Three Ways Gratitude Can Make You More Money

Gratitude can lead to more cash in your pocket.

I’ll bet you didn’t wake up this morning thinking about whether or not gratitude can make you more money. But it’s true.

Almost seven years ago when I first moved my license to Keller Williams Santa Fe, my qualifying broker was a somewhat scary woman with short spiked graying hair and red glasses named Judy Camp. I was broke, still paying off medical bills and so short on funds that I had to borrow money from my son in that first six months, and then from my sister, and then, eventually when I stopped being so frightened by her strong and certain personality, Judy herself.

But I was also determined.

I believed Judy when she told me to put away my limiting beliefs and to come from contribution. “If I can do it, you can,” she said every day.

She too had once been broke and a single mom. Judy believed in me when I wasn’t quite sure I believed in myself. All I knew was that I was past my cancer diagnosis and ready for some sort of quantifiable success. I thought a bit cash in my bank account would be a nice thing. This borrowing money to survive had to stop.

So I did whatever Judy said.

When she said “Come from Contribution,” she meant it. She said that if you’re coming from contribution, you can’t help but be successful. If you’re helping others find success, it will find you as well.

In practical terms that meant that my job was to help my clients get what they wanted. And then to show my gratitude so that they’d come back again and again, referring their family and friends to me.

And it worked. In year one (2014) at KW Santa Fe, my 1099 income was under $30,000.

Year two, just over $70,000. I kept coming from contribution and the sales kept increasing. I did whatever Judy told me to do and the dominoes began to fall. Every time the training room door opened, I was there, taking copious notes and learning every script Judy gave me.

The easiest thing to remember was Come From Contribution.

in 2019, my 1099 income was over $260,000. Not bad for a farmgirl from eastern New Mexico. I don’t throw out that figure to brag about the money I made. I just want you to know that what Judy taught me was true – If I Can Do It, You Can Do It.

Here are three ways gratitude can make you more money:

1. Every time I met a client, every time I went on a listing appointment, every time I came in contact with someone at a party, I gathered their information, stored it on my phone, and then found a way to either email or call them and thank them for the meeting. The script went like this: “It was great to meet with you (tour your home, talk to you about what you’re looking for, etc) the other day. I just wanted to call and thank you for your time. Let me know if I can ever help. That’s what I’m here for – to help. I appreciate you.”

Folks remember you when you express gratitude for their presence in your life. It’s even better when you mean it. Practice being grateful for the people you meet that need your help and it will become your truth.

2. The second way I employed gratitude to make more money was by choosing a neighborhood I wanted listings in. I pulled up the tax records for a street, and then, because Judy Camp said to, I send handwritten cards to everyone on that street. Five a day.

But they weren’t just any handwritten cards. They were Thank You cards that I bought at the dollar store in which I wrote, “Thank you for taking the time to read this note. I have buyers who are interested in living in your neighborhood. Could you get in touch with me if you or a neighbor have any interest in selling?”

This tactic worked so well that I eventually paid a stay at home mom to write those notes. At least once a week I’d get a call from someone who had received one of my handwritten cards. Who writes handwritten cards anymore? It’s unexpected to receive one.

Include a business card. I’ve had people call me two years after they received my card, saying they found it in their junk drawer. And then they ask me to come out and list their home.

3. The third way gratitude helped me make more money was when I chose a charity to support through my commissions. I let both buyers and sellers know up front that I was so grateful for their business that I was going to give away a portion of the money they helped me make. That I wanted to honor their trust in me by giving back, and if the charity I had chosen wasn’t their favorite charity, they could name one.

In the beginning, my contributions were $50 per closing. By 2018, I was pledging $500 per closing to the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico.

I never had a client say, “Oh please, don’t do that.” But I did have strangers call me and say, “I saw your ad saying you donate a portion of your commissions. Could you come out and talk to us about listing our house?”

Judy Camp was one of the wisest people I ever had the fortune to meet. She was the coach I never knew I needed. And she was right.

If you come from contribution, success will find you.

Judy Camp left a huge hole in my life when she passed away from complications from a heart condition. It’s ironic that her heart failed when she had such a heart for helping new Realtors find their way. I miss her every day.

Yesterday I went up to the office to pick up a couple of commission checks. I’m slowly phasing out of real estate these days and focusing on writing, speaking, and coaching, but clients keep showing up, and I try to help as many as I can.

The young woman at the front desk handed me two checks, one of which was more than what I made in that entire first year at KW Santa Fe.

“Wow, Bunny,” she said, glancing at the dollar amounts on the checks, “you’re a rock star. It must be all that good karma you have.”

This post is for her, and for all those Realtors who are just starting out, the ones who are borrowing money to survive (you’ll be happy to know that everyone who invested in me that first year was paid back).

I don’t think financial success comes from karma. It’s not random.

It comes from caring more about the people you serve than the money you’re making. And whether they make you money or not, it’s thanking those people for allowing you the privilege of helping them.

There’s some hard work involved (okay, a lot of hard work), but if you’re grateful while you’re doing the heavy lifting, it makes it all worthwhile.

Go practice some gratitude. And make some money, whatever it is that you do for a living.

By the way, the photo that accompanies this post is of me with Judy Camp and a pile of friends at the first charity event we all attended together. Judy is, of course, the woman in the red glasses. I’m the one leaning over her shoulder, hoping to catch yet another word of wisdom.