Theres this guy in the office who is REALLY annoying. He continually asks what I'm doing for business. I tell him I am settling in, learning everything. Each and every time I see the guy, he keeps asking what I've been doing like he's my mother.

Then he starts asking me how old am I, if I own property or RENT in a very sarcastic way. I told him it's none of his business and of course he plays the victim of "I'm only asking".

Then while we are on caravan, he starts making racist jokes and inappropriate comments towards women that we come across on the street. I can't wait to get away from this guy.

I remember several office disputes over leads in an office I worked at anout 10 years ago. One involved a guy going through waste baskets after-hours looking for people to call. Another involved 2 guys with the same first name. Another involved two agents who both spoke Tagalog (Filipino).
My personal experience is that hanging out at the office is generally a waste of time, unless you're into gossip, long lunches and frustration.

Good luck to anyone trying to find leads on my desk...half the time *I* can't even find what I am looking for. LOL

Perky-that's funny- organized chaos!

I tend to be reserved and to myself as well sometimes. Mostly when I don't feel that person and I are going to "vibe" well or if we don't have much in common. It's a bit different with me and work since I LOVE real estate and love meeting new colleagues, and even then, once I get a feel for how they are as a person, I may or may not want to talk much.

In my office, I have learned to keep alot of things to myself due to the fact that a few of the agents do what I call "poor mouthing"...they talk down things whether based on their experinece or not, that they don't think are beneficial or helpful. So when I am excited about something, I know where and with whom NOT to talk about it with. Other than that, there are one or two that are there to help and they're also some of the busiest, it's hard to catch them when your schedule doesn't line anywhere close to theirs...

But at some point, as a new agent, there will be something you will need some help or guidance with, so be careful not to come off so standoffish that you get a reputation and burn your bridges there!

I say share with new people some tips and info but you don't have to tell them everything about what you are doing. I find that I end up doing alot of training and talking if I am around the office to much so it's best not to be unless its your time at the up desk.

I actually had a guy come up to me the other day and and mentioned how quiet I am and always over in the corner doing my work then out the door. He said "I never would have guessed you were one of the top agents last year".

My friend in the office said it's because I come in and get my work done and don't stand around chatting and wasting time all day that I WAS one of the top agents last year. :)

Still didn't make any money :crazy:

Well, there will always be agents in your office with whom you'd rather not be associated. Hence, the added incentive to either form your own brokerage (and be selective as to who you bring on) or go to a small boutique-type broker who only brings top-notch agents. I am currently contemplating whether to stay with my current big-name broker or go with an ambitious, hard-working younger broker who just opened up his brokerage.

I don't have a problem helping new, or old, agents if they ask me for help. What really bothers me is when a couple of the agents hover when i am printing out promotional material and sometimes look at it before I can get there. "How did you do that?" "What program do you use?" "Do you use a Mac?" "What kind of Mac do you have?" "Are you farming?" Those kinds of questions annoy me. I have a back ground in advertising and can do some pretty good flyers or postcards, or brochures, and no, I'm not going to teach them how. The other day I was having lunch with my partner and the manager came in while I was showing her something on Facebook and asked me if I thought Facebook had helped me. I said yes, I had used it to stay in touch with an acquaintance and listed their house, and a high school friend in Florida had given me a referral on a mutual graduate who was still in my area. She asked me if I would give a talk to the agents about the benefits of using Facebook. Well, this is a very small town, and no, I'm not going to tell the other agents they should "friend" everyone and stay in touch! They probably know the same people I know! When I worked in advertising I was told never to talk about our accounts or anything when I was riding the train, because you never know who you're talking to, and I have to admit I've carried that over. You don't tell the other fishermen where the fish are biting!

I actually had one "hoverer" grab a public record I'd printed out and look at it. Turned out she knew the people from church and loudly asked me, in the middle of the office, "are you going to list the Martin's house?" (Except it was an unusual name that anyone who heard her could have also looked up). She proceeded to talk to the martins, asking them if they were going to sell their house. Turned out the Martins don't like her and wanted to know if I had discussed their house with her! They were a little annoyed!

I was printing out my pre-listing packet the other day and this agent who ALWAYS hangs out around the printer told me "Wow, that looks good. Are you using that for your presentation?"

I told him no that it was something I downloaded online and I wanted to make a copy.

Glad I'm not the only one on here who is "paranoid" lol

I agree with the poster who said, "inquiring minds want to know". Basically, this is a tough business and people are always going to be interested in anything that might help them succeed. Knowing what works for someone else is valuable information. If you feel that giving them insight into what works for you might give them a competitive advantage then my advice would be to politely deflect the conversation. Exactly 'how' would depend on the context. But if the secret to your success is nothing revolutionary or secret then maybe shouldn't worry about sharing.

That is certainly understandable. You have every right to guard your business methods and activities, especially when, as you said, everybody's "chasing the same nut around". Of course, giving away information that can be helpful, while at the same time not proprietary to your business dealings, is also possible. Making people feel like you've given them something useful can engender good will.