Let's see how Jake is doing.
In case you're just joining us, read about Jake here and here.
About a week after Jake sent out his respectful, interesting, non-salesy letter to his SOI, he got a call from Sam, his old boss's assistant. Sam's grandmother was moving to town and would be looking to purchase a one-story, ground level condominium near Sam's house. Could Jake help?
"Heck yeah!" Jake exclaimed. And he did. He helped Grandma find the perfect handicapped-accessible condominium, negotiate a good price for it and get her to the closing (literally -- Grandma doesn't drive!). Grandma loves Jake - he's such a nice young man.
Sam was also thrilled with Jake. Sam knows a lot of successful real estate agents, but was afraid his grandma would get lost in the shuffle of a Top Producer's busy schedule. He was pleasantly surprised at how attentive Jake was to Grandma. He treated her like a queen.
Sam told everyone he knew what a good job Jake did.
Six weeks after he received the call from Sam, he has his first commission check in his hand for $4,236. Jake and the Missus celebrate in style.
During this same time period, Jake and his wife met a young couple (Jim and Patricia) at the wedding of a mutual friend. Jake was riding high that day, due to the successful negotiation of Grandma's condo inspection. Enthusiasm was oozing from every pore.
They found themselves chatting comfortably with Jim and Patricia about this and that. Of course, the conversation naturally turned to careers and when Jim asked what Jake did for a living, Jake beamed and said:
Well, wouldn't you know it, Jim and Patricia were just starting the process of looking for an investment property; maybe two! They had been working with an agent, but the guy was... well... kind of blowing them off. They weren't happy with him and hadn't signed any exclusive agreement.
A week later, Jake took Jim and Patricia out to look at investment properties. No luck, so they went out again. Didn't find anything this time either, so they kept at it. It took ten trips to find the perfect investment property. They put it under contract and closed 30 days later.
They commented that most agents would have given up after the first three trips with no offers made, but Jake hung in there.
Two months later, Jim and Patricia contracted for a second investment home, one they found themselves online. But because they were so impressed with the effort Jake made in helping them the first time around, they called him in to represent them in the sale.
Jim and Patricia told everyone they knew how awesome Jake was.
One day, Jake received a call from Kenny, his wife's massage therapist who knew about Jake's new career from his casual conversations with Jake's wife during her massages. Kenny's lease was almost up and he had just been pre-qualified to purchase a home. He asked if Jake could help him out.
"Of course!" said Jake. And he did. They found Kenny a wonderful little Tudor home on the fringes of a killer neighborhood.
It was a struggle at first because Kenny's eyes were bigger than his pocketbook and he insisted on looking smack in the middle of one of his city's most expensive areas. Jake did his best to find homes that met Kenny's needs for location, features and price, but it simply wasn't possible.
However, Jake waited patiently for Kenny to realize the truth on his own... that Kenny couldn't afford the location he wanted just yet. As soon as Kenny figured this out (without Jake beating him over the head with it), he happily shifted his focus to other, more affordable neighborhoods. (Jake, by the way, was happy to take this opportunity to improve his knowledge of the market, always a good thing for a new real estate agent.)
Kenny really appreciated the fact that Jake hung in there with him while Kenny did his own soul-searching, which allowed him to reach his own conclusions on what he could afford.
Kenny told everyone he knew what a great real estate agent Jake was.
Meanwhile, Grandma isn't feeling so good. Unfortunately, it looks as if she may have to consider moving to a nursing home in the near future. Sam calls Jake for advice. Jake immediately does some research and determines that the market in Grandma's area hasn't appreciated much since she purchased her condo. Jake is honest with Sam and advises him to consider renting out the condo for a few years until the market improves.
Sam told everyone how honest and responsive Jake was.
Patricia's brother, Paul, has fallen in love with a woman he met online and is moving to Las Vegas. Patricia urges him to call Jake to discuss selling his bachelor pad. Jake lists the loft, and also arranges to refer Paul to an agent in Las Vegas. Ka-Ching! A $1,200 referral fee for a simple phone call!!!
One sunny Sunday afternoon, Jake and his wife take the pups to the dog park. Jake strikes up a conversation with a fellow dog-owner (Steve) and finds out that Steve just moved to town and is living at an extended stay hotel until he buys a home. And he doesn't have a real estate agent yet... AND... he fancies the neighborhood that Kenny couldn't quite afford! Since Jake had spent the last month looking at homes in that neighborhood for Kenny, he was able to speak intelligently to the buyer prospect about the inventory there. Eleven weeks later, Jake received a commission check for the purchase of Steve's $800,000 house.
How do you think Jake is feeling about his real estate career these days???
It just gets better... stay tuned.
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Confidence-Builders for the Rookie Real Estate Agent
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