Bear with me. This will be a little different than the other A-Z posts, but if you follow along, I promise to tie it up nicely.

Twenty years ago (oh my God, it really was 20 years ago!) I worked at a restaurant called the HeartThrob Cafe & Philadelphia Bandstand. I was a Soda Jerk, and it was a great time. I always joked that I was a bartender with ice cream. One of the waitresses was named Jeanette. She was a great person, and we became friends. Actually, her best friend was my future (now ex) wife, and Jeanette’s future (now ex) husband was also a good friend of mine. Regardless of our outside attachments, I always enjoyed Jeanette’s company because she was such a joyful person.

Back to the point…

At Christmas time, we had a Secret Santa Gift Exchange. Unbeknown to me, Jeanette had drawn my name. Well, since I was dating her best friend, Jeanette had a pretty good insight into things I might like. There was a five dollar limit on the presents, and Jeanette went to Cub Foods and got five pounds of bulk jelly beans (they were 99 cents a pound there). She even picked out all of the black ones (knowing I didn’t like those). Keep in mind that while I have always been an aficionado of jelly beans, I haven’t really been a fan of “high-end” jelly beans like Jelly Bellys. I actually REALLY liked the bulk, cheap jelly beans.

Five pounds of jelly beans makes for a pretty big bag. And, it was a pretty big bag of jelly beans that I enjoyed for quite a while.

Now, let me tie this up into a nice little package and relate it to real estate.

One of my buyers was greeted upon walking into their new home with a bottle of champaign left by the sellers. In both of these cases, a very simple gesture by another can leave a long lasting impact. We as agents can do simple things that will help cement our relationships with our clients. A pizza on moving day, a bottle of champaign, or a bag of jelly beans might be the hot ticket to make a client feel like a friend as well as a client.

Think about it. Twenty years ago, a friend gave me $5 worth of jelly beans. While the jelly beans are long gone, that simple gesture lives on, and Jeanette will always be considered a friend. She didn’t “buy” my friendship with those jelly beans, just like we can’t “buy” the friendship of our clients with a simple gift (or any gift!). Those jelly beans were only a gesture. They were symbolic of the friendship we had already built. Just like, if we wish to make a lasting impact, the gestures we might make will be symbolic of the relationships we have already built with our clients.

Don’t hesitate to shoot Lane a message if you have any questions, or need any help. And check out the new links for FREE Property Searching, FREE Comparative Market Analysis and FREE Market Reports. They are near the top of the page…