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Personal Safety Guide

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Products alone — no matter how many you carry — cannot guarantee your safety. In fact, they should be considered the last line of defense in your personal security plan.

Much of protecting yourself boils down to common sense. This can include:

• Hold the first meeting with new clients at your office.
• Always let someone know where you're going, whom you intend to meet, and how long you expect it to take.
• Arrange for a family member, friend, or colleague to check in with you by phone at a predetermined time, and use code words to convey your comfort level.
• When hosting an open house, invite someone along.
• Don't park where you could be boxed in.
• Use text messaging or your camera phone to document people or license plate numbers.
• Arrive for appointments early, and scout the area around the home. If anything seems suspicious, call for help before entering.
• Before showing a vacant home, identify all possible exits, in case you need to be able to get out of the home quickly.
• Inform unfamiliar buyers you're expecting other buyers or a sales associate shortly.
• When practical, encourage buyers to tour the home while you wait near the front door and prepare for any questions. If you must act as the guide, let them lead as you follow.
• Avoid closets, attics, and basements, and never allow a stranger between you and the door.
• Be assertive and confident. When you feel uncomfortable or sense any threat, excuse yourself from the situation for a call or to retrieve something from your car.

In every situation, trust your hunches. It's better to be too cautious than not at all.

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