We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jasen Edwards a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jasen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I love this question because it feels like I’ve been attracted to risk my entire life. I was told that dropping out of college after two semesters to get my real estate license at the age of 18 was risky, but to me it was exciting. After a couple brutal years, I found a mentor who taught me how to sell and I turned things around. I went on to be a consistent top producer in a cutthroat industry, while most of my competitors children were still trying to figure out what to do with their lives. Then, after 13 years as an agent, people told me it would be risky to walk away and start a new career as speaker and trainer for salespeople. But again, it didn’t feel like risk to me. Just like before, I had to take a few steps back to learn but ended up becoming one of the most sought after speakers in the real estate industry. Once I grew tired of the non-stop travel, I decided to move my practice online. This was in 2009, before online coaching was common. What seemed like risk to others, felt right to me. So today, I don’t look at risk like most people. Impulsive behavior can be truly risky, but following your intuition, especially when it excites you, only seems risky from the outside.
Jasen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
In my late 20’s, I’d built a thriving real estate sales business but would find myself spending hours working with other agents who needed help. I was the guy with the line at my door and people would always ask a version the same question: “Hey Jasen, what to you do when…..”.
One day I realized I liked coaching others way more than selling houses so I worked with a mentor to learn what I needed to be an effective coach and public speaker. I naively thought I was headed into the world to teach people about real estate sales but immediately, people began asking about personal issues. “Hey Jasen, what do you do when you husband won’t support your career?” At first I felt unqualified to answer a question like that. But over time, I figured out how to honor any kind of question and help people find their answers.
I describe my coaching as “channeled coaching” because I never pretend to have all the answers. Sometimes, I will teach a business or salesmanship skill but most of my work is showing people the path to their own answers. I believe everyone has the answers to their questions and it’s my job to show up as a clear channel and hold space for them to find them. It took me forever to understand the value in that service. In the end, it was my clients who kept leading me back to that style of working.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I’ve always instinctively sold whatever strength I had in the moment. Picture an 18-year old real estate agent, still suffering from teenage acne, driving up to a listing appointment in an old Chevy S10 truck with no air-condition in Austin, TX. I’d knock on the door and notice them peak behind me. I think the were looking for my dad. But no one was ever rude enough to turn me away. Once I got inside, they could see I knew what I was doing. I had nothing to lose so I always told them what they needed to hear and was an open book about everything. I became not just a guy they felt could handle the job, but the new guy they wanted to help out. They wanted to play a part in my success. That openness helped me when I began speaking to audiences outside of Austin, I remember flying to Tulsa, OK and being open about being gay. That drew everyone closer to me and made them feel they could open up to do some deep work. There was only one time it was an issue. A lady who enrolled in my coaching told me the next day she had to back out because her husband told her I was doing Satan’s work. Clearly he didn’t like me being gay. But overall, the best compliment I’ve ever gotten is when people tell me I’m the same in real life as I am on stage or on a webinar.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
My favorite marketing story comes from my early days as an agent. I wanted to dominate the market in a certain neighborhood in Austin. It was October and so I created a series of 4 or 5 postcards that were both humorous and showed my performance stats in the area, which were way above average. I spaced them out between Halloween and Christmas and began a campaign to speak with every homeowner in the neighborhood. By the end of the year, I’d spoken with over 300 people and knew exactly who was planning on moving in the near future. All I had to do was continue to follow up and by the end of the next year, I’d captured over 90% of the market.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jasenedwards.com
- Instagram: @jasnedwards
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasnedwards
- Twitter: @jasnedwards
