What do you offer? Think about it. What is it you genuinely offer to others? I’m sure if you’re like me, you came up with some pretty generic answers to this question. Answers like I’m a good listener, I offer a good service in my business, and I offer help when needed. Ok, that’s a start, but have you ever really taken a deep look into what you offer to others? I was asked this question a while back, and it took me a while to think about it, dig deep and figure out that I wasn’t offering anything to anyone. It was this question that helped me make a significant change in my professional life.
Back in 2014, I created the 100% Real Estate Appraiser group on Facebook. Back then, up until 2018, I thought I was offering something to other appraisers. I would post a lot and comment on just about everything. Little did I know that everything I was posting or commenting on was nothing but garbage. It was me THINKING to myself that I was offering something to others; however, all I was doing was talking. I wasn’t providing anything of Value to anyone, complaining about something? That’s not offering anything useful. Calling someone a name or having an argument with them on social media. That’s not offering anything useful, drinking so much that I make a dumb video and cause an issue in the group. Another useless offering. When it came to clients, it was all the same. I would respond to emails in a poor tone; I would think to myself that I was offering them my service so therefore they should be grateful. I’m sure you can see where this is going. What I saw as providing something for others was me not understanding what OFFERING meant.
So for me to really understand this more, I decide to do a deep dive into myself professionally and try to understand better. When I asked this question “What do I truly offer to my clients” to myself as a business owner and real estate appraiser, the first thing I came up with was “I offer a great appraiser service, and products I take pride in.” Again it’s a great start. I’m sure every one of us will say the same thing. I mean, who out there will say they offer nothing, they stink as an appraiser and everyone else is better? Exactly. No one. So then I expanded my thought process. I came up with other answers such as, I offer great customer service, and I offer great advice when asked about the profession. Now, that’s just me thinking about me and what I think I offer. It’s a little biased, I think, for me to get to the root of this, I had to set out and ask others. So I set out to figure out what it is I do offer to others professionally. I started to ask my past and present clients what they think I bring to the table and offer them. I also wanted to know the things they thought I could improve upon to offer them something more. I will say that some answers and suggestions were hard to swallow; however, not knowing this, I would have continued on the same path and continued to do things the same way. The answers were mixed, and some were so surprising that even I had no idea. It was the process of doing this that allowed me to examine my strengths, weaknesses, and to reexamine my professional status. Since performing this little experiment, I feel as if I now offer things to others that no one else does, and I have a better understanding of what I genuinely offer. I don’t just want to offer a good appraisal product. I want to offer my clients everything I possibly can to make their experience as amazing as possible.
Now I took it a step further. First, I started to post and comment less in my group while trying to only post or comment on topics I can offer something to. In other groups, my comments are more positive and useful to others as well. I created this blog and my podcast to share all my thoughts and ideas about my personal journeys and my professional ones, hoping that I can add some “Value” to anyone out there that can use it. Not everyone will agree with what I offer here, and that is perfectly ok. However, if by offering up my stories, my journey with alcoholism and life, and my thoughts on the profession can help just one person out there, then I’ve offered something of value, and that alone makes it all worthwhile.
Understanding more about who you and what you offer from other perspectives can be shocking; however, I feel everyone should embark upon it. Knowing from others just what they think you offer them can be one of the most rewarding things you will experience. For me, it’s taken my business to another level, to make the right changes and has allowed me to meet some fantastic people while opening my eyes to being more than just a real estate appraiser.
So, what is it that you TRULY offer to others?
As I write this, I have six slots left out in front prior to my retirement. A good look at what you offer to your customers. Perhaps one additional step of understanding the needs of your clients. To understand that, one should consider educating themselves on what the client does. What does a realtor do to make the sale, what does the loan officer go through to get the loan approved. Only then can you assess where you can be helpful in the process.
Yes. I completely agree with this and have written about this in the past. Thanks for the comment.