Face to face
Monday morning was super busy for me. You see, we had a closing where we were purchasing a double wide on it’s on land, and I needed to prepare closing docs, get a cashier’s check for that closing and also attend to my normal Monday morning commitments.
Due to labor shortages, my bank’s local branch had its lobby closed. As such, I had to go through the drive-thru and wait for the tellers to get me my cashier’s check.
It took the tellers about fifteen minutes to get my cashier’s check. That was a long time to sit by myself. So, I turned to Facebook for entertainment. And there, I saw a very interesting post I’d like to share you. It went something like this:
“I spent an hour in the bank with my dad, as he had to transfer some money. I couldn’t resist myself and asked, ”Dad, why don’t we activate your internet banking? He responded with, “Why would I do that?” ”Well, then you won’t have to spend an hour here for things like money transfers. You can even do your shopping online. Everything will be so easy!”
I was so excited about initiating him into the world of Net banking. He asked ”If I do that, I won’t have to step out of the house?” ”Yes, yes”! I said. I told him how even grocery can be delivered at door now and how amazon delivers everything!
His answer left me tongue-tied.
He said ”Since I entered this bank today, I have met four of my friends, I have chatted a while with the staff who know me very well by now. You know I am alone… this is the company that I need. I like to get ready and come to the bank. I have enough time, it is the physical touch that I crave. When I got sick two years back, the store owner from whom I buy fruits came to see me and sat by my bedside and cried. When your Mom fell down a few months back while on her morning walk our local grocer saw her and immediately got his car to rush her home as he knows where I live. Would I have that ‘human’ touch if everything became online? Why would I want everything delivered to me and force me to interact with just my computer? I like to know the person that I’m dealing with and not just the ‘seller’. It creates bonds of Relationships.
Does Amazon deliver all this as well?”’ — Writer: Unknown
Is that not thought provoking?
Now, something you should know about me is I like people. I like doing business with friends. I often forgo the self-checkouts at most stores so that I can talk with the cashiers. I just find that face-to-face and personal interactions lead to more friends and a bigger network. And would you believe that I have made multiple house deals that came from standing in line and talking to people?
Being face to face is important as a general business practice. It feels like companies are losing site of that fact due to the precautions they have had to take during the pandemic. They’ve also found that it’s cost-effective to do things remotely, through a video screen or drive-thru, and they are losing sight of the human element needed to conduct business.
You, as a real estate investor, should take the above story to heart. You see, you’re not in a house business but a people business. And because of that fact, getting face to face with sellers is of uber importance because it leads to more and better deals.
I was reminded of how I miss just going in and talking to people after the closing. I stopped by the utility company to turn on the water. They had one of those signs up about labor shortages and how I was going to have to call and make an appointment to be seen. So, I called the number in the lobby and a friendly voice answered. I told her I was in the lobby, and the woman said I could come on back.
Once I got to the counter, I recognized the face of the friendly voice. And she recognized me. We had sold her and her new family a home a few years back. We talked for a bit, she got everything handled for me, and I didn’t have to come back for an appointment.
And as I walked to the truck, I smiled and took in the lesson. It felt good to get business done efficiently, but it felt even better to do it with someone I knew and liked. And it wouldn’t have happened without that face-to-face interaction.
Joe and Ashley English buy houses and mobile homes in Northwest Georgia. For more information or to ask a question, go to www.cashflowwithjoe.com or call Joe at 678-986-6813.