Knowing how to talk with a myriad of different types
of people can mean the difference between life and death
in police work.
“As an officer, especially on patrol, you have to talk
with so many different kinds of people—victims, drug
dealers, the mentally unstable, drug users on a high, the
traumatized, witnesses, violent or less violent criminals,”
says Jones. “Good officer safety skills are critical. You
also have to be able to get accurate, useful information
from witnesses. Those statements have to be able to hold
up in court or identify a perpetrator, so you have to know
how to ask a question and which information to pursue.
“In addition, sometimes you have just seconds to
assess a situation or persons involved. Knowing how to
quickly assess and talk with different people can
determine if you come home that day.”
In real estate investing, regardless whether you are
fixing and flipping houses, negotiating fair winwin
deals, managing contractors, or teaching others your
proven system for success, it’s critical to develop good
people skills and to build strong relationships.
And to build any kind of relationship, you have to be a
person of integrity in words and actions.
"You have to
rise above.
There’s
EGO, but
you gotta
drop the “e”
and just
GO!"
Knowledge alone isn’t enough
“It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s a totally other
thing to actually DO it,” says Jones, who gets his
students quickly to action.
Again, the comparison to police work is clear.
In the training process you learn how to talk to
different people, what you need to ask and what to do in
different situations, what information you need, and so
forth. But learning it in a classroom doesn’t make you
successful.
It’s a different story when you get out on the streets
and you’re talking with real people, or in the chaos of an
incident and trying to sort it out.
“In developing a real estate
business, you have to have
the will to WIN. That keeps
you focused on the end goal.
It keeps you going forward.”
59