Imagine for a moment you were negotiating the purchase of a new car, be it a mini-van or a high end Benz. And during this time every time the sales agent personal phone rang he or she picked it up and talked for 2, 3 or even 5 minutes. Or perhaps their crackberry as some have referred to them rang and they stopped to read the message. Now I ask, who or what in the case of the phone do you think the sales agent felt was more deserving of their time? You who is ready, willing and able to close a transaction at this very moment, or that phone?

The top producers in this or any business are not slaves to their phones…. though I do admit that I do program my client’s phone numbers into my cell phone and give them priority over unknown numbers. A professional let the message go to voice mail informing the caller that their call is very important and that they may be on the line or with another client and will return ALL calls between a given set of hours.

When I meet a client for the first time I like to demonstrate to them that they are at that moment “my only client” by taking my phone and either turning it off. Though if I am expecting an important call that I might put the phone into vibrate informing the client that if a certain caller calls that I might have to take a moment of their time. One always has fires that need to be put out.

In short, you do not need to be older to show respect, but you do need to be at least old enough to understand the differences.

Bart

When I am in the field with a client, I think my time should be devoted to that client and not answering my cellphone and responding to e-mails.

Maybe the e-mailer, text messenger needs to ask themselves, “If am a customer, would I want the full attention of the real estate agent?”

BTW, I will be 60 shortly. And yes, I do use technology more than some of my younger colleagues. No I don’t use a crackberry, but do use a WIFI card for communication when out in the field while waiting for a client or after working with a client.

Even though technology is rapidly taking over RE it is still all about relationship and you don’t need a crackberry for that;)