across the table from him. She was wearing a black wool pantsuit and a black rubber bracelet on her left wrist. She looked more or less his age. He had known plenty of “peppy” girls—especially fifteen years ago in college—but Michelle seemed nothing like them. She was clearly a professional, but animated by an energy that defied his ability to categorize: a lot different from the kind of mortgage person who usually took him to lunch.
“I’m glad you had the time to get together,” she continued, breaking into his thoughts. “So how are things going for you?”
Rick felt the muscles in the back of his neck tighten involuntarily, as his polite smile melted away. “Great,” he answered mechanically, looking back at the menu. He felt the urge to yawn, but suppressed it. Maybe I’ll go back home after this and take a nap. As if reading his thoughts, the waitress approached their table with a coffeepot and took their drink orders.
“Hi, Michelle,” the waitress said with a smile. “Who’s this lucky guy?”
“Jo Ellen!” Michelle scolded jokingly. “This is Rick Masters. He’s in real estate. Rick, Jo Ellen is getting her degree in fashion design. Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah,” said Rick, a little taken aback. Was Michelle some sort of local celebrity? Why did everyone here seem to know her? They ordered their drinks, and Jo Ellen departed. The pair was silent for a moment.
“So, you were telling me that business was great,” Michelle reminded him softly. Her voice made him think of his older sister when she called to make sure he was eating healthy and exercising.
“Yeah, right,” Rick laughed. “I guess it really depends on which answer you want—mine or the company’s. I’m not trying to ruin anyone else’s day with my problems.” Rick wanted nothing more than to return to bed, not that he had been sleeping well recently.
“I don’t mind,” Michelle offered gently. “We all have problems now and then.” There’s that smile again.
“Well, problems seem to be the norm for me,” Rick sighed, scanning her face to see how much he should reveal. Was he really about to spill his guts to a lender? It went against his every instinct, but there was something disarming about Michelle’s manner. What do I have to lose? “The truth is, things are tough right now. Like everyone else, we were killing it a few years back. Now the market is killing me.” Michelle nodded sympathetically and took a sip of her water. “I mean, I used to complain if a listing was on the market for more than three weeks,” he continued. “Now I’ve got properties that have been sitting around for months. I’m taking buyers out to look, and I’m thinking, these people aren’t serious! I’m basically a glorified tour guide right now, and. . .” Rick stopped abruptly. Okay, that’s enough. More than enough, actually. He looked up to see Michelle’s reaction.
A cloud moved in the breeze outside the large front window, and the room seemed to darken. Jo Ellen returned with bread and salad and said, “Oh Michelle, Katherine just gave directions to the gentleman meeting you at 2:00. I just wanted to let you know.”
“First time here?” Rick asked sarcastically. Michelle smiled. As he thought about everything he had just revealed, he added weakly, “Sorry, didn’t mean to turn this into a confessional.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Michelle assured him. “Look, you know I’m a lender. I’ve had plenty of agents grin and tell me that this was their best year ever, so I’m glad I don’t look that stupid to you!” She laughed. It was a nice laugh, not giddy or boisterous. What’s the word? Genuine.
“Yeah, I never thought I’d see the day.” Rick shook his head. It actually felt good to let it out. “It used to be so easy. A buyer would call. You’d show them around. They’d buy. They needed to sell, so you listed their home. You put a sign in their yard and it would sell. Those days are gone, let me tell you. And don’t even get me started on Internet leads. I’ve gotten so many e-mails from Mickey Mouse, I don’t think I ever want to visit Disneyland again! Honestly, Michelle, I think I’m about done.”
Geez, am I done? I always said I’d die before I’d go back to accounting. . .
Michelle smiled again. “Well, I hope you’re not done.”
“Why’s that?” Rick asked with surprise. What can I possibly do for her, with my zero leads and my listings languishing on the market?
“Because markets rise and fall all the time. We all know that. But there are some things money can’t buy: reliability, integrity, all that good stuff,” she smiled, taking a bite of her salad. “It’s not every day I meet an agent who was referred to me by a client who graded that agent a ten out of ten. Josh was very impressed with you.”
Rick felt his mood begin to lift. I knew he liked me, but I didn’t realize he ranked me a ten. He was starting to feel glad he had taken Josh’s advice to meet Michelle. He felt himself begin to relax.
“Well, I guess you guys are hurting on the mortgage side too, right?” he asked, expecting that it was Michelle’s turn to unload. “A loan officer I know from college just told me last week that he had to give up and go work for the IRS! So what about you?”
“Well, which answer do you want—the company’s or mine?” Michelle laughed. Rick laughed too and felt his shoulders relax a little.
“Hey, I thought we were spilling our guts here!” Rick retorted, leaning back in his chair and throwing his hands up in mock offense.
“Yes, yes, of course,” Michelle assured him. “The truth is we’re actually doing very well with one exception.”
“What’s the exception?” Rick asked curiously. Very well? No wonder she’s in such a good mood. She has to be the only one in this industry doing “very well.”
“I’m looking for ways to help local agents market our new first-time home buyer programs. Would you mind opening the door at your brokerage for me to do a “Lunch and Learn” seminar at your office? I’ll buy the lunch, of course.”
“No problem,” Rick answered. She can buy the whole office lunch and that still won’t create any leads. “So what do you teach in your seminar?”
“Well, we offer all kinds of instruction,” Michelle explained. The question seemed to light a spark of excitement. “Of course we educate agents on the types of loans we offer, but we also teach effective client follow-up, lead generation techniques and things like that. I usually just ask my contact what the biggest challenge is for agents in the office.”
Rick’s eyes had opened wide when he heard her mention lead generation, but he was determined to play it cool. “So you guys are really doing well right now?” he asked casually.
“Well, I’m really grateful, because I know it’s been tough for a lot of good folks. But actually, we’re on pace to double our business from last year, which was up significantly from the year before that,” Michelle said modestly.
“That’s impressive! What are you doing?” he said, trying not to sound too impressed. He and Michelle had crossed paths over the years, but he had never pegged her as anyone remarkable. Like most agents, he had a love-hate relationship with home lenders. They were an integral part of the business, but he could never shake the feeling that they were all just leeches who wanted to profit off his hard work. Yet he felt Michelle’s words piercing through his
