After seven fruitless cold calls which yield nothing but poor results, I finally land on a good opportunity where it sounds like I could make a little money.
The catch is that tomorrow I leave for a six day trip to Mexico City with Elizabeth — a girl I’ve been seeing for a few months who I feel very positive about — and won’t be able to show any apartment while I’m gone. But it’s January fourth and despite my travels, I’m still prospecting, making calls, because I’m hungry and want more business. Cold calling has proven over the years to be the most immediate way for me to get new business.
Now, after about an hour of this cold call session, I have someone on the phone who says that he actually has a Greenpoint apartment he is trying to rent, right now! This is a very hot lead.
The landlord and I meet at the building two hours later. The apartment is small, but pretty nice. It’s a two bedroom apartment, the bedrooms tucked to the left side of the apartment side by side — both not big, but each can still fit a full size bed, and they both have a closet. The living room is also small, but there are windows on two sides of the walls, so it gets good natural light. And the owner has repainted the apartment, the floors are clean and shiny, it’s clear the space is well-maintained. Despite its size, this is a pretty good apartment, and the location is great, too — only a block from the Nassau G stop, prime location near lots of restaurants, etc.
He tells me the price he wants for the apartment — it’s way too little, I reply. I suggest three hundred dollars more, and I’ll charge the tenant the broker fee, which still seems underpriced to me, but he agrees that that’s okay (I’d rather not overprice it, because then I will have to go back to him in a week and ask for a price reduction, which could open a can of worms about whether or not I actually know the market).
I also tell him, though, one other detail: I am leaving tomorrow for a six day trip to Mexico City, so he can call me, and I’ll be sure to call him and provide updates, but I am going to have my colleague, Rachel, show the apartment. He says no problem.
Working with my colleague is easy. I answer all the leads that come in, then connect them to a colleague to show, and we split the commission.
As soon as I post this apartment, though, I am completely inundated with inquiries for people who want to view the apartment. And these leads are aggressive, calling and texting with great urgency because the apartment is so desirable (which it is, because it’s underpriced).
Elizabeth arrives at my apartment immediately after I post the apartment, because we’ll leave from here tomorrow morning for the airport, and I decide I have to shut off work for a bit. I will answer all of these leads tomorrow, once I’m beneath the sunny skies of Mexico City — I just wonder how well I’ll be able to balance being on vacation and working, as well.
To be continued…
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