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
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