- Network in the right places, find a good mentor, expect setbacks and rely on your team.
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So there’s this movie opening this weekend.
It’s about people who live in the stars somewhere and are part of a war or something. Whatever; I fast-forwarded through the wordy beginning.
Apparently it’s a part of an ongoing series of movies that started in the 1970s, and supposedly it’s raked in lot of money and, like, tens of billions of dollars in merchandising and stuff.
Oh, and there’s this tall hairy character that hangs out with Indiana Jones and makes a sound like a baboon gargling marbles.
Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
Even though I know nothing at all about this geeky genre, my editor thought it worthwhile for me to watch the six existing movies (six?) under the name and look for ways to relate them to real estate.
I’m a diligent, even-keeled columnist, so I dove pocket-protector first into nerd mode to imbibe these testimonials to perpetual virginity that had no impact at all on my childhood, love of movies or opinion on whether or not HAN SOLO SHOT FIRST! DAMN YOU LUCAS! You can’t CGI your way around irrefutable history!
Okay, so I’m fan. So what? You should be, too.
Here’s what you can learn about real estate from “Star Wars.”
If none of this hits home, well, then, there’s a call for you — it’s Harry Potter. He wants his wand back, you Muggle.
1. Know where to network.
When Luke, Ben and the droids needed to find fast, reliable transport that could avoid the cops and keep their mission a secret, they didn’t ping Uber.
No, they went to a wretched hive of scum and villainy in the spaceport of Mos Eisley. What they needed required the wits and guile of a pilot like Han Solo and his Wookiee strong-arm, Chewbacca.
Lesson: When it comes to unearthing the source of your next commission, network in the right places. Know where your audience thrives. You can’t just make broad announcements about your services and hope to avoid catching a laser blast to the face. Go to the source and be tactful.
2. It helps to have a mentor.
The Jedi Master-Padawan mentorship structure spawned some of the galaxy’s most fearsome force-wielding duos, like Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Yoda and Luke.
Without the former, the latter in each would have most likely succumbed to the temptations of the Dark Side, inevitably ending up burned limbless on a lava planet and becoming an emotionless heathen bent on galactic dictatorship. (I’m looking at you, Anakin Skywalker.)
Lesson: The best real estate agents usually have in their corner someone who can teach them to do more than sell. A more experienced partner or the right broker can help new agents understand when a deal may go south, what makes a credible buyer or when you’re about to be betrayed by a trusted colleague named Lando and labeled “Rebel Scum” by a market competitor.
When it comes to unearthing the source of your next commission, network in the right places.
3. Be prepared for setbacks
“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” is considered one of the best movie sequels ever made, right up there with “The Godfather: Part II.”
This is because it celebrates the success of our serendipitous squad of space heroes and then…it wrecks their world. Han gets turned over to Boba Fett; Luke loses a hand and has some father issues suddenly surface. Gut-wrenching.
You see, even after having his planet-melting orb of doom blown in half, Darth Vader was able to rally the Stormtroopers into a second-half comeback, destroy the rebel stronghold on Hoth and maintain his plan of market dominance.
Lesson: You will lose deals as an agent. If you haven’t yet, it’s only because you haven’t been licensed long enough. Understand that no matter how much you work to prevent it, a buyer will back out or a house won’t appraise. Take your hits, inspect the bruises and get back in your X-Wing.
Understand that no matter how much you work to prevent it, a buyer will back out or a house won’t appraise.
4. Rely on your team members
Lesson: Sure, you can be your own broker. But you’ll still need a dependable mortgage professional. And it helps to know folks who fix things, design websites, write good marketing copy, make a good CRM and provide sound legal advice.
The Rebel Alliance was exactly that: An alliance of species and planets and galaxy leaders who came together to confront the evil intent of the Dark Side and its cadre of mentally malleable political allies.
After six films, relying on each others’ skills and heroism, Luke, Leia, Ben, Yoda, Han, Chewy, Mace Windu, Queen Padmé Amidala, Admiral “It’s a Trap” Akbar, et al., managed to defeat their Sith enemies to preserve peace within the Republic.
Of course, until this weekend.
You know, when some movie opens.
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