The Skinner Team

How a Realtor with a Snow Shovel Showed Me Exactly What Hustle Really Looks Like

Some Real Estate Agents will go above and beyond not only to generate leads, but also to find the right home for you and your family. Joel Comm from inc.com tells the story of how one Realtor taught him “what hustle really looks like.” 


 

How a Realtor with a Snow Shovel Showed Me Exactly What Hustle Really Looks Like

Here’s how meeting an unrelated need can help you crush your competition.

BY JOEL COMM
Author and speaker


When I was growing up, The Hustle was a dance made famous by Van McCoy. Today, hustle means a different kind of moving, as it relates to building your business. It means you are willing to do whatever you need in order to break through your barriers and make things happen.

I recently had a surprise encounter with an entrepreneur with hustle and had to share it with you.

While much of the country is experiencing a winter heat wave, Mother Nature decided to unleash a snowstorm on Northern Colorado. Recognizing that 8 inches or more in my driveway meant that my Mustang wasn’t going anywhere that day, I turned on some holiday music and sat down at my computer to work.

I thought it might be fun to share the falling snow with my followers, so I started a live video stream using the Facebook Mentions app. I placed my phone in my window facing the street and turned up the volume on Sinatra singing the Christmas classics.

About 25 minutes into the broadcast, I decided to go out front and build a snowman for my viewers. However, when I stepped into the snow I realized it wasn’t sticky enough to build anything.

I noticed a guy shoveling the sidewalk across the street and we waved to each other. He asked if I wanted my walk shoveled. I said I would love that, anticipating that I would pay for it.

He told me he was a realtor in the Denver area and that since he couldn’t really show homes today, he was shoveling sidewalks for people just to meet people. He asked if he could shovel my walk for free, and in exchange he would leave his business cards with me, hoping that I might have a referral for someone needing to buy or sell a home in the area.

Now THAT is what hustle looks like!

I told him that I was blown away by his marketing prowess and I briefly interviewed him on the live stream. One of my viewers found his realtor website and found it wanting. So he sent him an email with an invitation to fix up his site at no cost.

And THAT is what I call paying it forward!

Talking to the realtor, Chris Smith of Keller Williams in Golden, I learned what hustle means to him. It means that when you can’t conduct activity that brings in revenue, you build relationships by finding a need and meeting it.

Hustle means you do what others aren’t willing to do because you want what others don’t have.

And hustle means you demonstrate you care by doing something nice for others without expecting anything in return.

Chris Smith didn’t know he was going to encounter a social media author and speaker who happened to be live streaming to hundreds of Facebook followers when he asked if I wanted my sidewalk shoveled at no cost.

But he trusted the process, knowing that if he just showed up and brought value to others, there would be a payoff somewhere down the line.

A perfect example of what hustle looks like.

Click here to see the live video stream where I encountered Chris and view the archived footage on my Facebook page.

Around 24 minutes in, you can see me speaking with him as he is shoveling across the street.  At 33 minutes I share the story of what had just happened. At 37:30 I brought him on camera to introduce him to my audience. And after that you can see him making good on his promise to clean up my sidewalk.

What unique ways have you seen others hustle?