Why 'The Standard' Needs to Change
I gave a talk recently at a residential real estate convention. It was my usual approach of trying to teach people who think they are not creative – well -- how to be creative. How to think differently. How to stand out. And in an incredibly competitive market like residential real estate, relators increasingly need to figure out how to differentiate themselves from the competition.
But super competitive markets don’t apply to just real estate.
They apply to just about all industries out there. And one of the functions of The Creator Mindset is built for is helping people differentiate themselves in increasingly competitive global markets. So to say the least, I was pumped to give this talk. I prepared. I took notes. I researched and I studied. Finally, I gave the presentation full of case studies, examples of success and highlighted new innovations. I thought I had covered my bases pretty well!
But not so fast.
I was approached by realtor quickly after the talk who wanted to know something that she felt I did not cover: She wanted to know the exact mechanics of how to use creativity to sell more homes.
First, I told her that creativity is different for each and every person who uses it. The way that she will use creativity will not be the way that someone else will use creativity. Because creativity is deeply ingrained into our DNA – part and parcel to the very nature of who we are – the way that creativity expresses itself will be wholly unique to her and her needs.
Then, I told her that the way she uses creativity in her business will be different than how another agent will use creativity in their approach. So for example, I asked her how she likes to do an open house. She said ‘the standard’ – balloons and some advertising online, lawn signs and so on. I said great – but why ‘the standard’ approach?
She said that well --- that’s the way she had always done it. She said that there must have been a reason that it was ‘the standard’ in the first place. Someone after all had decided that homes should be sold in this way. And after all, who was she to argue?
Now we were getting somewhere creative.
I asked her why she felt she needed to rely on one way of thinking about open houses? This so called ‘standard’? I told her that creativity in this case is choosing to do what it is that she wanted to do – an approach as unique as she is – to get that listing sold. I asked her what she would do if she was not encumbered by ‘the standard’?
She said that she would take pictures of the listing in a different way. She always thought that empty houses looked barren – and she thought that staging would make the house a home. But not the way most people staged a house. She had specific ideas of what she wanted the home to look like. She then said that scent was a big deal to her. That if a house smelled good throughout – not just a candle in the kitchen or bedroom – that folks tended to see themselves in the house.
And finally, she mentioned that pricing is too rigid in ‘the standard‘. I told her – ok – what would you do if you could look at it creatively? She said that she would look at comparables on recent sales as only a guideline – one that she would augment by her knowledge of particular neighborhood. She had a bunch of other ideas too! I told her wonderful – you are staring to understand The Creator Mindset applied to real estate. And that what she is building here piece by piece with creativity is her brand. Her DNA though the lens of creativity is creating – quite literally – her identity in the business.
She was surprised that it was that easy. I told her yes. I told her that I go over how to use creativity in any business in far more depth in my upcoming book The Creator Mindset due out in April 2020, but when dealing with creativity in your business it really can be that easy. You sometimes need to question ‘the standard’. The Hindu saying that “…a person is wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results” holds true in this case. But I would say that not only is the person wise, but they are also creative.
