Work Not Only Hard, But Smart!!!

WHERE TO TAP

Ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that failed? The ship's owners
tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix
the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since
he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he
arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very
carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know
what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag
and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something.

Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away.

The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old
man for ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:


Tapping with a hammer .......... $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap ............... $ 9998.00


Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes
all the difference.

I received the above email from a friend who is also a passionate leader of AIA Changi Toastmasters' Club. He is Fernando Young.

What a wonderful illustration to remind all of us the importance of not only working hard, but smart. For the old man to tap at the exact location with seemingly no effort takes years of hardwork and learning.

It also reminds me of the great importance of working smart, especially in my line of work - real estate. I always tell my friends that I am not selling or renting properties - I am in the business of dealing with human relationship. So many people want to jump into the real estate business, not realising that it is one of the toughest for so much money is at stake, and hence a human body of emotion.! As an agent, I realise I am dealing with clients' hard earned money and hence, I will never recommend any property which I will not want to buy or rent for myself.

In our line, it is uniquely important to go by our gut feelings at times. There are some customers who are not serious.....they waste your time by being wishy washy, or they make use of free consultation and information. Worse, some treat agents like chauffeurs! Once, a young agent brought a couple to view my client's 3 room HDB flat. Later I asked how his clients liked the property and he told me that they liked it very much, but must consult their geomancer. I was shocked when I heard that the agent had brought them to view 60 flats throughout Singapore!!! I called the agent a week later, and found that his client had finally got a brand new unit from HDB. Poor guy! The time, energy and expenses he had wasted! I told him that he must learn how to feel whether a client is genuine or he would be running a wild goose chase. Some of my colleagues work until they fall sick. Advertisements are costly, and so are taxi fares, maintenanace of cars, etc.

Some clients demand for too high a price. It will not be fair to the buyer even if he were ignorant. A sale must be reasonable for both sellers and buyers. Now that the market is quiet, I often receive so many requests through i property.com from unrealistic rquests for properties that even potentially suicidal owners will not want to sell. I will tell these buyers to wait for World War Three.! Sadly, these people often miss the boat, and some have even missed the ocean liners. They often feel regretful for not buying when prices had gone up; yet when prices have come down, they keep wanting to wait and history repeats itself.!

Sometimes I am amused when the general public think that agents must drive or it would be impossible to be an agent. Most of the top agents in my company do not drive. They save time by taking taxis. Although I do not drive, I am usually very punctual and would arrive minutes before the clients or cobroking agents.

It is imperative for me to make good recommendations which will be tested in due course. Some of my regular clients have made millions of dollars when they bought and sold their properties at the right time. Hence, since the day I started real estate fourteen years ago, I have worked mainly on referrals. Each time a client is introduced to me, I would like to understand his needs so that I would know how to advise and serve him accordingly.

This is the reason why I prefer to work on exclusive basis so that I can give my fullest attention and monitor the property closely so as to provide good service. I dislike to work on open listings where agents scramble to get the deal closed regardless of the low price. I prefer to handle only a few cases at a time so that I can give clients my fullest attention.

Hence, like the old man above, agents should know where to tap. Through experience, we will gradually develop an eagle eye for the productive "rubber trees", so that when we cut the bark, latex will flow into the pail!

Gan Chau