I know I have a different "job" then most but regardless of what we do, we all want the very best for our clients. Yesterday I had a phone call from a potential client who had an interest (though not an understanding) of Feng Shui. Most clients do not ask me that many questions, which is surprising. I believe if I were inviting someone into my home or office I would ask quite a few questions but I have found that they read your website and/or blogs and that spurs their decision to call you.
I was explaining Feng Shui to this client, how we work with the Energy in an environment and some misconceptions about it when he stopped me with a question I have never been asked before and couldn't answer: "What is Your Success Rate?" I had never thought of my past clients in terms of a scale or tape measure, and even if I had, would never be able to "graph" their success rate? Taking it a step further while thinking about it later, would it have meant my success in inspiring them to actually make the suggested changes? Or being able to give them other perspectives so they can start to look at their lives and situations differently and begin to change into a different way of thinking?
I make it a point to keep up with my clients but some will not contact me after a consultation. I later find out they did not make the changes or had taken advice on what to do to change the Energy. I wondered if Success is only measured not in HOW the Feng Shui Consultation WENT but just strictly in the END RESULTS. And if they didn't follow my suggestions or make changes or were still unable to see things in a more positive light, was it my failure? I wondered how exactly I Measured My Success.
If you're a Realtor, is it the number of homes you've closed on in a particular year? Do Home Stagers measure their successes by how quickly a home sells? There are so many OTHER things involved, it can't be the "bottom line." You can find the perfect home for a client but it doesn't mean they will get the loan. You can stage a home the very best you can while always having to work within a budget that might hamper what you'd really like to do that get that house sold. I can only offer advice and suggestions; I can try my best to inspire my clients to make changes and look at things from different perspectives and I will always do my best. But I can't ensure their success any more then you can assure YOUR clients that you can simply DO YOUR BEST.
Is there something I'm missing in the measurement of success?
Carole I found your post very intriguing. As a home stager I measure my success in how long it takes a home to sell and did they get their asking price - but staging is only one of many marketing tools. If the clients didn't make all the suggested changes, or the house is priced to high, or the location is not the best and the house doesn't sell in a timely manner - does this mean I didn't get the job done?
I think with Feng Shui you are talking about life changes and making a positive difference in your client's lives, thinking, and attitudes. It's not just a house - it's the whole package. Just getting them to call you is a measure of success. If they follow through with your suggestions and embrace Feng Shui, then this is another measure of your success. And if they seem to totally disregard what you have to say - how do you know that you haven't sparked a little something in them and made their lives a little better? I will be checking back for other comments. Good post. Rating a 5. Betty
Carole-
Well, having had many different positions they all had their own way of measuring 'success." A thought popped into my mind when I heard her comment, and I might have asked her what she felt would be a success for her situation......
Many people don't know what they want, or expect, and when you ask them directly sometimes they express what the answer is.........
I can only offer advice and suggestions; I can try my best to inspire my clients to make changes and look at things from different perspectives and I will always do my best.
I think this is what we all do, Carole. None of us is so different, we just approach it from different angles.
Carole, this is a very deep post, and I've been up since 3 am....I really can't think this deeply this so early in the morning so I'll have to come back later after I've given this much more thought... you do always make us think ! hmmmm.........
Jo
In real estate sales, success is most often determined by .... whether or not the home sold.
I can see how defining "success" would be much more difficult in a Feng Shui consultation. Does the client simply want to feel "better" more peaceful, more joyful in her/his home? Does the client have some specific goal to achieve? Is the client selling the home? I would guess not all your clients are selling ... many are probably just looking to improve their lives?
What an interesting question!
CAROLE: Great post about measuring success. I think that, as REALTORS, we do have more numbers to measure success, but we are also hampered by outside factors when it comes to results. If we suggest a price for a sale, and the homeowner refuses and we don't take the listing, did we fail? I'd say not. The homeowner has the right to ask as much as they want for their home, but that doesn't mean that he/she will get it. Many agents will take overpriced listings and let them sit on the market. Did they succeed because they actually got the listing? Again, I say that they didn't. All they did was create red ink on their books, since we must lay out our marketing costs before making any money.
