Let's Stop Saying "Full Service"

When I am interviewing clients (ok fine - they're interviewing me but I try to get in a few good questions) they sometimes ask me "what makes you different?"

I often answer them with one of my favorite questions: "Can I tell you a quick story?" This one is true, and it happened today.

On one of our listings the sellers are out of town. It's a duplex and one of the LED track lights starting blinking like crazy. It was to the point that if this light made a quick cameo in a movie there would be a warning on the screen before it started playing (Remember movie theaters? Me neither).

Leaving it off during showings was not an option as this part of the property doesn't get a ton of natural light. We had four showings the next day coming up, back to back. So what did we do? We found a replacement at IKEA. We headed over there on a Saturday afternoon. Waited in line for an hour to get in so I definitely had time to take a picture.

Luckily there was one left and we grabbed it and ran...to the register. That night I watched some YouTube videos. Nothing like watching three minutes of someone doing a version of what you are about to attempt for the very first time to make you feel like a seasoned pro.

Packed up some tools and got there early on Sunday. Flipped the breaker. Took down the broken light. Re-wired the new one. Flipped the breaker back on. Vacuumed the mess up just in time for the first showing of the day. I am so grateful I get to work with my wife. This was definitely easier with four hands. If you ever hear me talking about applying to be on the bomb squad, remind me of that time I was re-wiring a simple light fixture in an empty air-conditioned apartment with a buyer on their way to take a look in a few minutes. I'll crumple up the application on the spot.

I hear a lot of brokers, and several other types of professionals, proudly proclaim "I'm full service!" This phrase has been thrown around so much that it has completely lost it's currency. Or they say "I go above and beyond," or my personal favorite "I'm 24/7 - I sleep with my phone under my pillow!" That's sad. Unless you work at a crisis hotline you shouldn't be answering your phone 24/7. Even hotline workers have shifts. When I hear that someone sleeps with their phone under their pillow it makes me sad for whoever or whatever they share their bed or life with. Be a complete person. Not a desperate-to-close 24/7 you-can-call-me-anytime-because-I-have-no-boundaries person (that is a topic for a whole other article).

I don't say I am full service. Instead I tell stories like this. It's classic "show, don't tell." Don't tell your soon-to-be client you're punctual and respectful, show them by being there on time. Don't tell them you are honest, have integrity, go above and beyond, that you're a "self-starter," and that you'll do whatever it takes to get the job done. Tell them about that time you did that one thing that illustrates that. According to Ben Zoldan and Michael Bosworth, storytelling is the way to go - it's What Great Salespeople Do. Even if you don't think you have that story, trust me - you do. We all do. We never have to say the words "full service" again! Just think for a moment about that one time. Then write a long LinkedIn post about it. But don't forget to end it with a picture of the finished product in all it's glory.