An Epiphany

I watched someone who I know well do something really weird today. Shopping for a color cartridge for his printer, the first vendor who he spoke to raced around and found the cartridge for him and gave him a price of 70 soles. He said "no"and walked away. The second vendor he spoke to quoted him a price of 76 soles for the identical cartridge and he immediately said "OK."


This struck me as really weird but I remembered that back in the days when I was so desperate that I was trying to sell real estate (bad idea; don't try it!), I always knew that I worked harder than most anyone else that I knew in the business. I was constantly learning and trying new things. I worked really hard for my clients to make sure they got the best service and the best price. I did good work and I knew it.  And I was starving.  I knew a lot of other agents who were going hungry, too, but I knew many who were making really big bucks. And they didn't work very hard. The didn't necessarily do a great job or get the best price for their clients. But they had the contacts. And they were perceived as experienced and knowledgeable in the community, whether they knew anything or not.
It often occurs to me that perception is everything. I really have no idea why the 76 sol printer cartridge was purchased and the identical 70 sol cartridge rejected. But it seems that people don't necessarily want to buy from the one who works the hardest. They want to work with successful people. People who make the job look easy.