Thought Leadership with Claudia Stallings | Super Sales

Today’s big game represents the pinnacle of the professional football season. The players on the top two teams in the nation will give it all they’ve got for one hour of play. That hour of actual action will stretch into nearly four hours for the televised event including the pre-game rituals, the commercial breaks, halftime and timeouts.

For those working at the stadium today, their day started hours earlier to clean, prepare for the food, lay out merchandise, pull out equipment, set up technology, prepare the parking lot, and all the other things associated with putting on one of the most visible events of the year. But even before that, people were working on scheduling, on planning, on transportation, on lodging, on signage, and hiring staff. And before that, someone planned for the location and arranged for the sponsors and invited the entertainers.

But what about the players? Well, they started preparing for this day as soon as last year’s game was done by working out, eating well, and attending practice, not to mention playing in a full season of professional football to get to this point. But even then, their preparation goes back to their college experience, and before that, their high school team, and likely, all the way back to when their parents had to shuttle them to and from little league practice before they could drive themselves.

The point is, there is a lot that goes into one hour of football at the highest level. There are a lot of things that have to happen precisely at the right time for a player to find themselves at the Super Bowl. And, the deserving winners will be celebrated in a huge way from rings, to confetti, to advertising contracts, etc.

The real estate industry typically celebrates its top performers around this time every year as well. And just like in football, there is a lot that goes on before the trophy is handed out at any awards event. The top agents in our industry are able to look back at a productive year, and recall the hours and miles of showings, the weeks and months of consultations with sellers regarding home preparation, the behind-the-scenes administrative, marketing and paperwork, and the time spent in negotiations.

But their work goes past the mechanics of getting a property from contract to close. It goes back to market analyses done to set an appropriate price, to working through title searches, inspections, appraisals, insurance, repairs, lending requirements, zoning and more. And before that, the area’s top agents have likely gone through years of in-the-field training, continuing education, licensing requirement education and the school of hard knocks. They may have even sat through hours of lessons on septic systems, mold remediation, metes and bounds, disclosures, wills and estates, technology, and other things essential to real estate that aren’t exactly related to lovelier things like curb appeal or decorating.

Like a football game, closing usually takes one hour. But the hurdles to get there are many, and agents deserve to be celebrated in a large way. After all, they are helping families, friends, colleagues and people they just met make what may be their largest investment.

Everyone knows a real estate agent, but those agents’ hard work isn’t on stage in the national arena for celebration. But what they accomplish is often a life event for every person they guide through the process, and that experience lasts a lifetime. So, drop the confetti cue the band, and join with me in celebrating those in our midst who help change lives.

 

   *This article was reprinted with permission from the Knoxville News Sentinel Feb. 11, 2024 Edition.