I heard a story this week from one of our Ascension Agents that made me ridiculously proud.
For those who don’t know, we have an Ascension Agent Program for team members who’ve progressed beyond associate or buyer manager, but aren’t quite ready to be a fully standalone listing and selling agent. It’s a bridge. A proving ground. A confidence builder. More on that another time.
Anyway.
She turns up to an open house last weekend and there are already buyers waiting outside.
Not one group.
Multiple groups.
Fifteen minutes before the open is due to start.
Now, I’ve been in this industry long enough to have seen every version of this moment.
The agent who avoids eye contact.
The agent who rushes inside and shuts the door.
The agent who makes people wait because “the open starts at 10”.
Not this one.
She was excited.
She greeted them warmly and asked for five minutes to get the home ready. Then she did what professionals do.
Lights on.
Blinds and curtains open.
Doors opened.
Candle lit.
Air conditioning and fans on.
Ready.
And instead of making eager buyers wait like they’re lining up at a bank or supermarket, she opened the doors early and welcomed them in.
Before the official start time, she’d already taken ten groups through.
Ten.
Imagine how the owner she’s representing would feel knowing that.
If you’ve ever done back-to-back open houses on a Saturday, you’ll know your nervous system is switched on all day. It’s high energy. High focus. And by the end of it, you collapse in a heap.
To see that level of genuine excitement at buyers turning up early? That says everything.
Because here’s the thing.
There are plenty of open homes where no one shows.
So when people are standing at the door early, that’s not an inconvenience. That’s an opportunity.
Energy is a choice.
Standards are a choice.
The way we treat people in those small, unseen moments is a choice.
At Presence, one of our core values is CX Obsessed.
It’s not about buzzwords. It’s about moments like this.
About choosing to open the door early.
About seeing people, not interruptions.
Culture isn’t built in boardrooms. It’s built at front doors.
And I hope she never loses that excitement.
Because that’s what great real estate actually looks like.
