“Then why would you hire me?” I asked.

“Son, we hire anyone who walks through that door. It’s like throwing shit against the wall. One in 10 throws sticks,” he responded.

That could have been the end of my real estate career, but it wasn’t. Doubt me, and I will prove you wrong. I left that office more determined than ever to succeed. The next day, I paid $20 to attend an all-day seminar with Dave Stone, the Tom Ferry or Brian Buffini of that time. Twenty dollars was a lot of money to me.

I figured that if I paid it, I was going to listen to every word Dave spoke. I sat in the front row and took copious notes. I’ll tell you this—Dave Stone was one smooth talker. He spoke about handling objections with a silver tongue and convinced us there was no objection we couldn’t overcome. He presented with ease and confidence, practically preaching like we were in church. During every break, I’d jump up, walk over, and grab Dave’s hand to shake it. “Mr. Stone, that was wonderful. If I could say things like you do, I could become successful.”

“How long have you been trying?” he asked.

“Six months,” I said.

“How many sales and listings have you had?”

“None … yet,” I replied.

“You ought to quit,” he said with great purpose.

“I did. Yesterday, but not today. I’m going to make it,” I said.

And then the strangest thing happened. Dave agreed to be my mentor. He didn’t want to, but I persuaded him with the intensity of my desire. Okay, maybe I begged him, but eventually he gave in and agreed to do weekly coaching calls with me. He took me under his wing, had me buy books, take courses, and follow curricula. He helped give me the tools that would change the direction of my life.

Not long after that, I was picking up a carton of milk at the grocery store. There was a young Hispanic girl there with her father. She might have been eighteen or twenty years old. Her father was much older and didn’t speak English well. Through my limited understanding of Spanish, I could tell they were talking about selling their house. I stopped, turned, and asked the young lady, “Are you talking about selling a house?”

“Yes, my father is moving to Albuquerque,” she said. “Our home is in pretty bad shape, so we’re trying to figure out what to do.”

“Well, your dad needs me. I’m a Realtor, and I specialize in distressed property,” I explained. It wasn’t a lie because of my experience with flipping houses. I looked over at her father and said,

“Señor, do you know how much a commission is?”

“No comprendo,” he said as he shook his head.

“Do you know what title insurance is?” I asked.

“No comprendo.”

I turned back to his daughter and said, “Ma’am, he needs me. I can get this done for you.” I was being sincere, and sure, maybe a little bit desperate, but they didn’t know that.

She asked if I would follow them home to see the property.

I agreed.

When I got there, it was in disrepair. Still, I listed it for $10,500. In today’s numbers, that would be a $200,000 home. In real estate, we used to tour properties every Tuesday. Once I had the listing in hand and it went up on the MLS, I stopped at two real estate companies with my new listing and said, “I need to make a couple of copies of this brand-new listing. Mind if I use your copier?” I could have made copies anywhere, but I wanted to let these other agents know I had a fixer-upper that was going to go fast. At the time, many investors were buying distressed properties to fix and sell. I was desperate for approval, and after six months in the business, I finally had a listing.

That night I had two full-price offers. I sold the property in an hour. As I lay in bed with my wife the next morning, I turned to her and said, “Let me explain to you that you’re sleeping with one fine Realtor. One hundred percent of my properties were sold at full price in one hour or less.”
And I meant it. My wife was almost as proud of me as I was.

Later that morning, I took the young girl I’d met the day before to look at houses to buy with her fiancé. I sold them a house that day. Later that afternoon, their best friend and his wife went out with me to look at homes too. I also sold them a house that day. There were two more referrals the next day. After six months of no business whatsoever, I sold five houses in forty-eight hours. What was the difference between the first six months and those two days? I was still driving the same old beater with no air-conditioning during the summer, in Phoenix heat. But now I had something I didn’t have before: confidence.

From The Perfect 10: 10 Leadership Principles to Achieve True Independence, Extreme Wealth, and Huge Success. Copyright © 2024 by Dave Liniger.