Last week’s blog – Is Calling Your Sphere Unethical, received a ton of engagement. Thank you. I think the conversation about ethics matters at this junction in the evolution of the real estate sales business.

Ethics is difficult to define.  Philosophers and thought leaders have spent thousands of years debating right and wrong behaviour.  There is no one answer on this and each of us uses our own values to judge the merit of our own and others actions.

Real estate agents carry a reputation as being pushy, salesy and unprofessional.  Are we? I’ve never met a REALTOR® who feels that they fit this description and yet the reputation endures.

I do feel that if you call the people that you know and like, and use a script to manipulate them into helping you make money, many would feel that this is wrong behaviour – hence, unethical.

And yet, our personal sphere is now known as our fastest source of business opportunities – overtaking FSBO’s in recent years.

So how do we reconcile this tension?

We stop using scripts, we stop exploiting our sphere and we start having “deliberate conversations” that are founded in respect, curiosity and authentic caring with the people that we know and like.

Yes, it’s more difficult to learn the high-level communication skills needed to master the “deliberate conversation” than it is to read a script but it’s also a hundred times more effective, infinitely more authentic, completely comfortable once mastered and ethical by most standards.

A “deliberate conversation” is both a mindset and a process. Mastering this skill will take time and effort but significant benefits of this approach can be realized immediately.  Both you and the people you are talking with will feel more comfortable, defensive walls will dissolve, trust will build and business opportunities will flow.

We’ve developed a model within our coaching program around Deliberate Conversations. This is important enough to us, that we’ve decided to make it available to everyone. You can see it here.