Understanding Reciprocity Part 1

August 30, 2010

I believe in a concept I call reciprocity.  This concept is called by different names in different walks of life.  Each version of this concept sheds new light on what the underlying principle means, but essentially they all mean the same thing.  You could state the concept as simply as “what goes around, comes around” or “you get what you give”.  Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Physics states “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction”.  In Hinduism and Buddhism the concept of karma is defined as “the total effect of a person’s actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person’s existence, regarded as determining the person’s destiny”.  The popular movie The Secret called it The Law Of Attraction.

The basic idea of all of these things is that YOU are the prime mover in all your engagements with all other people.  You are the one who (through your thoughts and feelings and consequent actions) determines how the other person will respond to you.  In doing something (or not doing something) you actually create a like response in the other person.  So you actually have far more control over how your relationships develop than you ever thought possible.  Perhaps even TOTAL control!

The specific things you will do for a seller as detailed in your marketing plan is no doubt the most part of your listing presentation package.  It’s not enough to just tell them about the “massive” exposure having their home on MLS gets them.  They know that.  They probably also know they can now get their home listed on MLS for a low flat fee (under $1000) without your help.  Today’s buyers and sellers are more savvy than ever, especially the younger ones using the internet to get all the knowledge they want on the home they’re looking for.

So whenever anything in your marketing plan or your listing presentation is exaggerated, unjustified, trivial, misleading or otherwise undesirable to your prospect’s needs, you are actually causing them to act in the same way.  This is reciprocity in action.

I’ll give an example.  I recently had a prospect inquire about my services.  They hadn’t worked with me before, they don’t live anywhere near where my business is located, and they weren’t referred to me.  So at this point I really had no advantage over any other company who offers the services we do.

Filed under: Inspiration

Tags: Inspiration, karma, law of attraction, Observer Effect, Psychology, Quantum Physics, Shrodinger's Cat, the secret