I was doing a mortgage application the other day. The client made a statement I needed to address. The application process went great, it was a refinance where the borrower needed to get cash out of $35,000 to finish a room over the garage, add a bathroom and lower his interest rate. He was delighted with the results. When I went over the final numbers with him, he made an offhanded remark, “I don’t care what he keeps saying about you, you are number one in my book.” At first I didn’t get it, but after a few moments I asked who he was talking about.
He got completely embarrassed and did not quite know how to handle my question. He then said, he should not have made the comment. I said to him, look if others are talking about me, it is perfectly fine, as what someone else thinks about me is none of my business. He then knew I would be OK with getting the information.
The client runs a garage where I bring our vehicles and so do many others, one of which is one of my competitors. Unfortunately, this person doesn’t have anything good to say about anyone, as the competitor has talked about others to me, so he has heard me say, this information is none of my business.
Competition is good and healthly for all of us. I refer business to my competitors and some to me as well. No person can be an island if you are in business, no matter what business. I asked how the conversation happened to come up. My client told me, that he let him know that he was going to do his refinance with me. I asked him why that needed to be said. He told me, I run my business the way I keep my word, just like you do.
