I spoke at a brokerage a few weeks ago and Michael Froese first lead a presentation that featured a slide that showed “AND > OR.”
One of the most powerful things you should never say in real estate or in sales is no.
Even if your first instinct is no, there are options:
Possibly
•Let me get back to you shortly on that
•I will have to look into that
•Let me see what the options are
•Let me see what I can find out
•But best of all, YES
No will get you nowhere.
Yes. Or we can…. and offer another option.
Yes. And we can also…. and offer more.
And is greater than or.
Put another way, always work backwards from yes. A quote my assistant mentioned but I don’t know the original source. When you commit to a yes, you’ll almost always find a way to make it happen.
Many of the most valuable people in the world, and to me, are creative and resourceful. Or creatively resourceful. There might not always be a simple solution but when you get resourceful there’s usually a way.
I had once asked my assistant to order me a specific protein bar which they apparently didn’t ship to Canada. Instead of saying no, she got resourceful. She was heading to the US a few weeks later so she had them shipped to the hotel and brought them back with her. Creative and resourceful. It may have been a little inconvenient but it was very meaningful.
This also applies to work-life balance. Many people ask how I can do this without sacrificing that. How do I work in such a demanding industry while being available and living our core value or responsiveness and still be home for dinner? I choose yes to both so that I will find a way.
The longer answer to that is about priorities. I am careful to avoid situations where have to say no to something, particularly in the areas I value the most. Occasionally there is give and take, dinner might be take-out on the way home so that I can squeeze in the unexpected trip to a clients house to open the lockbox and let them in after they’ve locked themselves out, but I rarely stray far from a yes.
It’s this and that not this or that.
So always say yes, be resourceful and creative, and be clear on your priorities.
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