Don’t Do This – How I Lost 20K By No...

Hey Moguls, Andrew "The Maestro" Massaro here again, and I’ve gotta a great lesson today. It’s a classic tale of ‘learn from my mistake.’

Here we go…

The last job I had before becoming a real estate wholesaler was working as a sales and marketing rep for a local radio station in Tampa Bay. It was a horrible job. If you think your job is tough, try selling an intangible product, like an idea, versus a tangible product, like a computer.

It's freakin’ tough.

And, should your idea fail to help your client achieve their marketing goal, then you can kiss that client goodbye… forever.

But, I did manage to pull some wisdom from my very awesome sales manager in the three years I worked for him…

Read the Room

One of the most important pieces of advice he taught me was to read the room. Recently, I forgot to do just that… and it cost me a deal to the tune of $20,000 in profit.

But, guess what? I'll never forget it again.

Here is what reading the room means. When you are sitting in a client’s office, your eyes need to scan the room for helpful nuggets that will provide insight into that client's personality and lifestyle. (Think Keyser Soze.)

- Do you see pictures of a wife and kids, which tells you he's a family man?

- Do you see sports memorabilia hanging, which tells you he's a sports fan and which teams he likes most?

- Is there a model sailboat sitting on his desk?

- Does he have pictures with celebrities?

- What's his personality like? Is he light and fun or serious and to the point?

Read the room. Read your client. It will keep you from pissing him off and from losing money.

Listen Carefully

You’ve gotta listen to your client.

proof I just lost a deal because the seller, who lives out of town, was extremely nervous about dealing with investors (it was obvious and she told me) and she specifically said she didn't want any issues - just a smooth transaction.

So, what did I do? I ignored all of this and sent over 10 cash buyers to the house, on their own, trusting that everything would go fine.

It didn't.

A busybody neighbor informed the seller that a million people were going to the house. To top it off, one of my buyers moved the key, which was hidden in the backyard.

As you can probably guess, this set the seller off. Less than a week later… she cancelled our contract. Goodbye deal. Goodbye money.

Could I sue her for breach of contract? Sure. But, ultimately, it was my fault. I failed to pay attention to her expressed feelings, reservations and instructions.

Here is what I should've done:

1. I should have personally been there to show the house to potential buyers (it's less than 10 minutes away from my house).

2. I should've updated her every step of the way about who I was bringing and what their objective was.

Bottom Line
I had a nervous seller who lived out of town. I should've kept her in the loop each step of the way.

That was a $20,000 learning experience. Again, one I'll never forget.

Hopefully your learning experiences won't be nearly as expensive.

What about you? Have you made a mistake that we should know about, so we can avoid making that same mistake? Share your ‘oops’ in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

1. Read the Room - Make sure you pay attention to who your buyers and sellers are. Know their likes and dislikes.

2. Listen to your Clients - Know their comfort zone and also the things that make them uncomfortable. Don’t just listen though, really hear what they are saying and asking of you.

3. Stay in Touch - Make sure you are in constant contact with your client, updating him/her each step of the way on where you are in each step of the process.