You save everyone time when you just tell people what you’re going to do.
I’ve written before about how people make decisions emotionally, then come up with “reasons” afterward.
Most of us understand this—about “other people.”
But it’s all of us. We just do it so fast we pretend it didn’t happen.
When the stakes feel big, we drag out the charade. Take buying a car.
Most buyers know pretty early which one they want.
But they’ll still go test-drive three other models, as if the choice is still up in the air. It makes them feel rational and thorough, even though the decision was made in the first hour.
But it wastes the time of those salesmen, which isn’t right. Not to mention most people don’t like dealing with car salesmen, so why subject yourself to more of that than you need to?
Hiring is the same.
My daughter had a second interview lined up this week. A few hours before, the company called to say they’d decided to hire someone else.
Not fun to hear, but it saved her a trip and a pointless conversation.
A lot of companies would have gone ahead with the meeting just to look like they were “following procedure.” This company didn’t, and I respect them for it.
As it turned out, it worked out better for her anyway. Another company called a few minutes later and offered her a better job.
Real estate is no different.
A seller will line up three or four brokers, invite us out, and have us give our pitch. But most of the time, the seller already knows who they’re going to hire.
The presentations just make them feel like they’re being diligent.
That’s understandable, although selling land isn’t the same as selling a house.
The rules of the game are different — from pricing and access, to how you market it, to how you negotiate.
You want someone who plays that game every day, not just someone who’s good at selling houses. Although you may just have to use her anyway. So just do it.
I try to get to the truth early.
By asking the right questions, I can usually tell if I’m the Favorite—the one they really want to hire—or the Fool—the one they’re just talking to because they think they should.
If I’m the Fool, I stop chasing.
That saves me time and spares them the awkward “we went another direction” call later.
Sounds callous, but it helps everyone.
It cuts down on the wasted meetings and long sales pitches.
It takes some of the stress out of the process for the seller too. They don’t have to pretend to be undecided just to feel like they’ve done their homework.
Is it perfect? No. Can you ever “win” a listing if they were set on someone else? Sometimes.
But the time saved, the reduced angst on both sides—that’s worth a lot.
The truth is, most of us decide faster than we admit.
There’s no shame in that.
The trick is to recognize it and move forward, instead of staging a show for appearances.
