Lessons Learned From Girls Softball

After we got behind early in these two games my focus shifted from the action on the field to action off the field.  I found myself watching the body language of our players as things got progressively worse and listening to the running commentary of some of the parents watching the game.  It closely resembled that of some of the home sellers I've worked with since the market downturn began in 2005.  

In the first inning everyone was full of hope and optimism.  Good plays were cheered and errors brushed off with "don't worry about it we'll get em next time."  But it didn't take long for  that to give way to resignation, slumped shoulders, negative self talk once things started going south.

Kinda like a listing that's been on the market 60+ days.

The first few weeks are all about hope and optimism.  Showings that don't lead to an offer are brushed aside with "we'll get em next time."  But as the days go by sellers get down, much like what was going on before my eyes to our U-12 girls softball team.  

Luckily for our girls we have a great coach. 

Seeing what was going on he quickly called everyone together right after the game.  With a nice mixture of tough love and positive reinforcement he pointed out the mistakes and offered ideas on how to solve the problems.  And he did something I thought was brilliant, he asked for personal accountability from his players to help solve the problems. 

As I watched this taking shape I couldn't help but think about the multitude of daunting problems and challenges today's seller faces.  Fewer buyers, tougher loan requirements, deal killing appraisers.  When things aren't going well it's easy to get down.  The hard part is staying positive and on task.  Everybody likes easy.  We like the tooth fairy too.  Deep down we all know that things worth having rarely come without hard work and perseverance. And selling a house in today's market is no different.