Jonathon Haddad (pictured immediately below) president of Next Door Lending, chose to answer with an anecdote illustrating the need to have the best people on one’s team. He related the story of a colleague who had begun to see growth — $120,000 one year alone, he said. Gaining industry attention, the broker began to be approached from all sides with offers from people promising to increase profit even more exponentially.
Do I need an administrative assistant?
“There was this one admin who had been around 20 years,” Haddad said. “She said ‘hey, I believe I can take your business to the next level,’” for a salary of $60,000. “He made $120,000, so now he’s investing half his money into it. She said ‘look, if I don’t make you more money than the $60,000, then I’m not worth it – it’s a one-year commitment.’ That next year, he made over $700,000 because he had the right person in his corner. It’s a true story.”
Still, he cautioned the audience: “I’m not saying overspend. But if you have to run a little bit tight right now to have the right people to help you scale, that is what you need. You cannot do it by yourself. I thought I could. I cannot. Nobody can. You need your people and support system, but you need the right people.”
What is a single shoe?
These lean times also present an opportunity to be unique in one’s approach. Trevor Barrett (pictured immediately below), broker and president of Barrett Financial Group, also chose to relay an anecdote. “I had a loan officer who wanted to get into a big builder’s account,” he told the audience. “He found out his shoe size and went to Nordstrom.” He sent the one shoe to the builder with a note attached: “I’d love to talk to you,” Barrett recalled the note reading. “I need five minutes of your time. I’d like to bring the other shoe.”
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