Demanding ethical behavior from people is not a big ask, regardless of which industry you work in, what walk of life you come from, or who you work for or with. I've posted before about some of the less than flattering stereotypes that real estate agents have garnered over the years, and sadly due to the actions of some less than scrupulous individuals, deceit and lack of ethics have come up on occasion. But in order to be successful in real estate, how you conduct yourself and your business must be based on ethics.
Sadly you can't force people to be ethical and this rings true for real estate agents, like anyone. If you manage real estate agents, you will know that to be ethical, they must realise the importance of ethics, and this is vital in building trust in relationships. Very few vendors or buyers want to work with a real estate agent they don't feel they can trust, and ethical behaviour eliminates that fear. In this sense, a strong show of ethics can be one of your most profitable strategies.
Ethics are intrinsically linked to a person's morals and a person's perceptions of what is right and wrong and good or bad. Being ethical, and ultimately being successful in business, isn't a new concept either. Dating back to Ancient Rome, philosopher and statesman Cicero encouraged business people to revise their thinking and believed that real success comes from not from trickery and deception, but from moral goodness, in both thought and action.
The problem is, you often can't tell at first who is and who isn't lacking in ethics. The deceitful agents look just like the honest ones on the surface and are often charming, considerate and knowledgeable. But bad behavior in business has a tendency to come back to bite you on the behind, and when it comes to real estate, it's imperative that real estate agents stop thinking about who is right and start thinking about what is right, and ethics will be what guides you down the right path.