General Hammerstein-Equord

Wisdom from 1933 (or thereabouts)

In the comments below (the "Golden Girls" posting) a reader asked about agents who call about her expired listing and ask for an appointment to show the place to a client. I warned her that many of these calls come from new agents who have no clients but lots of time and that they mine the expired listings to try to con their way into a house and into a new listing. She wrote back to express her surprise that agents had enough time on their hands to track her down. Time on our hands? Slow market? Ha! How do you think I can post here so frequently?

Thanks to the wonder of computers, the GMLS data can be sliced, diced and sorted in a myriad of ways including status. Active, contract, sold and, for present purposes, expired and withdrawn. The calls start right after that sorting. Some of these agents are fresh from sales classes that teach them to make 10 - 20 cold calls a day and to concentrate on "FISBOs" - for sale by owner and expired listings. I won't say such classes are beneath my dignity but I've never attended one; I must have forgotten. Dealing with these callers can be vexing because many of them are completely clueless. We had to fire one new agent because, among other sins, she cold called people without bothering to even determine the address she was calling. When an owner asked what, specifically she liked about the house she didn't have the wit to bluff her way through and instead would ask, "and what part of town is your house in?" I complained to higher-ups that this creature was ruining our name but the final straw came when one fine day with time on her hands, she pored over the obituary pages and mailed each of the grieving relatives her sales pitch. I assume she's now practicing personal injury law somewhere, but she is no longer with us.

But I'm grateful to the lady for one thing: she reminded me of one of my father's favorite quotes, spoken by General Hammerstein - Equord, last leader of the Reichswehr before Hitler's ascension:

I divide my officers into four classes; the clever, the lazy, the industrious, and the stupid. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the highest staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations. But whoever is stupid and industrious is a menace and must be removed immediately!