If I find a buyer a house that meets every requirement that I was told, and the buyer chooses not to make a reasonable offer, even after giving him/her every statistical reason to do so, did I fail to find them a home? No. It's a great question, but unless we are able to impose our will to compel people, the answer has to be vague, at least in the real estate profession. Now others may disagree. They may set numerical goals and if they hit them, may consider themselves successful. I believe the measure of a man is whether he sees himself as successful. If you don't believe that you're successful, then it's reasonable to believe that our clients won't either.
I'm not sure my brain has wrapped around this complicated question but I'll give it a shot. I know the real estate world measures sucess by "number of sales". Yes, that is part of how I measure my success also but there's more to it. I think how I measure my success...... is my satisfaction with myself and the job I did for my clients.
Carole, It's interesting that he asked you this question....I would imagine for feng shui it would be how many clients report back to you about miraculous changes in their lives after incorporating what you have told them to do.
For me it is measured by how happy my clients are when I find them a house or sell theirs...it's measured by genuine smiles and hugs....the ones they give me.
I hope you're getting the same gorgeous weather that we're getting here....
Jo
Carole, I would imagine that success for me would mean how many clients truly have the house of their dreams, at a price they could afford. A sale with buyers remorse is not a success, so I don't count the number of sales. Great post as usual!
and thanks for commenting on my post
This is a conundrum, because on one hand your services are key - and if you are doing your job that is one thing, but you need the client to also do their job. So for me, the answer would be that "success" in Feng Shui is a blend of the skill of the practitioner combined with the commitment and dedication of the client. You are the facilitator, but the client actually has to understand what you tell them and then make changes and also have intentions . . . so success in Feng Shui takes a lot of effort and commitment on behalf of the client.
I don't know how I would have answered that question. I also practice Feng Shui, and in the past, did several consultations where I did everything I could do, but the clients did hardly anything with commensurate results. What I learned from that is that Feng Shui services can't be "sold" the same way other services might be sold. A client has to have a sincere interest in the subject and a willingness to do whatever is suggested - as well as the ability to vision their specific intentions.
Not an easy one to answer. What did you say?
Excellent Food For Thought in Your Post Carole- It is not so simple because Success is multi-faucet-ed like a Diamond -
I think we would say Repeat Business, which is a long term indicator, we have Investors who buy properties who use us again & again every few years and now we have clients move-up to larger homes ( and we sold them their 1st home) or downsize after retirement ( we sold them the big home) or builders who use us every year they build.
great blog!
Sincerely,
Grace Safrin
Candy, Thank you for your comment. We can always do the best WE can do but does it ensure "success"? Sometimes in any profession the outcome is not what our client expected....And then I question if I have been successful---my failure or theirs or just something that wasn't meant to happen?
Betty, Thank you, that is my point exactly. It's not "just" the staging you did on the house, there are too many variables that are out of your hands---which doesn't mean YOU weren't successful.
Kathy, Thank you for your comment. This made me stop and question myself with a recent client I had; I did everything I could possibly think of but knew there would be no changes made as they rejected every possible suggestion. Did I fail? It won't be a successful outcome.....
Jo, What are you doing up at 3am reading posts? Get some sleep :)
Katerina, I couldn't break through to get ANY new thoughts across and certainly no changes. This is not usually the case but I keep wondering, Did I fail? Isn't it my "job" to get people to see other perspectives?
Lisa, Thank you, I am teetering between whether I failed on this one by not getting through or if you just can't reach some clients. I certainly did do my best and always have the best Intentions for everyone.
Cheryl, That's not necessarily so I don't believe. You found someone their dream house and something goes wrong which is completely out of your hands that you can't rectify. Does that mean failure? I don't think so. I have no doubt you're a success. I get called for all different reasons but many are for specific issues or simply feeling "stuck" in life. Some are for selling, some are because people are much more aware of energy and "feel" that something isn't right. Thank you for your comment.
Adam, Good points. All of them. I was feeling discouraged by a client I've just done a consult for. There was almost a total refusal to listen to advice for suggestions for the space. I tried different tactics and perspectives but couldn't get through. I don't think there are numbers to measure success in ANY business though many people use them.
Cynthia, You're right, there is so much more to it. Success is different to different people I imagine, the ones who go by the "numbers" but don't take all the other factors involved into question.
Jo, I love those smiles and hugs and I've had more then my share but then there are those that I don't hear back from or respond to emails. They are in the minority but I don't make assumptions and never know the outcome. On this particular consult, I do know the outcome...there won't be any changes and I was questioning whether I failed in my job. Our weather is absolutely delightful!! I heard they officially cancelled Fall!
