Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
/
ft/
For Mom (and Dad)
All of the author's profits from this book benefit
specialized schools for dy slexic children.
others.
It was m y twenty -fourth job that m ade m e rich. How
did I get there?
First, I believ ed Nana's words.
More im portant, I used what I learned from m y
m other.
TkA CORCORAN H* pwi l<
j OS E P HI N E
NANA
F L0RENC9
MOM
F D W I N JR.
PA D
THOMAS
rippy roe TT> MMY
floe P EaN
T know, I know, Mom ," I said, giv ing her a quick peck
on the cheek and a one-arm ed hug.
"And rem em ber, if y ou change y our m ind, y ou can
alway s com e hom e."
With that, I hurried down the steps and clim bed into
Ray 's big Lincoln with the y ellow leather seats. I felt the
sam e m ixture of fear and excitem ent I did ev ery tim e the
Cy clone clicked toward
the top of the big hill. I didn't say a word as Ray rev v ed
the car's engine and turned onto Hilliard Av enue, but I
did take one last look back at the house sitting beneath
the L of the Palisades Am usem ent Park sign.
Ray gav e m e som e m oney to go buy m y self a "real
New York outfit." I bought a purple onea stretchy
lav ender lace top, lav ender corduroy bellbottom s with six
lav ender buttons on the hip, and a pair of lace-up. kneehigh, lav ender suede boots. I walked out of Bloom ingdale's all purple and paraded up Lexington Av enue
sin g in g , "Hey there! Georgy Girl, swinging down the
street so fancy free ..." I knew I was lookin' good and
needed only two m ore things to stay in New York: a job
and an apartm ent.
The next m orning. I put on m y new outfit and applied
for a receptionist's position with the Giffuni Brothers
com pany on Eighty -third and First. Thelm a, m y
interv iewer, explained that the Giffuni Brothers were two
wealthy landlords who owned a dozen apartm ent
buildings in Manhattan and Brookly n. She said I'd be in
six lines long and the apartm ents were all priced between
$3 2 0 and $3 80 a m onth. I noticed the best ads am ong the
lot were the splashy ones with the bigger, bolder
headlines like: "FABULOUS 3 !" "RIV VU 1 BR." "TRIPLE
MINT!!!" followed by a long list of superlativ es.
I worked out the num bers on m y steno pad, and
realized that the big ads were a lot bigger than m y
budget. I decided to keep m y ad to four lines or less in
order to m ake Ray 's $1 ,000 last a whole m onth. But how,
I wondered, could I m ake m y little ad stand out am ong
the biggies and how was I going to draw som eone's ey e?
Stretching m y neck and looking up from the paper, I
thought about m y job at the Fort Lee Diner. Ah, Gloria!
Now she had a gim m ick. On m y first day at the diner, I
saw Gloria had assets Fd nev er hav e, and that night went
hom e to fret to m y m other: "And when we weren't busy ,
Mom , m y counter was plain em pty . Ev en when Gloria's
station was com pletely filled, m en were still asking to sit
with Gloria and not m e."
"Barbara Ann, y ou'v e got a great personality ," Mom
said, as she balanced Baby Florence on her hip and hung
a sheet on the line. "You're going to hav e to learn to use
what y ou'v e got. Since y ou don't hav e big breasts, why
don't y ou tie som e ribbons on y our pigtails and just be as
sweet as y ou are."
And that's how Ray found m e two y ears later, wearing
ribbons on m y pigtails and offering a cheer fu l alternativ e
to the big-
tenants.
He'd turn on his Irish charm and proudly tour them
through his spotless serv ice areas and stairwells. Fd
thank Mr. O'Rourke and ride m y custom ers up in the
elev ator, rem arking that "the owner is so proud of this
building that he m ov ed his own fam ily in."
Once m y custom ers saw all the good things Mr.
Cam pagna's building had to offer, they were writing their
checks before I ev en turned the key of Apartm ent 3 C,
Apartm ent 7 F, Apartm ent 2 1 A. . . .
That's how it cam e to be that Mr. Herbert Cram er no
longer held the exclusiv e on Mr. Cam pagna's building.
MOM'S LESSON #3 : If the sofa is ripped, cov er it with
laughter.
THE LESSON LEARNED
ABOUT FINDING THE GOOD
IN SOMETHING BAD
When Denise whined about the torn sofa, m y m other
was sav v y enough to see the liability as an opportunity
and used it to teach us how truly rich we were.
