Open House Ad That Didn’t Happen

by Lori Isachsen

Open house ad

You know when you have that nagging feeling you forgot to do something?  Well, mine hit me at 4:00 in the morning.

“Oh my gosh! I never received the advertising proof for my client’s open house this weekend”.

How could I have missed this?  I emailed the ad, like I always do to the newspaper rep and bcc’d my client.  Plus I put a confirmation of email delivery.  I was sure I got that at least.  Maybe they just didn’t send the proof for some reason.

Can’t sleep now, I think I just may have screwed up.  I get out of bed, wait for my computer to boot up  and went right to my email ‘sent items’ folder.  There it was and “OH NO!!”  That horrifying feeling started coming over me as I looked at the email message and realized that I sent it to my client AND DIDN’T SEND IT TO THE NEWSPAPER.  The confirmation did come but I didn’t open it and read it. 

Now, I know, I have missed the deadline for the newspaper publication as it will be out today.  To top it off, I didn’t have a proof ad reminder set up in my scheduler. It’s my way of making sure I cover everything off for advertising.

How could I have let this happen?  I recall, in my mind, what was I doing when I typed this ad and why I didn’t follow through on my process.  Just as I completed the ad and was filling out who was to get the email, I was distracted by a phone.  Dealing with the phone call, at the same time, completing the recipient names on the email (both recipient names start with the same letter and appear in my list one right after the other).  It all made sense now.  I didn’t use the proper order for my recipients. 
Once I clicked ‘send email’, I completely forgot to set up my reminder and moved on with the issues that I needed to deal with from the phone call. 

Now I have to fess up and somehow make things right with my client.  I forward an email to the newspaper rep, making a last ditch effort to see if somehow, someway I can still get the ad in.  Then I send my client a text message advising what I had done and my sincere apologies, so it can all be handled first thing in the morning.  Yes, all at 4:00am.  I’m not one to let things carry on.

There’s nothing more I can do now but go back to bed and deal with the fall out tomorrow.  I’m upset and frustrated with myself because not only have I just let down my real estate client but also their seller, which is a direct reflection of the realtors service.  One little mistake has impacted many.

When I awoke again to face the music and call my client, to my pleasant surprise, I had a text message from my client “Oh well…stuff happens”.  What a trooper!  So understanding and great to work for! 

The advertising rep asked me to call her right away, which I did.  She called the realtor already via phone, (she is a super rep) and offered to put an ad in, just not in the normal Open House section.  My client declined.  The rep just wanted to know if I actually sent her an email at 4:00am and couldn’t believe that my clients were this important to me.

I’m proud to work with my clients and gain much gratification in not making mistakes, still from time to time, I do.  All the organization, reminders, processes that are in place, are not perfect.  Nevertheless, things happen and do, it’s how we cope with these challenges and mistakes. 

Real estate assistants are human too, we can make errors, we do get overwhelmed and distracted.  It’s just nice to know that when things do go wrong our clients are supportive enough to get past it.

I hope this has helped you in some way and please share your comments and experiences.

Lori Isachsen

Author Bio: VA Certified and passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed. As President and Owner of VA Contact, Lori Isachsen works directly with real estate professionals for over 5 years coupled with 25 years business experience in management, administration, accounting and computers in both the public and non-profit sectors. My clients enjoy the advantage and benefits of gaining their time to focus where they want to. Lori is skilled and highly proficient in organization, attention to detail, maintaining deadlines, establishing systems and strategic planning. Our goal is to listen to you and what you need in your business through communication and client satisfaction.


Copyright © 2010 Would you like to republish this article? You are free to do so as long as you include a link back to the full post, attributing the author, Lori Isachsen

July 23, 2010 · Filed Under Blog · Leave a Comment 

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