Boiling Point - Episode 021 - Jake Palmer
Introducing Jake Palmer
Jake Palmer always had a creative and humorous side to him. As a young man, he even had is own sketch variety show on community television. When Jake grew up he went toward a career path in IT and worked in the...
Introducing Jake Palmer
Jake Palmer always had a creative and humorous side to him. As a young man, he even had is own sketch variety show on community television. When Jake grew up he went toward a career path in IT and worked in the field for a number of years. He had been interested in a career change to real estate, but a local broker had told him not to start until he had enough cash to float himself for six months. This would happen soon enough when Jake’s employer came to him with an “opportunity” as Jake calls it.
“They came to me and gave me and outstanding opportunity to do anything I want, as long as it wasn’t there.” Jake was laid off, but his six-month’s severance would give him the opportunity to change careers. Many in this scenario might consider giving real estate a try, but Jake wasn’t just giving it a try, he wanted a new career and success. He received his real estate license in April 2009 and hasn’t looked back since.
People expect a level of aggressiveness and professionalism when they contract a real estate professional to sell their home, and these were two things that Jake could provide. However, Jake wanted to be able to express himself with a more natural approach. How did he do this? Humor. Being funny came naturally to Jake, and meant that he could have more fun in the business.
This came about when Jake had a listing that he had been sitting on for over a year. There had been an accepted offer at one point, but the deal fell through. Jake and the sellers felt the listing was getting stale and potentially stigmatized, so they tried something unique. Jake added a banner to his for sale sign which read, “indoor plumbing”. This went viral in the community and soon many were taking notice. Next, Jake changed the banner to say, “not haunted” and the sign went viral again, except this time media, including the Wall Street Journal covered his marketing genius. The average salesperson in Jake’s region sells 10 listings yearly, and now Jake sells between 50 and 60. He realizes his approach isn’t for everyone, and some might consider him a goof, but he knows there are plenty of stuffy real estate agents for stuffy people to work with.
In this episode
We learn from Jake’s comedic brilliance in marketing and making the public take notice. Jake teaches us that perception is not as important as we think it is. Greg and Dave are inspired by Jake’s notion of being yourself versus what you think you need to be to succeed. Jake also shows us how a goofy listing can actually show how professional you really are.
Links
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