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Center for REALTOR® Development Podcast

Awareness Is Your Best Safety Tool With Andy Tolbert

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Overview

September is Safety Month at the NAR. We have a great episode with Andy Tolbert to help you stay aware and keep yourself safe as you do your job. I am so glad to have Andy Tolbert in this episode with me today. Andy lives in Florida, where she's a speaker, real estate investor, and safety professional! So, join us for this episode about safety while selling!

[1:17] September is NAR Safety Month. The dangers to real estate professionals seem to be increasing — or are we just knowing more about the dangers?

[2:17] Andy has been in real estate for 20-plus years. She is a Florida broker associate, a state-permitted instructor, and an instructor and member of the Florida REALTORS® faculty. She has trained loan officers and real estate investors and is a self-defense and firearms instructor.

[3:29] Andy and her husband have written a book called The Safer Agent. It's the real estate agent's guide to make a ton of money and be safer doing it!

[4:54] Andy discusses her number one safety rule.

[5:37] Andy also teaches REALTOR® Safety and body language to law enforcement officers in Florida.

[7:08] Andy shares information about why certain people were targeted. Prisoners who have been charged with attacks were asked this question.

[9:07] Andy discusses the fight-or-flight physiological response of your body to danger.

[13:39] Andy discusses the four levels of awareness.

[14:37] Deciding where you need to be on that level of awareness scale involves three things: Where you are, whom you are with, and what you are doing.

[17:07] Andy says you need to train yourself not to ignore your gut feeling.

[20:58] Andy always tells her classes that she's using the pronoun "he", but it could be "she," a child, an old person, or an animal that is used to get you to drop your guard.

[26:33] Andy discusses the steps to take before you show a house.

[40:28] How do you keep safe when entering a damaged home, such as from flooding or fire? Make sure it has first been officially inspected and found safe to enter.

[44:02] Facebook Marketplace is starting to have scams.

[51:21] Andy bought a property in mountain country. She discusses that going to a rural property is a big commitment. 

[53:04] A lot of people don't realize how serious a matter REALTOR® safety is. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in an average year, more than 50 real estate professionals die on the job for all reasons.

[54:16] If you are a broker, Andy stresses that you bring safety standards and training into your office and be serious about it. Don't just make it a page in your new agent's manual.

[58:39] So, what was your takeaway thought? This may be a great episode to take to your broker to open or continue the safety conversation in your office.

[59:14] Please review your personal and office safety policy this month. It is Safety Month, so be thinking of safety this month and all the time!

[59:32] At Learning.REALTOR, the Center for REALTOR® Development offers a whole webinar series on safety for your benefit and you can use those if you need to develop a new policy. We want you to be safe.

Tweetables

"They've gone into prison, and they've interviewed guys that are in prison for attacking people on the streets and they've said, ‘Why did you pick the person you picked?' And the answer is, ‘Because they weren't paying attention.'" — Andy Tolbert

"I'm never going to blame you for being a victim of something. However, let's look back at the situation. Was there something you could have done differently that wouldn't have made you a victim today? Usually, there's something you could have done differently." — Andy Tolbert

"If you are a broker and you're listening to this, I want to super-duper stress to bring safety standards into your office. Bring safety training into your office. And be serious about it!" — Andy Tolbert

About Andy Tolbert

Andy has been in real estate for 20-plus years. She is a Florida broker-associate, a state-permitted instructor, and an instructor and member of the Florida REALTORS® faculty. She has trained loan officers and real estate investors and is a self-defense and firearms instructor. About ten years ago, she was asked to bring safety training to the real estate world. She is now a real estate safety professional.

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