Sales Reps Are People Too

The last couple days (or day and half considering it’s only Wednesday afternoon and everyone in the world was off on Monday) have been brutal out there cold calling.  Yes, it’s the first of the month following a long weekend.  And yes, I’ve been calling on a list of previous or in-capturable accounts given to me from my boss…but still—I take it personally.  I understand managers hate being bombarded with reps.  I get it.  But seriously, do they have to make it so apparently obvious that they don’t want to be bothered with us? 

True story: 

I walk into a property and the manager is standing in the middle of the club house bullshitting with her leasing agents about what a baby her husband is….Hello!  Husband dramatics?  I can relate.  So, when she finally stops talking I say, “OMG!  My husband…(blah, blah, blah!)”   And she laughs—loud.  Then I say, “I’m Jillian from MC Flooring” her eyes get big and she beelines it for her office picking up the phone before anyone had a change to say hi back.  The leasing agent closest me says, “Manager is busy.  Do you have a card?”

I think property managers and leasing agents forget that as reps visiting your property we walk away with a personal assessment about properties, managers, and staff.   And when friends/family or even OURSELVES start thinking about where to live, those moments run through our (or at very least my) mind—good and bad.*

So (insert property here), thanks for helping Hubs and I narrow down our list.  We are in the process of selling both our homes and depending on how things work out we might end up renting until we make a final decision on where, what, and how we want to precede.  But thanks to this morning’s warm welcome--I know one place we will NOT be living.

*Keep in mind, I completely understand a legitimately busy manger---I've walked into properties where the manager has two phones on their ear with 5 people standing around in their office--that is not who this post is about--those managers need a raise :)