for Open Houses and just finished reading another news article out of North Carolina in which a Realtor sitting at a Model Home was raped at knife point. Our world is in such array today that I just refuse to put myself in that type of situation. This Realtor is lucky to be alive...the rapist could have killed her and just walked out of the home, unnoticed. 
