Into the Weekend 9.5.25

I’m not usually told what to wear. 

Personal attire is paramount in the field of residential real estate brokering. When we show properties, it’s important to effectively represent each property - and that often includes what we wear. Except for a Cubs hat which is all but stapled to my head, I don’t have a look - or demand one of my team members, as long as we’re put together decently, showered, and - in Anne’s and Brittany’s cases - carrying a very ($$$) fancy handbag (who knew those things cost so much?!). (This is THEIR choice).

Nonetheless, I often cross paths with other agents at showings who place various degrees of importance in their attire.  Often, agents will show up disheveled in sweats, apologizing for “coming straight from the gym” (even though we all know that they don’t go to a gym). Other teams require their agents to wear suits and ties (no matter how cheap or tacky) (and 98% of the time they are unbelievably cheap and quite tacky). Target has really good sales, apparently. 

Still other teams have their agents dress as if they’re getting ready for a porn shoot or a pole dance, leaving nothing to the imagination. Absolutely no judgement, of course. Hey, I’m liberal.

But only once in my (long and storied) career, was I told what to wear.

A friend of mine (a quite fabulous and prominent Chicagoan) wanted me to sell her really cool house because she and her husband were getting divorced. Because he, well, er, came out of the closet. 

Since I had never met him before, they decided that each of them would enlist their preferred agent to interview for the listing, and then they would together make a choice between the two options. Knowing quite well that I was the ideal agent for the house, my friend prepped me up for the interview and wanted to make sure I did everything in my power to secure the listing. 

Of all her pre-interview instructions, she demanded one thing from me which I’ll never forget. She asked that I “wear something sexy for my husband.”

Let me repeat: the wife asked me to “wear something sexy for my husband.”

Definitely, a first. And, up to this day, a last. As someone who doesn’t own anything sexy, I must have looked decent enough to her husband because I got the listing, and - more importantly - sold the house for them. 

Over the years, I have sold that same house a few times more - always looking dapper, but hardly sexy. And I’ve also become good friends with the now ex-husband, too. 

I’m always happy to discuss anything - and wear anything - at a listing interview or a showing. Just don’t ask me to buy my suits at Target.

Have a great weekend!

Best,

Brad