When I first began working in commercial real estate back in 1979, I was told to read the book, "Winning Through Intimidation" by Robert Ringer. This book was a top seller in the 1970s, and it's been one of the best selling business books of all time. What made this book even more relevant was the fact that Robert Ringer wrote it based upon his own experience as a commercial real estate agent, selling expensive investment properties all across the country.
I remember when I first heard the title of the book it made me cringe. I had this vision of someone forcing people to do things against their will to get what he wanted from them. But this is far, far from what this book is really about, and its value to commercial real estate salespeople is beyond measure.
And I remember watching a talk show back then when the book was really popular, too. There was a priest on the show, and he mentioned that "Winning Through Intimidation" was the wrong approach for anyone to be utilizing with others in this day and age. And I could tell when the priest was discussing this, that he had simply judged the book by its cover without reading it.
In the book, Ringer talked about how there are only three types of people in the business world, and all of them are out to get your money. And I can honestly say, after practicing as a commercial agent for 20 years, that Ringer was right on with this assessment. I have to struggle to think of any principals I knew in my commercial real estate career who didn't fit this description. Some of them may have been friendly, well-intentioned people, but in the end, if we were discussing whether my commission should go into my pocket or help reduce their own expenses instead, they almost always wanted what was best for themselves.
Ringer's form of intimidation throughout the book was absolutely brilliant. He talked about creating an image of yourself as an agent that was so incredible in the eyes of your clients and prospects, that they would feel compelled to work with you.
One of the best examples of this was when he'd have his first appointment with a prospective new seller, sometimes even flying across the country for the appointment. Now imagine the impression he created in the seller's mind when he walked into the meeting with three of his personal secretaries accompanying him! What kind of commercial agent would fly across the country with three secretaries along with him to attend the first meeting? Clearly someone who was above and beyond being the average agent.
And he talked about the difference between closing a transaction and getting paid on it, which can be two very distinct and different occurrences in our industry. Since many of the states he was closing transactions in were non-escrow states, he developed the practice of bringing his own attorney to these closings to ensure against any last-minute foul play between the principals and their attorneys to cut him out of his commission.
He recognized, as I later recognized throughout my own career in commercial real estate, that attorneys seem to have an unwritten law of complete mutual respect amongst themselves. Many of them may have minimal respect for you as a commercial real estate agent, but when the agent brings his own attorney along with him to the closing, they treat that attorney with the respect the agent needs to get paid.
If you've never read "Winning Through Intimidation" before, and you're a commercial agent, I can't recommend the book highly enough to you. And if it's been a long time since you've read it, reading it again will probably have a deeper impact on you with your greater amount of experience in our industry. I just finished re-reading the book 25 years after I read it for the first time, and I enjoyed it even more this time!
The book "Winning Through Intimidation" is no longer in print, but previously owned copies of it can be found on Amazon.com .
In addition, Ringer has written a more recent book titled, "To Be or Not to Be Intimidated? That is the Question." And reviewers of this book say it's an updated version of "Winning Through Intimidation" with some additional information included also. If you're interested in information on this particular book, it can be found on Amazon.com as well.
Commercial real estate sales and leasing can be a very difficult business to be in. There are great opportunities to make a lot of money in our industry, but there are a lot of people along the way who try to keep us from making that money, too. "Winning Through Intimidation" is like a breath of fresh air to read when you're a commercial agent. You can easily find yourself saying, "Finally, here's someone who understands exactly what I go through every day in this business!" And let's face it, very few people understand what we go through in our day-to-day lives as commercial agents.
And in closing, thank you Robert Ringer for writing this book. From one "tortoise" to another, it's been a great help to me throughout my real estate career, and throughout my life also.
