One of the traits I pride myself on in real estate – and something I try to point out as modestly as possible – is that I am NOT a pushy agent. There is nothing worse when trying to decide which home to purchase, or worse, IF one of the homes you’ve toured is actually the right one to purchase at all, and having to explain yourself to a near-stranger who seems to think they know you better than you know yourself. Trust me, I was a home buyer two times over before I became a home seller. I speak from several poor experiences!

So here’s the conflict: because my non-pushiness is a matter of principal, I struggle with the balance of guiding my buyers with subtlety through expertise, finesse and personal relationship skills and occasionally also seeing that a willing and able buyer sometimes needs a wake up call before virtually every suitable match moves off the active market before they find themselves emotionally ready to pull the trigger. In other words, by applying pressure am I sliding across the aisle from experienced and knowledgeable real estate professional to bona fide Bossypants McGee, or am I diligently protecting the goals of my customers in recognizing what they need from me in those moments of confusion? So hard to say. . .

I’m working on finding my comfort level in taking a more authoritative position with buyers, when necessary. I still feel there isn’t much an agent can do to isolate their customer faster than pushing them too hard and with too much arrogance, but if I continue to hold back some of my stronger opinions I may inadvertently slow or even halt the goals of my buyers. Professional growth is a lot like that transition from child to adult, I’m finding. With every new client comes a new puzzle to solve or personal limit to conquer – and I refuse to stop here. It’s evolution, baby.