The Little Things…

We all know what it is like when someone does something unexpected, perhaps small, but super impactful for us or for someone we know. The smiles abound and this feeling of warmth and appreciation settles on us.

We also know the feeling when the little things do not get done and we want to “face palm” or bang our heads against the wall because it was such an obvious task that anyone could have done, but no one did.

So whether it is at home, for a friend or through work… do the little things!

“It’s never crowded along the extra mile.” -Wayne Dyer

I am talking about the simplest of the simple, the boring, surely-no-one-will-notice tasks that make functioning in this universe a breeze instead of a drag.

For instance, at home, if the garbage needs to go out, as tempting as it may be to demonstrate your world class balancing skills or Tetris mastery, don’t just craftily find a gap or place for your piece of garbage, take the 2 minutes and pull the bag out and put a new one in. Same with the toilet paper roll… FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SANE… just change the damn roll!

With a friend, when you are meeting up for a drink after work and the text they sent you that morning by 9:03am was “OH MY GOSH I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL THIS DAY IS OVER!”, bring them a chocolate bar, a funny meme, buy them a beer or something, anything, to show them that you care just that bit extra about them and their well being. They will remember that gesture forever.

Finally, at work, whether it’s for a co-worker or for a client, go that extra distance. If that means bringing a small, surprise treat for the administrative staff in your office or remembering to follow up with a client who said they were feeling under the weather last week or giving a thank you gift to the real estate agent on the other end of a transaction, just DO IT! Your small efforts will build big rapport with the people that you invest your time and actions in.

In real estate, there are many small moving parts… emails, documents, connections and reminders that need to be sent and they may seem menial or trivial to the average onlooker, but it is all these little puzzle pieces falling neatly and sequentially into place that make for a smooth and successful transaction. It’s easy to do a quick search for the horror stories of when someone skipped a piece here-or-there and a lawsuit ensued, but rarely do we see news-headlines highlighting how amazingly seamless and uneventful a deal turned out and that is due to someone doing all the little things behind the scenes. At the end of the day, those uneventful stories are what make up the bedrock foundation of a successful REALTOR®’s career.

Far too often in this crazy, fast-paced, instant-gratification world, we forget to do the little things that keep the wheels turning and the cogs greased, but those things, the smallest of the small are what make it all work. People may not always notice that you have done the little things (in fact, more often than not they won’t notice!), but they sure as heck will speak-up when you do not do what they expect you to do and that is not the character profile you want lingering in peoples’ minds.

So do the little things; do them even when no one is looking and when it seems like no one will notice or care because though they do not say it or necessarily even cognitively recognize that the task is done, they will appreciate it in the long run and your reputation will proceed you as someone who has their ducks in a row and is reliable to “get the job done.”