The Altman Close

Chapter 8ALL ABOUT THE OPEN

You can’t close if you can’t open. That’s it. No client, no listing, no deal. You have to start the game. If you can’t land a client or a listing, go home. Your mission, your only mission, is to sell a property to or for someone.

There are as many ways and places to open as there are people. As you become established in a market, opens come from all directions. I’ve opened deals in grocery stores, hot tubs, taco truck lines, the gym, pools, restaurants, charity events, concerts, the veterinarian’s waiting room, baseball and football games, and even – sometimes – my office. Keep in mind that where there are humans, there is the opportunity for business.

The Altman Brothers have huge reach because we have to; our market demands it. People from all over the world work and invest in Los Angeles. I search for buyers and sellers at the top of the financial food chain – Asia, Europe, the Middle East. Celebrities fly in at all hours of the night, looking for exclusive showings before the sun rises. My product is hyper-local but my clients require me to think like a globalist. That means information about world markets. That means the internet. That means messages have to resonate in Southern California as well as the rest of the world; our listings are translated into 20 languages. We open everywhere. We close in LA.

So how do you find real-live clients to open? We’re not there yet. Calm down and listen.

If you’re in the beginning stages of your career, ...