Why I ask Why…

It was easily more than fifty years ago that I first heard the questions: What, Where, When, Who, How, Why… presented as the questions to be asked when trying to understand the truth of a situation… the questions to get answered when gathering the facts… the questions that must be understood to solve a problem. Those questions and the process of using them to understand more deeply have been with us for millennia. Philosophers and scientists both base all of their work on the structure provided by these questions.

At least a portion of the power of these questions comes form the fact that they are open-ended questions… questions than cannot be answered yes or no… questions that require a revelation of something deeper. While each question plays a vital role in the process of understanding, there is one question that provides a very different type of insight… an insight into motivation. The questions: What, When, Where, Who and How are questions that for the most part that are answered with provable facts. But the question “why” is a different story and frequently the real story.

So how does this relate to real estate? Understanding my client’s story: their obvious and immediate needs can largely be understood with those first five questions. But in each case… with each question there is the follow-up question of “Why.” Why is that important?

Knowing why something is important at the deepest levels informs us of the deeper goals… the real motivation and the real target for each client… each buyer or seller. Looking for a real pro? Look for the agent that wants to know more… the agent that understands it’s about more than the number of bedrooms and bathrooms… more than just location… an agent that demonstrates an interest in meeting real needs and desires at the deepest levels. It’s not empty curiosity. It’s what the professional advisor should know to serve their clients fully.

May the market be with you.