Real Estate Sales: More Than a Career: A Calling!

Every now and then, someone asks me, “What is the secret to your success in real estate?”

After more than 45 years in this business, I’ve had a lot of time to think about that question.

And honestly, I don’t think of what I’ve done as a “career” anymore. I think of it as a calling.

Real estate has certainly given me a wonderful career, but the greatest gifts it has given me have had very little to do with houses. It’s the people I’ve met, the friendships I’ve made, and the relationships that have continued long after the closing table. Over the years, I have had clients become dear friends. I have two godchildren because of friendships that began through real estate. I have sold homes to the children of clients I represented years before. I’ve had families come back to me again and again to help them buy or sell their next property.

Perhaps one of the most humbling things I’ve ever experienced, I’ve had clients actually put me in their wills. Think about that for a moment. Someone who originally called me because they needed help buying a home eventually thought of me as someone important enough to include in their family’s life in such a profound way. I honestly can’t tell you what that means to me.

And maybe that is the answer to that question about the “secret” to success. I have never wanted to simply sell someone a house. I’ve wanted to know their story.

I want to know what brought them to Naples. Where they came from. What their children are doing. What they love about their home. What they’re looking forward to in the next chapter of their lives. Sometimes, being there for someone has nothing whatsoever to do with real estate. It might mean bringing a client homemade soup when they aren’t feeling well. It might mean sitting down for lunch just to catch up—even when there isn’t a transaction anywhere on the horizon.

One of my favorite examples is a group of wonderful women who all knew one another from up north. One woman referred me to another, and another, and another. Over the years, I had the privilege of helping all of them [and their spouses] with their real estate needs. Today, we still make a point of having lunch together each season. Those lunches aren’t about real estate. They’re about friendship…and that is something I treasure more than I could ever put into a sales statistic.

Of course, I’m incredibly proud of the business I’ve built and the people I’ve been fortunate enough to help. But when I look back over 45+ years, it isn’t the number of homes I’ve sold that comes to mind first…It’s the people…It’s the families…It’s the phone calls, the hugs, the celebrations, the difficult moments, the referrals, the reunions and the countless relationships that have grown along the way…I’ve watched families grow. I’ve helped parents find their Naples home and later helped their children find theirs. I’ve watched clients become friends and friends become family.

And I have learned something very important along the way: Real estate is a relationship business. People don’t just entrust us with helping them find a home. They entrust us with what usually is the biggest decisions and transitions of their lives. That is a privilege I have never taken lightly. After all these years, I still feel incredibly blessed when someone calls me and says, “I need your help.” I still feel honored when a past client refers a friend or family member to me…and I still get a little emotional when I realize that someone, I met because of real estate, has become part of my life.

So, if you ask me what the secret to my success has been, my answer is simple:

People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.

Listen. Be there. Follow through. Remember the little things. Stay in touch. Celebrate their successes. Show up when life isn’t going quite so well. Understand that the closing isn’t the end of the relationship…if you are lucky, it’s just the beginning.

I have been blessed beyond measure to spend more than 45 years doing something that has allowed me to build a business, but more importantly, a lifetime of friendships. I don’t know if I chose real estate all those years ago or if, in some wonderful way, real estate chose me…. I never said, “When I grow up, I want to be a real estate agent.” But I do know this: I am profoundly grateful that it became my calling.

Our team slogan is, ‘Selling beautiful homes to wonderful people in paradise since 1981’…and I wouldn’t trade the journey, or the people who have shared it with me, for anything.

With Profound Gratitude,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

*AKA Michele Peppe