In this video we will share three categories where practicing
what you preach can help you build and maintain rapport with your clients.
Are you practicing what you preach?
Sometimes agents who are also positioning themselves as educators in the senior-living space will tell me their clients or seminar attendees don’t seem to take them seriously when they talk about planning ahead for the possibilities of getting older. The issue may not be about their presentation skills, their topics, or their knowledge – it could be a simple matter of credibility.
Credibility with older adults can be earned, but it doesn’t happen automatically. It requires us to be authentic, genuine, sincere, consistent, vulnerable, transparent, candid, empathetic, and trustworthy. It requires us to walk alongside our clients and audiences and be in it WITH them. It’s not “us” and “them” but rather WE are in this thing called life TOGETHER.
Here are 3 areas where you, as an agent, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice what you preach. Doing so will make your actions congruent with your words.
Estate planning
Age nor circumstance matter when it comes to estate planning. Every single person, even you, need to have the following documents in place. More importantly than having them completed, it’s the process of getting them completed that you need to be able to identify with. It’s the difficulty in choosing a trustee or personal representative, healthcare proxy, and power of attorney that gives you a sense of what others have to go through.
Decluttering and/or downsizing
Unless you have literally downsized yourself in the last 12-18 months, my guess is that you too have far more stuff than you need in your home, shed, storage, attic, or junk drawer. If not, good for you! If you haven’t downsized yourself, however, and you haven’t gone through your home and made an attempt to simplify and only keep those things that you NEED (essentials), then you can’t really speak to your audiences about doing so – not sincerely anyway.
Planning ahead for your future needs
It’s amazing how many agents I talk with who are giving seminars or meeting with clients about their plan for future residential needs who haven’t even thought about their own. Let’s take it one step further. I am assuming that when you tour a senior living community – independent or healthcare specific – you have some mental chatter going on about whether you would or would not choose to live there. That said, have you had any conversations with those people in your life about these thoughts? Have you told your kids what your plan is? Have you and your spouse had a heart to heart about whether you would want to live in a 55+ apartment or assisted living and if so, would you be together or would you move separately? What happens if one of you is disabled and the other can no longer handle it on their own? What then?
Again, while the outcome of these conversations and tasks may be beneficial (for you mainly), the true benefit as a senior-centered specialist in the fields of senior living, downsizing, and real estate is that you understand how it FEELS to do these things. You get them. You really do.
Is it time to stop teaching for teaching sake and begin practicing what you preach?
LEARN WHILE YOU EARN
If you are looking for a way to learn what you need to know about getting older while you are also educating and connecting with members of the mature market, consider hosting educational seminars! It’s the perfect way to become an expert in all things senior real estate and housing!