Yesterday, I wrote about “Linchpins,” or people who go the extra mile with everything they do to make themselves indispensable.
I work with so many linchpins that I hate to illuminate just one. But this individual’s story is so impressive that it needs to be highlighted.
When he first started at JVM, he had spent his entire former life on a baseball field, and that was pretty much all he knew. This is probably all too typical for Division 1 athletes who need to devote every waking minute to their sport to remain competitive at the highest levels. It is also why we love D1 athletes so much at JVM – their discipline always shines through.
Anyway, when he first started, his non-baseball skills were pretty limited, to say the least. We often wondered how he found his way to work, and he earned the moniker “wrong way” b/c of his inability to read maps :). His co-workers often lost patience with him too, but nothing discouraged him, and he just kept plowing ahead.
By his 8th month on the job, he was working 60 to 70 hours every week, reading countless books in his “free time” and he had completely taken over and revamped our Business Development Position.
He didn’t just work hard, he also achieved stunning results. He has converted dozens of Realtors to raving fans, he has brought millions of dollars of new business to JVM, he can work a room like a seasoned pro, and most interestingly – he has become a sales and marketing expert in the truest sense of the word.
All those books he was reading were about sales and marketing. He takes detailed notes every time he reads a book to ensure he fully ingests all the info. After ingesting more than 30 books, he now knows more about sales and marketing than any of us at JVM, and more than most of the consultants we hire (or used to hire).
He even started his own, excellent, blog about sales and marketing that I will write about next week.
His transformation is nothing short of miraculous and he is without a doubt, indispensable to JVM.
His teammates love and appreciate him more than anything b/c they have watched his discipline and transformation and they all benefit from his extremely hard work.
This person is of course our Senior Business Development Officer – Nicholas Saenz.
Here are a few takeaways from this story:
1. It is simply inspiring.
2. It is a reminder to not give up on people too soon. The old adage “hire slowly, fire quickly” is not always correct.
3. Hire D1 athletes. Nicholas is not our only D1 athlete. We have two others who have shined through similar to Nicholas.
4. Nicholas is an extraordinary marketing expert. We take advantage of his knowledge constantly. If any readers would like some tips for energizing their own marketing, we strongly suggest reaching out to Nicholas.
Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 1197176, NMLS# 310167
