We started as agents in 1996, and we were awful. Yes. We had our Real Estate Licenses,
but our enthusiasm was dangerous. There was just no mistake we weren’t prepared to
make for our clients. Then it happened. We were saved by a deal we didn’t make.
We tell the full story in our New York Times bestseller “Clients First” but the
short version is that we had a Seller who needed enough from her sale to buy
her next home and we had a Buyer who wouldn’t get enough for her house to pay
the asking price. We were on Counter Offer number nine, going back and forth,
and getting close but not quite a deal. We say this because we could have
closed the sale had we not decided to undo it all. This was no small decision.
There were four commissions – the buyer’s house, both sides on the seller’s
house, and the seller’s buy.

But we knew it was a bad deal for both and when asked, we said so. And
in that moment we were changed. We could no longer just tell the client what
they wanted to hear. We had to trust the truth, we had to be honest. We could
no longer be screw ups, we had to be competent. We could no longer care only
about our need for money, we had to only care about our client’s needs and
dreams.

Today, Joseph & JoAnn work every day, putting clients first and helping Callaway
Realty agents put their clients first.