Sell It Like Serhant Quotes

“When people think you're crazy, it's just because they don't have the courage to do what you're doing.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Steve Jobs said it best: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“My number one rule at the beginning of any negotiation is to always counter. Clients so often feel there is no point in doing so—they’ll say, “We’re too far apart, there’s no point!” But I’ve seen time and time again how coaxing two parties to make counters can result in a mutually beneficial transaction where both sides feel they got a good deal (and the broker is happy because he got the sale done).”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Good follow-up, just like a good golf game, is an art form: It takes practice, grace, and diligence to make the ball go where you want, and eventually in the hole—and it works. Had I not been on my follow-up A game, the International Man of Mystery still would have bought an incredibly expensive apartment, it just wouldn’t have been from me. Another broker would have gotten that commission. Ouch. And that would have really sucked because he and I go wayyy back.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Always make a counteroffer. You can’t get anywhere without a counter. Remind clients there is always a cost for time. Time is expensive. You can’t predict the market. You can’t assume there is always a better offer. Can the parties involved split the difference? Can you as the salesperson offer an additional incentive? Can you lower your commission? Pay for a cost associated with the deal yourself? Remember, $10 is better than $0!”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Yes! I reminded my buyer this was an off-market deal. She was getting in early, and P.S. her daughter had been searching for an apartment for four years! Wouldn’t she like to see her happily settled? She agreed to come up $250,000 for “a quick sale.” Just like that, the million-mile distance was slashed in half. I know I’m talking about big numbers here, but what you should understand is that I’m making the gap relative. Whether you’re trying to close a million-dollar gap or a $10 one, break it down. I basically asked each side to come up, relatively speaking, $2.50. That doesn’t sound nearly as bad as bridging a million-dollar gap, now does it?”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“But bridging the gap isn’t as simple as coming down or coming up in price. You have to play to the fears. Remember how we discussed having Walls? And the Wall being our motivation to succeed? Buyers and sellers have the same thing. The seller’s biggest wall is a future in which they have Not Sold. The buyer’s biggest wall is a future in which they have Not Bought. Seems simple, right? I play to those fears in every negotiation. With my seller on 12th Street, I reminded him that the risk of not countering was going on the market and not selling at all.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“ribbons were the icing on top of the cake that was the right-sized three-bedroom apartment with perfect light in a great neighborhood. It was the ribbons that made the cake irresistible to Patty. Since making deals for Sarah and Patty, I’m always on the lookout for creative things I can do to get people comfortable with the purchase they are about to make.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“We can prospect for new clients for 30 minutes, send follow-up, follow-through, and follow-back emails and texts for another 30 minutes, and strategize with our manager on an incentive-of-the-day to offer to customers if they buy TODAY. Trolling Facebook for an hour is only OK if you’re finding clients. Serhant Secret #18 No customers in front of you?”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“If you make a big sale, you’re one step closer to being the salesperson you want to be. Let everyone know about it. Send out postcards, post on social media, talk about it every chance you get.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“In sales, there is a direct correlation between the business that you get and the business you’re known for.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Enjoy being creative—it will help you attract shiny new balls, get publicity, and close deals. Once I hired an artist to paint the naked bodies of models and then made a 100-foot-long banner out of the images and hung it on the building I was selling to create buzz.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“People want to spend their money with the most confident and most knowledgeable person, otherwise they will just stay home and shop on the internet.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“John Deco became the basis of our marketing campaign. We decided to throw John Deco a homecoming party as our launch event. We invited a lot of brokers for food and drinks, and gave out fancy gifts from Tiffany & Co. and Hermès, making sure everyone knew that both of those stores were located right in the area. See what a great neighborhood this is!? Now people were talking about the building. Suddenly, instead of calling the building 99 John, brokers started referring to it as “the John Deco building.” It was no longer just a bunch of units being converted into condos—now everyone knew about the building’s rich history because we had created a story to showcase it to potential buyers. We got our first three offers the next day.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“When the market is great, that’s all you need. But when the market is bad, you need to sell more than just the product—you need to sell the story.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“never forget that I’m not really selling a product; I’m selling a product’s story.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“salesperson. If I take care of the work, the work will take care of me. Think about it. Life is going to go up and down. You will have great days and some you’d like to forget ever happened. You will have good relationships and bad ones.