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Stinging Caterpillars Teach a Valuable Real Estate Lesson
By djelliott999 | April 22, 2008
Heed My Warning - Don’t Touch!
Have you ever done something, gone through a process, or committed to a course of action and then been smacked in the face with the cold hard truth that maybe your way of doing something was not the best way to do it? And to add insult to injury, something or somebody was giving you advice to steer you in the right direction the whole time?
Not too long ago, I found a bright neon green caterpillar with sharp spiky bristles. This thing even had what appeared to be brightly colored racing stripes coursing down the length of its 4 inch body. It did not appear threatening, but it sure did look like it was issuing a loud warning not to touch it. I had read about venomous and stinging insects often being brightly and vividly marked to provide warning to potential rocket scientists like myself so they remain undisturbed.
Did I listen? After watching this bug happily munch away on my shrubbery for several minutes, I made the bright decision to test whether it was bluffing or not. Don’t ask…..the markings and sharp spikes should have been ample warning, but that signal went unheeded, and I reached out and picked-up the little rascal. Within seconds, a burning sensation spread from my fingers through my hand and up my arm. I had picked up the venomous, stinging larval stage of an Io Moth. Little blisters popped out wherever the spikes had made contact with my skin. It was unpleasant, and it hurt. But I had been warned!
So how does this tie in with real estate? For whatever reason I was thinking about this particularly stupid lifetime memory as I sat in traffic, and it dawned on me that life is full of of unheeded warnings and advice. As real estate agents, we have a responsibility to listen to the desires and needs of our clients. Our clients are also hiring us to provide advice on listing their home that will result in a sale so it would seem that they would take note of our advice to help sell their home.
To coin the phrase “It’s a two way street” is a little hackneyed, but it really is the truth. I’d like to think that as an agent, I have never let anyone down, and that I have fulfilled all my client’s checklist of selling their home the way they want it sold. Probably not 100% accurate, but I can wish. On the flip side of that, I have had a few clients that just had their feet dug in on how they were going to sell their home. No matter what the market conditions were or how other homes were priced, they had their idea of how much their home was worth, and that was that!
My parting advice is for both agents and clients is to try to listen to each other. Agents should try to listen and be sensitive to how their clients want their home marketed. Clients need to have realistic expectations about pricing and being competitive in their respective markets. Try to listen to each other and achieve the goal - selling the house. Don’t grab the stinging caterpillar!
~Dan Elliott
IBA Mountain Homes
See all our Big Canoe Real Estate Listings
Visit Our Weblog at Life in Big Canoe, Real Estate in the Mountains
Topics: All Posts, Real Estate Marketing, Wildlife in Big Canoe |
April 24th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Incidentally, no creatures (other than me) were harmed. It wasn’t the bug’s fault, and I allowed him to remain undisturbed. I did tell the kids not to touch him, and they looked at me like “What kind of fool would touch that thing?” I didn’t answer.