Summary:
Prepare to be entertained in this extremely hilarious episode with Alex Milshteyn. Alex starts off by sharing a story of being booted out of the house because of his age and he delves into a time when he was the subject of some unsavoury, unwanted publicity. While signing off, Alex imparts some great advice for all the young REALTORS® who are still getting their feet wet in the business. Tune-in and learn the benefits of working your butt off, building loyalty and finding a mentor.
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Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:30 – Leigh welcomes Alex
- 01:14 – Alex lives from Ann Arbor, Michigan has been in real estate for 18 years
- 03:30 – Alex shares his first story: “Sometimes you don’t get what you expect”
- 03:37 – While doing floor time at his office, Alex got a phone call from a woman who wished to sell her house
- 04:15 – He set up a meeting and arrived at the woman’s house at the appointed time
- 04:22 – Alex was young and inexperienced at the time, he’d been in the business for just 6 months
- 04:46 – Before letting Alex in, the woman looked over his shoulder to see if there was anyone else with him
- 04:58 – When Alex expressed interest in starting the tour of the house, the woman said, “I want to wait till Alex gets here to start the tour”
- 05:20 – On being informed that the 18-year-old in front of her was in fact Alex, the woman kept looking at him incredulously
- 05:44 – Saying that Alex was not old enough, the woman walked Alex out of the house
- 06:13 – The woman refused to return any of Alex’s numerous calls, and her house never went on the market
- 06:37 – On reflecting back, Alex felt that the woman was expecting a hot date, and Alex did not fit her bill
- 08:05 – Alex shares his second story: “Not all publicity is good publicity”
- 08:22 – Alex was having an extremely hard time selling a house with an extremely unconventional design
- 08:37 – After having the house on the market for six months, Alex was desperate to sell this house
- 08:50 – In his desperation, Alex contacted a staging company to get a tenant with really nice furniture to come and stay in the house
- 09:20 – Alex thought it was a good proposition since the tenants agreed to move out of the house in case of a sale and with no notice
- 10:19 – Was hopeful of striking a deal as the price was also reduced
- 11:19 – Was shocked to see this house with his “For Sale” sign and his name being covered in daily news
- 11:35 – The tenant, a masseuse decided to get frisky with a client, and was accused of rape
- 12:05 – Rushed to the house to remove his “For Sale” sign
- 12:27 – This entire incident left Alex embarrassed and his seller fuming
- 12:35 – Alex managed to placate the seller, keep his job and sell 20 more houses for the seller
- 14:00 – Avoided using his photo in advertising for five years after joining the realty business
- 14:07 – Clients are hesitant in dealing with someone who looks young and inexperienced (which he is not)
- 15:35 – Consciously decides not to hard sell a property by providing a full disclosure of positives and negatives to the client; let’s go off short-term gains to build long-term client loyalty
- 16:41 – Realtors® should have savings or a backup plan so that they do not feel pressured to compromise interests of their clients
- 17:26 – Alex does not sell, but he just talks and gives people his honest opinion
- 18:15 – When you are young and inexperienced, the only value you can show is by “working your butt off”
- 18:47 – Realize that a “No” right now might not be a “No” forever; keep on calling till a “No” converts to a “Yes”, or the client asks you to stop calling
- 19:04 – Call them back, keep following up and work your butt off because, if you do that, you will be successful
- 19:15 – Unfortunately no one was interested in mentoring Alex when he started off; however, today, you can join one of the various support groups on Facebooks to get help
- 19:39 – Watch and learn from your competitors; Alex has surpassed many of his competitors that he learnt from in the initial years
- 20:12 – Get in touch with Alex through his website or email
- 21:44 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate
3 Key Points
- Getting a mentor is a great idea, especially in the initial stages of your career.
- Realize that a “No” right now might not be a “No” forever; keep on calling till a “No” converts to a “Yes”, or the client asks you to stop calling.
- When you are young and inexperienced, the only value you can show is by “working your butt off”.
Credits