Diane,Congratulations to you, I know you are the new moderator of the group! I'm sure you will love it and always look forward to your posts. Feel free to post a link to the group here if you'd like!
Loretta,I never knew of your sideline. How nice that sounds. I don't usually ht the type of resistance I did in a client to change ANY of their thoughts even though they were backed by Feng Shui principles and beliefs. And suggestions were rejected...one after the other. But I did my best and felt sad that this client will not be able to benefit from the consultation.
Teri, I actually have never looked at it that way...I had many, many referrals this last year more than any other time now that you've mentioned it! And you're absolutely right, they were happy with you and believed in you and told people about you. I loved your answer, thank you!
Jennifer, Thank you for stopping by and thank you for your comment. It is not about numbers and you echoed the referrals which is something I really hadn't considered. This is why I love different perspectives, I am not feeling I failed with this client now.
Deborah,Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Being a Feng Shui consultant you are aware of changing someone's thinking before their environment. I am usually able to do that as most of the clients I have are OPEN to changes but this one just wasn't. Not in her thoughts or Intentions and did not like any suggestions or alternate suggestions I offered. I couldn't really do anything else, I asked her (as I ask all my clients) to please follow up with me. There was not much else I could think of to do.
Melissa, I too am finding my balance more then ever these days; since I took my vacation and I realized I've had far too few and way too much energy was caught up in work. I am most definitely taking time to play more then I ever have. I believe I reached some measure of success just by being around so long :) Thank you for your comment.
Grace, Thank you for your comment. I am one of the few consultants that try to teach my clients so they don't have to call me back when they go to a new or different "space." I believe knowledge is power and want them to learn it. In that aspect it's very different than real estate but in your profession, it's a wonderful way to "measure" success that I hadn't thought of.
Carole - thought provoking! The way your clients' question strikes me, is a question of your work directly impacting on his success. Of course there are many factors impacting his success; your work is just one. He has to carry out the other parts as well, depending what he wants from it.
In my work, I tell the client the benefits of my service, as well as the other factors they need to apply.
Success rate? You could say "I successfully create a balanced (harmonized) environment - then this is what you need to do to ensure your success with it........."
???????
Great post!
Very true...thanks for sharing it with us!
Take care & good luck!
Deborah, Thank you, it's certainly something valuable to say and I did not think of it at the time. The question caught me by surprise, it's the first time I've been asked that. It spurred the whole post of what is a measure of my success.
Armando, Thank you for stopping in and commenting. I wish you a wonderful day.
Carole I have to admit - I do not think so quickly in the moment! ...which is why I'm learning to cover the bases or objections, be ready with as much back-up as possible, from the start! Does that make sense? believe me I've had enough duh.. moments to cause me to try to think ahead.
Carole...kinda late responding to this but I haven't been able to keep my eyes open!
My objective is to either find something for my Buyers that makes them happy or to sell for my Seller at a good price.That is my job.But the outcome isn't alwys successful in their eyes.In mine...if I have done my best...I consider myself a success!
Hi Deborah, I don't know if you can EVER cover all the bases, from my views there are so MANY perspectives I rethink everything until I am as sure as I can be about something. Success is not so easily defined.....And thank you for YOUR perspective, they are all different and wonderful.
Betty, Thank you for coming back to revisit. I think the majority agrees that if you've done the best you can do, it's a success in spite of the outcome. But it's not in numbers, I don't believe, for anyone.
Joan, Thank you, I always do know I've done the best I can possibly do; other circumstances are out of my control and although I sometimes feel sad when I don't see a good outcome, I have to realize that doesn't make me a failure.
You are so right Carole - there are always things impossible to foresee or be ready for. For me, I'm just trying harder in terms of anticipating possibilities, so that hopefully I win more (succeed) than I lose.
It's all relative to individual experience and perspective. we're all in different places.
Deborah, Thank you, it is very relative and defined by your terms in what you consider success to be. Funny that I used to think it was the size of your bank account or something to do with numbers....
Julie, That is an absolutely beautiful way to put it. I, too am fortunate to make many wonderful friends that began as clients and I'm grateful for every one of them!
Missy, I believe Staged homes do look better but I'm sure you make the most of whatever you have to work with. People have many different reasons for not buying a home or the sale may fall through for one reason or another and I still see the Real Estate Agent as successful if they did the best they could.