Back in January, a prospect walked through the door at Reserve at Cary Park rocking a Boston Bruins hockey jersey. Senior sales associate Nick Friedrichs welcomed him and began filling out a guest card.
After a tour, the prospect was quiet. Nick voiced his concern about the close to general manager Megan Bucklad. He went into sales mode and pointed out the obvious angle to seal the deal. Another NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes, plays 20 minutes away from the property. “I basically converted him to a be a Hurricanes fan now, which is a big switch from Boston,” Nick said.
He successfully closed the prospect by following our systems while letting his personality shine through. “Everyone likes Nick,” Megan said. “He’s the customer service go-to guy. He relates so well to residents, and it reflects in his closing percentage. Being able to relate to others isn’t a skill you can teach people; it’s a reason why I value him as a peer and sales associate.”
Loop asked Nick to tell us more about his love for sales and share advice he received from partner and CEO Bob Lloyd…
Question: What was your first sales job?
Answer: My first sales job was as a server and bartender at Cheddar’s while I was in college at East Carolina. As a server, you acquire traits that help you in sales, like building rapport and listening to customers’ needs and likes.
Q: Why do you love sales?
A: The main reason I love sales is that I’m a competitive person. I love setting goals and achieving them.
Q: Share the story behind your toughest close?
A: My toughest close would be at The Pointe at Chapel Hill. I had a group of University of North Carolina students who loved the apartment but had to talk with their parents. I had each of them FaceTime their moms in the apartment and follow me around. I answered all their questions and left no room for them to leave without signing.
Q: What core value do you embody most when approaching a prospect or renewal?
A: I’d say people count. When you genuinely care about your residents, renewals become easy. Residents want to stay at a property where they know they can rely on the office and maintenance staff to take care of them.
Q: Who inspires you most at The Connor Group?
A: Partner and regional sales and manager trainer Kia Fenty Ngo was the first person I met during my day in the field almost five years ago. She truly lives the core values and puts her best foot forward every day. I hope to be the mentor she is to our North Carolina markets one day.
Q: Share advice another associate gave you.
A: I would say 80-percent of the conversations partner and CEO Bob Lloyd and I have been about sports. One day we were talking about closing percentages, and Bob gave a quote that I’ll never forget – “Even the best hitters in baseball strike out seven out of 10 times.” Bob helped me realize it’s ok to fail here, as long as we learn lessons from our failures.
Q: Any tips for other sales associates?
A: We are the top one percent at what we do. Come in every day with the same tenacity and drive to be the best. We have proven systems. If you follow our systems, you will succeed.