and the silver lining surrounds even the darkest cloud. When you can turn a tough situation into something positive, you know that you’ll adapt to life’s experiences with confidence.
Suddenly, the contact list that I thought was non-existent became full of possibilities. I realized that I had strong connections to parents within my community. With other moms and dads, we had spent years attending practices and rehearsals, shared parenthood stories, and watched competitions and performances. Through our time together, we had grown to trust and count on each other and ask one another for help when urgent matters arose. I began contacting these friends. Thus, my client list started with individuals whom I knew long before I decided to become a broker.
Everyone Wants Something for Nothing
Beverly Hills has the reputation of being home to the world’s rich and famous. In fact, it could be the most high-profile place to live in the world. So what do you think my colleagues said when I told them that I planned to build my business by giving away chocolate purchased from a school fundraiser?
What I heard was, “Are you sure about this?” And their expressions told me, “What are you thinking?” But despite the skeptics, I went ahead and bought cases of candy at my son’s school. My closets swelled with boxes and boxes of chocolates. In fact, I made my son the top-producing candy seller at his school. The plan was a success. In order to explain why, let me take you from Beverly Hills back to my roots in Buffalo, New York.
In high school, I took a job selling makeup at a fancy department store. Working there, with clientele who had lots of money and spent it on expensive products, made me realize that the high end of the market was where I could excel.
I stood behind the glass counter and advised older women on how to look younger and more beautiful. Working there, I learned that people believe what they want to. If they think that opening up an expensive bottle of skin cream will make them look younger, they’ll make the purchase.
The customers who frequented my makeup counter were inspired by my youthful skin, which convinced them that the cheap products sold at the drug store were useless. What they didn’t realize was that my skin looked youthful because it was—I was only 16 after all—and that I was using the inexpensive products sold in the local drug store.
Next, I worked as a telemarketer. I was responsible for arranging appointments with prospective customers and the sales staff, who were selling fire alarms. The tricky part was that I was never allowed to mention fire alarms in my telephone pitch. Instead, I called individuals at home and asked, “Ma’am would you be interested in learning more about fire safety?”
In order to bring in customers, I offered incentives. For example, if I was calling during the Thanksgiving Holiday, I offered a free turkey. Or if it was Christmas, I offered a free pie cutter.
I learned that people were motivated to act when offered something free, even if it was just a pie cutter. Later, to my surprise, my manager told me that I was one of the few telemarketers who consistently filled up the schedules of all the salesmen.
While in college in Buffalo, I saw an ad on campus that read, “College Students: Earn $500 a week from selling lifetime waterless cookware.” That was a lot of money, and the ad piqued my interest.
Once hired, I attended bridal fairs, set up booths at shopping malls, and met brides-to-be in their homes. At the time, I was also engaged to marry Saeed. Therefore, my customers and I had something in common. The job taught me that if I surrounded myself with people with similar experiences, I was able to relate to them better, understand their needs, and earn their trust.
The job reminded me of watching my father work. Successfully selling sewing machines allowed him to earn enough money to buy a furniture store. He intentionally bought a business in a Polish neighborhood so that he could relate to his customers’ culture and language. Through him, I realized that the key to successful sales was to find my niche.
When I spoke with brides-to-be, I told them that in addition to the cookware, they could pick their own flatware, stemware, and china, and that by the time they were married, they would have a complete set. Within a short period of time, I was selling five sets of cookware per week.
My supervisor was astonished. This was another case of “what you don’t know might help you.” Because no one had told me differently, I assumed that after every night of work, I was supposed to have sold a set of cookware. That’s why I didn’t consider it an option to finish the day without a sale. To my amusement, he shared that I was selling more cookware in a week than most of his sales staff did in a month, which made me their top salesperson.
Once I embarked on a real estate career in Beverly Hills, I took these valuable lessons with me. As I mentioned previously, many thought it was a silly idea to buy school fundraiser chocolate and give it away as gifts. This was Beverly Hills, not Buffalo, after all. Who in 90210 would want something so trivial?
It turned out to be a great way to meet people. A phone call starting with, “Hello Julie, I just bought some chocolate to raise money for Michael’s school. Can I bring you a gift?” opened many doors for me. I would arrive at Julie’s home, and we would catch up with family news. This provided an ideal way to introduce my new career endeavor.
My school fundraising days are now over, but the philosophy hasn’t changed: Giving to others is one of the easiest ways to create opportunity. I can’t emphasize enough how important this will be to your career.
Real Estate Tips Your Mom Would Be Proud Of
I love children. My kids—Nicole, Howard, and Michael—are the three biggest blessings in my life. And now that they have children of their own, I once again have little ones running around the house. If I had to sum up in one word what being a mother and grandmother has taught me, it would be PATIENCE.
Raising three children has taught me how to take care of my clients who are parents of little ones. For example, if I’m driving a client to a listing and she has children, I know how to prepare. As a mother myself, I understand how distracting children can be. As a real estate broker, I realize how important it is that my client is able to commit her full attention to what could be her future home. So before the meeting, I stock my purse with crayons, coloring books, and small refreshments like cheese, crackers, and fruit.
It always warms my heart when my clients’ children see me and say something like, “Hi Myra, do you have any treats for me?” As you can imagine, many of these kids have every type of toy and food under the sun. But they still look forward to receiving a simple surprise. Once we arrive at the listing, the children are already occupied with a coloring book or some crackers, and their parents are able to focus on finding their home.
Your Journey Starts With a Client in Your Car
Often, you’ll spend an entire afternoon with a client. You may have four homes lined up to see, which means that you will spend the next few hours together. Many real estate agents prefer driving separately to listings, but unless your clients choose to do differently, I suggest that you take them in your car.
Having time together gives you and your clients a chance to talk. You’ll get to know them better and understand what they are looking to buy. Simple gestures—like offering pretzels, bottled water, and other light snacks—go a long way toward making your clients comfortable and building a relationship with them.
Tips to Make Work Fun
When you read stories about successful people in any industry, you’ll discover that they all share a passion for their work while having fun in the process. What does having fun mean? This is different for every profession.
In real estate, one of the most enjoyable aspects is working with interesting people. Your