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Deep in my core I believed I could sell this apartment. I was positive I could. Ready, set, GO! I called everyone. I spent the entire day emailing and calling people, trying to find a buyer. I never stopped believing I could pull this off. And it worked—I found one! After two weeks of negotiations, contracts were signed. Sold!”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“I wore all three hats for a long time. While today I wear my Finder hat more than when I first entered the sales business, I certainly pop on the Keeper hat and the Doer hat every day, but for much less time.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Doer work can be everything and anything. Turning on lights, sending emails, answering the phones, opening mail, placing ads, licking stamps, putting postcards in mailboxes—whatever work has to be done to get the deal made. I did everything from ordering Twizzlers in bulk to showing apartments, to painting apartments, staging apartments, and measuring apartments to make sure a couch would fit, and taking out the garbage when a seller forgot to. For you it might mean paperwork and contracts—whatever work it takes to support the deal.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“For every paycheck I received I saved 50 percent for taxes (as sure as death), 40 percent for rent and food, and the remaining 10 percent went back into the business. I used that 10 percent to make postcards or maybe place one ad.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Do anything you can to find relationships—from talking to people on the street, to cold-calling, to going to three different gyms. Make a vow to meet potential clients every single day. Give yourself a specific number, and get their contact information!”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“With my Keeper hat on, I decided that I could afford to spend $200 on advertising and taxis. And I could dedicate about 10 hours each week showing the apartment. This helped ensure that if I sold it I would make a good profit.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“was mostly still doing rentals at the time, so I decided I would create relationships with some landlords. I cold-called them to introduce myself as someone who would do a great job renting out their apartments. Fueled by my new role as the Finder, I also cold-called some For Sale by Owner ads, even though it was as terrifying as that time I asked Liz Jose to the prom.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“That’s when I began dividing my work day into three sections: the Finder, the Keeper, and the Doer. This was a watershed moment for me as a businessperson. Was this what Thomas Edison felt like when he finally got his fucking lightbulb to work? Probably.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“This means I can call up a client and say, “The bad news is that your buyer backed out because he decided to join a competitive curling team in Moscow. But! The good news is I got you another offer!” The bad news is instantly replaced by the good news. For people who sell other things, this could mean that a product won’t be ready on time or an order was placed incorrectly. Instead of calling up your customer and dropping the bad news, take time to think about what little surprise you can add to remedy the situation and maintain the relationship. “I’m so sorry that your order won’t be received on time. Please know that I’ve reduced my commission to make this a better deal for you, you get free shipping, and 20 percent off your next order.” Sometimes surprise comes in the simple form of exceeded expectations.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“persisted with my client. Every two days I sent him a message about the deal. One message would be about how I’m trying to hold it for him. Another message would be about a new comp sale that justified the asking price. A third message would be my suggesting he see it again. He agreed to take another look. We talked about his issues and it was clear he was in the fear stage. I used my tools to get what was down”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“When times get tough in any kind of sale, you need to have a doctor-patient–level relationship. Your clients need to know they can turn to you for help, and you’ll be with them until the problem is solved. Try saying: We are in this together. I will be with you until this is finished. I’m here for you throughout this entire process.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“Good salespeople know what to expect from clients during every phase of the deal, because they are in tune with their clients’ emotions as they pass through each phase.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine

“could let that drive me bananas and sit around by the phone like a 16-year-old waiting for a girl to call, or I could use this as an opportunity to follow back. My team and I worked together to figure out how we could make another impact, something bigger and more meaningful than a tree. We bought a very attractive, modern, and architecturally interesting bookcase, and had it delivered to his office. But we didn’t stop there. The next day, we sent a book with a note. We did the same thing the next day. And the next day. Every. Single. Day. By the time he decides which broker to use, he will have a well-curated collection of books sitting on his beautiful bookshelf. I knew I was the right broker for the project, and I was determined to send him a book a day until he chose me. Did it guarantee it would get me the job? No. It did not. But it would be impossible for him to not think of my team, our passion, our determination, and our generosity every time he walked into his office. And that is a big impact.”
― Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine