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The day I passed the real estate exam, I knew absolutely nothing about the reality of selling real estate property. I was blessed to be hired by a broker who was meticulous in the way he operated his business and believed in training. All new agents were required to have in-house training in real estate sales before attempting to get a listing or show a home. During these training sessions, the matters of being prompt and being dressed professionally were adamantly expressed. We had to wear our company blazers while attending real estate business. The men were expected to wear a tie and the women were expected to wear heels and stockings. Professional dress was expected whether you were out with a client or if you were dropping by the office to pick up your mail, because clients were usually there. The broker's reason for stressing professional dress was that clients must buy into the salesperson before they will trust you with a sale.

Another rule was that after completing the company training, you are placed with an approved salesperson, to be your mentor, until you have completed at least three sales. During this time, you simply go out with your mentor and observe listings and/or sales techniques.

I was placed with a well-respected gentleman who informed me that he would be previewing properties on the up-coming weekend. He assured me that the previews would be quite educational as he would be showing a diverse group of properties.

I showed up promptly, dressed appropriately in jacket, dress, heels, and stockings. We both signed in at the office, indicating our schedules for the day. We decided to take his car.

The first property on his list was very wooded land about an acre in size. He instructed me to walk the land with him as he pointed out the characteristics of the property and recommended uses for it. During this romp, my heels sank into soft ground and got extremely messy, stockings snagged and/or ripped, bush particles were in my hair, and in short, I looked a mess. After previewing the property, I looked so untidy that we both decided to return to the office, sign out, and continue the previews at another time.

Wouldn't you know that as soon as I entered the office, the broker was at the receptionist's desk? I signed out without offering an explanation for my appearance. To this day, I wonder if this was an initiation.

Learn more about this author, Marcia Sawyer.
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