Your clients do not care about your Instagram grid! They care about your character.

The bulk of my job is property views, design, delivery, set-up and pick-up — and it all moves fast.

But I also work with people. Yes, mostly brokers, realtors, flippers and developers…

But I also work with sellers. (They’re actually my favorite!)

And every seller has a different story.

Some stories are happy; others are sad. Some sellers are upsizing, downsizing, relocating or getting divorced. Sometimes it isn’t even their home — maybe it’s their childhood house, and their parents are no longer living there or no longer with them, and now they are responsible for the sale. Maybe it’s a flipper who has invested everything and needs the project to go well. Maybe it’s a developer who went over budget due to rising material costs. Maybe… maybe… maybe.

Regardless of the specifics, selling is personal.

I think often about this anonymous quote:

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’

And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.’”

Real estate is competitive and fast-moving. Home staging is not only mentally draining — it’s extremely physical. Owning a small business is rewarding, but it’s hard. There are contracts, deposits, late fees, rush fees, deadlines, delays, quick closings, emergency pick-ups… I could go on.

But the there’s what’s important. And what’s important? Patience and compassion.

As Thanksgiving approaches and things slow down, I’ve been reflecting on the moments from recent weeks that truly mattered:

* A scared, stressed-out seller who discovered someone had broken in through the back door just after renovations were nearly complete.

* A frustrated seller who flew across the country to oversee exterior renovations and staging — only to have rain halt all work and National Grid closed and dug up the road right before staging, forcing a last-minute reschedule.

* An anxious first-time flipper who finally reached the finish line and is eager to see if all the hard work pays off.

* A seller who lost their spouse unexpectedly and is working up the strength to downsize.

Selling a home comes with a lot of emotion — often not positive. Sellers are sad, scared, stressed, frustrated, anxious…

Our role as professionals is to recognize the moments that matter — the moments to practice patience and show compassion.

A colleague recently said, “It really comes down to everyone’s intentions.” And it’s true. Business is personal, but we have to choose when to be “all business” and when to be human — when to extend grace and when to apply the policies: the restock fee, the late fee, the “no, we can’t squeeze you in.”

Here’s what wasn’t important — and brought out the business side of me:

* The agent hit with a late fee for forgetting to pay an invoice while on vacation.

* The agent who forgot to inform us the property was closing tomorrow so we were unable to remove the staging before a final walk-through, so closing is now delayed.

* The seller who opted to stage themselves, changed their mind and was upset when we couldn’t squeeze them in last minute.

* And the real estate team that consistently advertised me as their “preferred stager,” then reportedly laughed during a team meeting when someone suggested I might be upset to learn through the grape vine they’re now offering in-house staging.

My takeaway:

Pick and choose your battles. Be firm with your policies but be good to those who are good to you.

Practice patience and compassion — nothing is more important.

After all, your clients don’t care about your instagram grid, your likes, follows or awards… They care about your character.