Happy Sunday Everyone:
I was watching an email thread between a potential client and Holly on Friday. No big deal, client suggested they might not be buying for a while and if it made sense to hold off on getting their docs in. Holly replies with “Absolutely no pressure on our end, but we would probably recommend updating everything now, so you know your options when you start looking at homes later in the year. Plus, I can’t tell you how many buyers are in no rush, only to find their dream home on the market a week later. Better to be ready and not need it!”. When I saw her response, I just sat back and thought “nice job, Holly”. Her response was personal, caring, honest, and proactive. Her response showed me everything I’ve realized in Holly in the past couple of years.
Holly has been with us for 10 years. I’ve always considered Holly to be an asset to our team, but the level of asset has shifted the last couple of years. For the first 8 years Holly loved our team but hated her job. Her consistent theme was “if it wasn’t for our team, I wouldn’t be in this business”. A couple of years ago she came to Erica/me and asked if we could consider taking her out of dealing with clients in contract. The stress of the timelines was driving her nuts and wasn’t her sweet spot. Her skill set was setting our clients up ahead of going into contract. Her ability to figure out how to get complex loan scenarios done is like no one I’ve ever seen. If you’re in this business, you understand the confidence needed to write aggressive offers w/ zero hesitation on ability to execute once the offer is accepted. Holly creates that confidence every time, which gives me the confidence to sell our value. Bottom line is Erica/I had to decide if we needed to part ways with Holly or consider shifting our process to allow her to stop doing what she hated and go all in what she enjoyed. Fast forward to today and Holly will tell you she still loves our team, but she also shows up every day because she loves her job. Her email exchange with the client has nothing to do with her overall technical skill set but shows me everything about her pride of ownership of being a part of our team.
A few points for me to remember:
- Finding the right seat for an A player is easier than finding an A player. When you have A players in your arsenal keep them happy.
- It’s worth taking inventory of your team members strengths and making sure their role is in alignment with their skill sets, and what brings them joy.
- I’m proud of the culture our team has created together. Holly feels valued, Holly knows she’s an asset to our team. Holly’s email, in my opinion, sounds like someone communicating with a client with a sense of pride and ownership.
Writing this today is a reminder for me to never forget to focus on the most important part of our business, which is our talented team members. The bullseye of importance is our team members first, our business partners second, our clients third. If our team members know they’re valued and cared for, everything else falls into place.
Have a great rest of your Sunday!