The Way Things Work

When I first got started in the multifamily industry as a leasing consultant I thought I was going to be rock star. I really did. Prior to getting into multifamily housing I had a successful career sales management and I figured that would translate well into the multifamily industry.

Wrong! I was terrible at the beginning and really struggled. The good thing is I eventually got better, but it was clear to me that my leaders didn’t think my actual performance matched the potential performance they were hoping for when they hired me. Some of that was fact, I could have been better, and some of it was perception based on what my actions
and attitude.

In my early days my manager constantly talked to me about closing with my prospects, and I would get frustrated because I thought I was closing with all of my prospects! One day, after being talked to again, the senior leasing consultant looked at me and said, “Rommel, I know you’re closing with your customers. But you need to close in front of her!” as he pointed to our leasing manager’s desk.

I remember thinking, “That’s dumb! Shouldn’t she take me at my word that I am closing with my customers????” He replied with, “Well, you can either close in front of her or continue to get yelled at.”
Oh snap! He was right. He taught me a valuable lesson that day. In our company there was a way things worked. I might have disagreed with it, felt it was unfair, didn’t like it, but that didn’t change the fact that there was a way things worked!
The same is true for you and your company. You can either choose to fight against it (like I did) or choose to make it work for you. I learned that.

Successful people choose to make the way things work-work for them!

For me that meant losing the attitude and closing with my prospects in front of my manager even if it felt weird and awkward to do so, especially when I knew they weren’t interested!

So, let me ask you this, “Do you know how things work in your company?” In what ways have those things worked for you and also against you? Once you know this start doing more of the things that work for you and stop doing the things that work against you!

Here are some examples:

• If your company has a more formal culture consider wearing a suit and tie, instead of khakis and a sport shirt.
• If shops hold a lot of weight in your company then focus on doing well on them, instead of always complaining about them when you don’t do well.
• If your manager doesn’t want to hear every detail of your weekend life on Monday morning at 9 am then don’t give her all the details!
• If your supervisor’s perception of getting your reports “on time” actually mean he receives it a day in advance, then submit the report in one day in advance.

Once I truly understood and embraced the truth that there is a way things work and made it work for me, my career was powerfully and positively impacted I know it can do the same for you!