Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Josh Merideth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Josh, appreciate you joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
Like most professional fields, there are many challenges one must go through in order to reach a point in their business where they actually begin to figure things out. If I had to pick the biggest challenge, I would say discipline and managing emotions are two of the biggest challenges in our industry. Discipline because Real Estate requires time invested in coaching, developing your skills, understanding how the business works, market changes, contracts as well as learning how to effectively communicate with consumers. You must learn to implement and follow a schedule where lead generation is a non negotiable effort to feed your business. You must develop a mindset that is resilient and always focused on possibility and seek opportunity despite the many challenges life offers as well as immediate challenges with active clients. Managing emotions is an undiscussed area of focus because not only do you have to show up mentally and emotionally everyday, but clients, affiliates and so on show up however they show up and you have to still perform.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Josh Merideth and I live in Rancho Cucamonga CA. I am bilingual and work full time as a State licensed Real Estate Agent for 10 years. My practice goes well beyond traditional representation of buying and selling homes. In addition to standard real estate sales, I am proficient in real estate investments in terms of flipping property, distressed acquisition, development, buy and hold, rental and commercial property.
One thing that sets me a part is I offer and deliver results. This is primarily achieved by having a thorough understanding of how to interpret the market and how to evaluate fair market value based on condition, location and a number of other factors. Whether a client is having trouble getting an offer accepted or getting their home sold, after an initial consultation I am able to identify specifically what needs to happen in order for them to successful. First and foremost I am honest with my clients.
For example, if you’re considering a low offer and non favorable terms when purchasing a home, it doesn’t serve my clients any justice to take their lead and allow their strategies to go forward especially knowing we will not be successful. In a kind, professional and informative manner, I help my clients realize what strategies are effective that yield results and offer professional recommendations.
As a listing agent, if my clients are having trouble selling their home, our discovery call is the first step to reaching their goal. In addition to market and property analysis, I offer input as to what clean up and preparation measures need to take place in order to give them the best chance at impacting the market the moment it becomes live. Given one of my professional focuses is flipping and developing property, I offer my clients a thorough analysis as to what the market and local comparable sales teach us so we can have the best possible outcome.
I have learned that clients have different expectations, a few to mention are; type of property, location, structure type, condition, color scheme, furniture, cultural standards to name a few. Each family and client holds priorities differently. With that being said, listening with the intention of meeting all of their goals is important to me and something I make sure is offered to every client.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of my favorite client stories that offers so many hidden gems about lead follow up and becoming unattached to your own success and genuinely want what’s best for your client, is that of my past client and good friend Casey Wang. I met Casey at an open house I was hosting at one of my past listings in Pomona. Casey came in looking to purchase a home for his parents in the immediate area. I greeted him, learned a little about his goals and had a great conversation about the real estate market and the process of purchasing home. Casey made it clear that he had a real estate agent, one of his life long friends who was helping him purchase the home he was looking for, for his family. We exchanged numbers and agreed to keep in touch. I remember thinking to myself there is no way I would have a chance at working with him because not only did he have an agent, but an agent that was his friend.
A week goes by and I called to check in on him to see how his search was going and if they had considered an offer on my property. He said everything was good, they are not interested in submitting an offer and they are continuing their search. Two, three weeks goes by and I reached out again this time hoping to hear good news that they have found a house for their parents and in escrow. When we spoke he mentioned still no luck, still looking at homes, submitted a couple of offers and nothing. I asked him several questions to understand a little about what he was looking for and ask him to consider adjacent cities that may open up opportunities. We discussed several topics, helped him understand a little more about the market and what improvements I think he could implement to get his offer accepted. He began asking me a lot of questions as well, from financing to inspections to real estate, in my opinion this was the real beginning of developing a good relationship.
After another week or so i touched base with him again, by this point we have developed a good professional rapport and I felt more like I was checking up on a friend and hoping they found success in their search. After learning they still did not have a property, Casey began to consider working with me. I remember him thanking me for all of my help, support and voluntary information and he complemented me. He felt I was working harder than his agent and asked me if I was open to working with them. After confirming he would communicate this to his agent and confirming he was not under contract for buyer representation, I gladly accepted his offer, and immediately set up appointments to tour homes in Phillips Ranch and Chino. After a few showings we submitted an offer off Kennedy and got our offer accepted. After we closed escrow, Casey and I became friends and kept in touch frequently. We dined together with his family and we played several rounds of golf.
About a year goes by and Casey had a friend and client who lived in Taiwan who was in the market to purchase a home in Yorba Linda. After several discovery calls with Casey and his friend who only spoke Mandarin, we quickly dove into the Yorba Linda Market where we found and closed on one of my highest priced single family residences of my career. I believe the sale price was North of $1,800,000.00
Since then, Casey and I have played several rounds of golf and have had several discussions about politics, family, culture, religion and just about everything, I even began to study and learn how to speak Mandarin and got pretty good at it. I have become a source of information for him as they converted his girlfriends house into a rental and refinanced when mortgage rates were at an all time low. So many personal and business developments came from meeting this particular client.
I think a huge part of this success story comes from the initial mindset of genuinely want to hear good news from a lead whether I was involved in the transaction or not. There is a saying that goes, “if you focus on contracts and compensation, you will always have an issue with clients.” “If you focus on your clients, you will never have an issue with contracts and compensation.”
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that although I am in a sales industry, my career requires far more than just getting clients under contract and earning commission. Having the patience and discipline to invest in coaching, attend training and seminars across the nation are all designed to increase your value and knowledge as a real estate professional. A big part of my success is I am proficient in all things real estate. When you are able to articulate and simplify the overwhelming process of a successful real estate transaction, by default, consumers and clients alike trust you and want to work with you. That desire to be the best advocate for my clients grows over the years especially when you encounter other professionals who do not have their clients best interest in mind.
It takes confidence, commitment and most importantly an acknowledgement of your fiduciary responsibility to tell your clients right before closing, “Mr and Mrs buyer, I went to the house to pick up the keys and noticed a puddle in living room. I think its best we do not sign loan documents, request and extension and look into this matter before going forward.” This could end up in a couple of ways, an easy fix or a cancellation. One could easily not say anything to his clients or clean up the puddle and close escrow. Imagine if that agent is behind on rent, not able to feed his family and desperately needs his commission. Those are the moments when your decisions matter most to the future of your success. Always remember, you will not retire off of one closed transaction with an unhappy client. You increase your likeliness of retirement by leaving lasting impressions and building a solid reputation where your clients come first and that their success is paramount to your own. This not only leads to future business with them, but referrals from everyone they know.
I would rather have one cancellation where the client tells his story to his friends, family and colleagues about an honest professional real estate agent versus, being dishonest, misleading your client all to close escrow and collect your commission check.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joshmerideth.com
- Instagram: realtor_joshmerideth
- Facebook: Josh Merideth
- Youtube: AllThingsRealEstate by Josh Merideth
Image Credits
Joshua Merideth