“Each file is a kind of adventure”

2023-10-07 07:00:10

La Croix L’Hebdo : What makes you get up in the morning?

Pauline d’Assigny : The pleasure of being myself. Being a real estate agent allows me to be exactly at work as I am in life. It has not always been the case. In reality, I have only been working as a real estate agent since 2016. I first worked in communications, even holding positions of responsibility in large pharmaceutical or agri-food groups. I loved this activity but it was a very polite work environment, I was sometimes criticized for being too emotional, expressive… And I traveled a lot, to the point of no longer really seeing my children.

So when my last child was born, I wanted to change my professional environment. Today I can be myself. I have the chance to no longer ask myself any questions, it’s a real freedom. I like interactions with customers and the form of human intelligence that must be developed. Being myself allows me to communicate more easily, more simply.

How is it going at work?

P. d’A. : As in any real estate agency. Whether it’s an apartment for €200,000 or a house for three million euros, for me it doesn’t change anything. I possibly observe a slightly higher level of requirement and a stronger request for confidentiality, but nothing more. The pace is very fast, with always a lot of tasks to accomplish. But that’s the pace of business. The days are divided between telephone hotlines at the agency, visits, appointments with the notary, prospecting, etc.

The main thing is the customers. We provide support and advice, our objective is to satisfy requests as best as possible. You must therefore be attentive, understanding and able to detect what is left unsaid. Furthermore, clients are often very aware of the market and master the subject.

To build a bond with them, you don’t just have to discuss real estate. On the contrary, I think I talk to them more about their hobbies and their passions. When I visit them at home, for example, I try to identify clues about their hobbies. I look at the decor or artwork to learn more about their personality. This contact to create is the most interesting part of my work.

Who do you trust?

P. d’A. : I know I can count on my family. The love and trust of my husband and my children help me every day, including in my job. I also have great confidence in my team at the agency. My six colleagues have very complementary personalities and are always enthusiastic. But this is not easy every day. Being a real estate agent is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. A sale can be interrupted overnight, there can be joys, disappointments… Each file is a kind of adventure, you have to know how to bounce back.

A scene that struck you recently?

P. d’A. : My job sometimes brings me into very emotionally charged situations, often at significant stages in clients’ lives such as bereavement, separation but also marriage or birth. At the beginning of the summer, I accompanied a couple in their sixties in the sale of their apartment. They had four children, all left home.

The couple therefore wanted a new life project and were looking for a smaller property. Their apartment was very pretty and the sale was done quickly. When signing, I gave them a small booklet with photos of the accommodation. The customer opened it and burst into tears. I was a little embarrassed but she said to me: “You can’t imagine how happy that makes me. » She was actually crying with both nostalgia and joy at the thought of her new life. It was very moving.

My support work takes on its full meaning when I help clients at key moments like this.

Something that would change your life right now?

P. d’A. : I will only say one thing, and without any other comment: smoother traffic in Paris to save time and above all energy! (Laughs.)

And for tomorrow, an idea to change the world?

P. d’A. : I think we could attach more importance to transmission. It can be material: transmitting a built heritage is rich in meaning, history and values. But it seems essential to me to pass on our own experiences to those around us. We all have something to learn from others. Being more attentive and communicating could allow us to know ourselves better.

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Pauline d’Assigny does not have the patter of television real estate agents. In the very chic 7th arrondissement of Paris, a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower, she runs an agency for a large high-end real estate group and sometimes does business with public figures or foreign investors, but her professionalism prevents her from to tell us more.

Pleasant and calm, the 47-year-old advisor discovers through her job some of the most beautiful properties in the capital. His preferences: the art deco style and the views of the Invalides dome, his favorite building. But for this busy woman: “Luxury is reading and sleeping. »