Selling our house recently taught me more about brand personality, trust and what good selling actually looks like than most business books I’ve read.
We went through three real estate agents to get there. Each one a masterclass in a completely different approach on selling. And even without a business lens, I just found it so fascinating how different humans approach relationships and building trust.
Here’s what happened…
“Steve”: The one we trusted first
Steve was our guy from the start. We knew him personally, liked him, trusted him. He did exactly what we asked: set up the campaign, got people through the door, ran the opens professionally.
But weeks passed. No offers. Nothing was landing.
And it got tricky.
Steve is values-aligned, steady and reliable. Genuinely. But he did what we asked without questioning whether what we were asking was actually right. He didn’t push back. Didn’t challenge our approach. Didn’t bring his expertise to the table in the way we needed him to.
We weren’t the experts. We needed him to be.
And when things went quiet, so did he. We were left wondering what was happening, what he was working on, what the plan was. The communication dropped off at exactly the moment we needed it most.
It almost cost him everything. The relationship and the sale.
In business, this looks like: being so focused on doing what the client asks that you forget they hired you for your expertise, not just your execution. Clients need you to push back when something isn’t working. They need you to communicate even when there’s nothing new to report. Silence reads as inaction, even when it isn’t.
“Jed”: The one who read the room. And then blew it.
We didn’t have to sit in uncertainty for long.
Jed door-knocked us at almost exactly the six week mark. He’d been tracking our listing date, and the moment our campaign tipped past the standard campaign window, he was on our doorstep.
Credit where it’s due…he read the room. We were unhappy. We were looking.
But then we found out what else he’d been doing…
Jed had been attending our open homes and quietly telling potential buyers not to put in an offer. That he was about to take over the listing. That he could get them a better deal.
He was right that there was an opportunity. He was completely wrong about how to take it.
And just like that, he disqualified himself entirely. Because no matter how well he read the situation, we could never trust someone who operated that way. Not with our biggest asset. Actually, not with anything.
In business, this looks like: spotting a gap in the market or a client who needs help, but cutting corners (or worse, undermining others) to get there. *cough* bro-marketing *cough*. Being right about the opportunity will never outweigh being wrong about the approach. The how you show up in business will always outlast the what. And people have loooooong memories.
I don’t want to work with any Jeds. And I hope I never come across that way.
“Mick”: The breath of fresh air
We found Mick ourselves. Reached out independently. He was the best known agent in our area and we figured if we were making a change, we needed someone who could genuinely shift things.
He came in and was exactly what we needed.
New ideas. Fresh approach. A completely different energy. He asked questions we hadn’t thought to ask. He challenged our thinking without making us feel foolish for not knowing. We walked away from that first meeting genuinely excited about our house again, which, after weeks of nothing, felt like a miracle.
But the thing that clinched it?
He didn’t say a single negative thing about Steve or Jed.
Not one word.
He was entirely focused on us. On what he could see. On what he would do differently. In an industry that can sometimes feel like a blood sport, Mick just… didn’t play that game.
That’s brand personality in action. That’s values-aligned selling. And that’s the kind of person you want to hand your keys to.
In business, this looks like: coming into a new client relationship focused entirely on what you can do, not on tearing down whoever came before you. Bringing fresh eyes without arrogance. Challenging the brief without dismissing the person. Confidence that doesn’t need to come at anyone else’s expense.
The plot twist
Here’s where the story gets interesting.
While all of this was unfolding, while we were meeting with Mick, weighing up our options, preparing to make a change, Steve was quietly working a buyer in the background.
And he came in with the sale.
At the last minute. Without fanfare. Just a phone call and a done deal.
We were stunned. We’d almost written him off. But he was doing exactly what he’d always done, working steadily, building the relationship, trusting the process. He just needed to bring us along for the ride.
What this actually taught me about business
Trust your gut when something isn’t working. That feeling at week five was right. Not because Steve was the wrong person, but because something needed to shift. Sitting in discomfort and hoping it resolves itself is rarely a strategy.
Expertise means nothing if you’re not communicating it. Steve had the relationship and the work ethic. But leaving clients in the dark (even unintentionally) erodes trust faster than almost anything else. Regular communication, especially when there’s nothing new to report, is part of the job.
Push back. Bring your expertise. That’s what you’re hired for. Clients come to you because they don’t know what they don’t know. Doing what you’re asked without questioning whether it’s right isn’t loyalty, it’s a missed opportunity to actually help.
Values alignment isn’t a nice-to-have. Jed had the right read on the situation and completely blew it because of how he operated. The how will always outlast the what. People remember how you made them feel, not just what you delivered.
The quiet worker is often doing more than you think. Steve’s sale came seemingly out of nowhere because he never stopped working. In a noisy world full of people jostling for attention, there’s something deeply powerful about someone who just keeps going.
So which one are you showing up as?
Are you “Steve”: steady and values-aligned, but maybe going quiet when your clients need to hear from you most?
Are you “Mick”: confident, focused entirely on the person in front of you, bringing your expertise without ego?
(I’m not even asking if you’re “Jed”. If you’ve read this far, you’re my kinda human.)
Here’s my TL;DR: the professionals people remember, refer and return to are the ones who communicate consistently, challenge respectfully and show up with integrity every single time.
Not just when it’s easy.
