Loyalty Creates Respect
I want you to notice the resemblance of the words loyalty and royalty. The word “Royalty” expresses its own definition. When we think of royalty we automatically think of kings, queens and distinguished people of great importance or things held in high esteem. Loyalty means the quality or state of being loyal. To be loyal is to be faithful in allegiance to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or custom. Personally I think of loyalty as repayment in service for a kind act that has been done to me. We are loyal to our spouse by keeping our self only unto them. I demonstrate loyalty to my drug store by purchasing all my medicine from them and not shopping at other drug stores; when at all possible. I am loyal to my favorite football team by being a fan regardless whether they win or lose. I am loyal to my children by elevating my love for them above all others. My true loyalty is always expressed by my actions as well as by my words.
Personally I feel I should be loyal to people outside my family and closest friends. I select the place I want to buy my gas based on their price, location and quality of service. If I am pleased with the quality of services they provide, I will demonstrate my loyalty by buying all my gas from them whenever possible. They in return demonstrate their loyalty to me by continuing to provide me quality services. The expressions of loyalty between two people are characteristics that make living more enjoyable; the joy of knowing that people hold me in higher esteem than my competitors.
The Golden Rule is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Unfortunately everyone doesn’t live by that principle. I try to but sometime it is very difficult. You can call it habit or you can call it loyalty but I always try to shop at the same places. I buy from people who buy from me. Isn’t that the way we are a lot of times? I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine. I am loyal to my church family so when I need a particular service or product, and someone I go to church with provides that service or sells that product, I use them before I would use people outside my church. Not all people are that way but they should be.
Now, let’s examine how real estate agents should express loyalty. Real estate agents are under close scrutiny in state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination against anyone so we must be extremely careful. The Code of Ethics that guides everything we do as real estate agents encourages us to head off discrimination by providing our clients with a list of multiple names that provide each service that may be required during the closing process of a transaction. Does this Code restrict us from being loyal to the people that have provided us the best service? Absolutely not! There are ways of letting your client see the advantages of doing business with the person or company you show loyalty to.
Real estate agents need to have a close working relationship with lenders, attorneys, title companies, appraisers, surveyors, inspectors, and a host of other professionals. If you will pander me for a moment, I would like to share an example of loyalty to a title company. In this geographical area of Alabama, real estate sales transactions are closed with title companies rather than attorneys who are used in other parts of the state. This means that I need to have a good working relationship with the title agent who is going to close my sale. On any given day I could be working with two or more prospective buyers and I might call a title company on several occasions for each of those buyers to get a good faith estimate of the expenses my client would incur if they were to buy a particular property. This is a common practice in our area. Would it fair for me to keep asking the title agent for good faith estimates, and then use another title company to actually close the loan? Absolutely not! If I am going to ask people for favors, I am also going to return the favor and express my loyalty and appreciation to them by getting them to close all my loans. My continued support to them creates a desire within them to provide me with extra services. This is the way business has always been and will always be done.
By no means does this mean that every agent is loyal to a particular title company or any other professional. Some people are not concerned about anyone but themselves. They con people with promises of future support to get what they need done at the present time. Then they wonder why people aren’t loyal to them. I believe that loyalty given equals loyalty received. If you show loyalty to others, they will show loyalty to you in return. I even try to use the same waitress at a restaurant, and I tip them well. Boy, you wouldn’t believe the difference in the service I get compared to service other people get. The difference is the commonalty of loyalty expressed. Loyalty is seldom expressed with greater affection than that of a dog to their master. And we expect them to sleep outside?
Should you have specific questions concerning various issues, please let me know and I’ll research the answer for you. I also want to encourage you to subscribe to our “News & Updates” weekly report so you can stay abreast of issues that might affect you when buying or selling real estate. If you haven’t visited my website, please go to www.AlabamaRealEstateInstitute.com and view previous articles.