If I hadn't alm ost been ev icted as a prostitute, I
wouldn't hav e had the opportunity to m eet m y landlord,
ask for his listings, and leav e with a new apartm ent to
rent. The ev iction notice and its happy ending taught m e
that opportunity hides in the worst situations, when the
tim ing's not right, and when ev ery one else agrees that
the only prudent m ov e is to lie low. Finding opportunity
is a m atter of believ ing it's there.
usual "And how was y our day ?" question. Jum p Johnny
Jum p announced that there was a new "cool" kid in the
neighborhood and Tippy Toe Tom m y reported that he
had found a pair of high heels in the Mertzes' trash. When
Mom got around to m e, m y ey es dropped to the turquoise
tablecloth. "It was f-f-fine," I swallowed, not willing to tell
m y day 's far-from -fine adv enture. That day after school,
following the instructions of Sister Ann Teresa, I had
walked down the hall to m y old first-grade classroom at
the Holy Rosary School, the classroom ruled by m ean
Sister Stella Marie. Not sure why I should be going back to
the first-grade classroom , I hesitantly pushed against the
red m etal door. It opened into a scene from a childhood
horror film . The only other children in the room were
Ellen Mulv aney (not her real nam e), known as "the
retarded girl," and Rudy Valentino (really his nam e, but
no relation to the Rudolph Valentino of silent screen fam e.
Rudy liv ed in West New York, New Jersey , and spoke not
a word of English). I looked at Ellen, then at Rudy , and
m y happy world screeched to a halt louder than
fingernails on a blackboard. Oh no, I thought, I'v e been
found out!
Sister Stella Marie pointed with her ruler to the desk
between Ellen and Rudy . It was the sam e green ruler she
had used to whack m y neck in first grade when I couldn't
figure out the answer to an arithm etic problem at the
blackboard. I put m y books on the m etal rack under the
seat and sat down. She pulled at her starched white
collar, buried her hands into her draping black sleev es,
and glowered: "You children can't read. And Fm going to
teach y ou how."
While Sister read from the first-grade Dick and Jane
reader, m y m ind im m ediately wandered down the hall
and out of the building. Mr. Colontoni, our m ilkm an (we
called him "Fat Ray Joe Potty Macaroni Colontoni"), had
giv en m e an em pty m ilk bottle that m orning, and I had
the bottle and a ball of y arn in the basket of m y blue bike.
I was going to the Hudson Riv er to catch a big fish. (Well,
okay , a silv er guppy . But m agnified in the bottle, it
would look like a big fish.) I was going to put it in a glass
bowl, hide it under Ellen's bed, and keep it as a pet.
"Well, Barbara Ann?" Sister Stella Marie interrupted
m y day dream . "Can y ou read the next page, please?'
Not wanting to adm it I didn't know what page she was
on, I told her, "No." Sister leaned ov er, close enough for m e
to see the black hairs twitching on her chin. "Barbara
Ann. if y ou don't pay attention," she scowled, "y ou'll
alway s be stupid."
I sucked in m y breath, counted to a hundred, and
concentrated hard so the tears burning m y ey es wouldn't
leak out. After class, I
cried m y way back to our house on Undercliff Av enue,
ran up to the woods, and sat on m y big rock by the
stream . I just knew I would nev er learn to read. Ev ery
tim e I guessed, I was wrong. And when I knew I was right,
I was wrong. It wasn't that I wanted to day dream ; it just
m orning?"
After the seller agreed to the appointm ent, I bubbled
him with thank-y ou's and ended the conv ersation with
what would soon becom e m y "Oh-and-by -the-way -justone-m ore-question" Colum bo close: a few last-second
queries guaranteed to ferret out just how negotiable the
price really was.
"Oh and by the way ," I quickly asked the now excited
seller, "hav e y ou had m anv offers on y our apartm ent?
Well, has it been on the m arket v ery long? Oh, really ?
Where will y ou be m ov ing to? Oh, congratulations! When
are y ou expecting to close? Wonderful! I really look
forward to seeing y ou tom orrow at nine-fifteen." If the
apartm ent turned out to be what m y custom er was
actually looking for, I knew I was arm ed to close.
By the tim e I finished com bing the paper that night
and working m y sales pitch, I had twelv e appointm ents
set. Four were with non-negotiable sellers, six with folks
who would take som ething less than their price, and two
with gotta-get-outta-herr-fast sellers.
God was m y cobroker when m y custom er and I walked
into the lobby of a twenty -story prewar on East Eighty fourth Street. Apartm ent 9 K was our eighth apartm ent of
the day , and as we walked past the doorm an, m y
custom er beam ed, "My boss just bought in this building!"
When I found out his boss was liv ing three floors below
Apartm ent 9 K, all the rest, as they say , was a piece of
cake. The liv ing room was the sam e cocoa brown as m y
custom er's liv ing room in St. Louis, and the seller's boxes
were packed by the door ready to go.
By the tim e I dropped m y custom er at the Drake it was
four o'clock. His flight was at sev en. I circled back to the
Hay m an and Sum ner stationery store, picked up a
standard Blum berg sales contract, and rushed back to the
tiny office Ray and I had taken in a building on East
Sixtieth Street. I pecked out the needed inform ation on
m y new IBM Selectric and circled back to the Drake. My
custom er was waiting. We jum ped in a cab and headed to
LaGuardia Airport.
The cab had reached the airport exit when m y
custom er looked up from the contract and asked the
question that bedev ils ev ery real estate broker in New
York:
"Just what is a co-op any way ?"
"It's what m akes New York so special," I began, nev er
hav ing explained these details and hav ing no idea how I
would. "You'll be a sharecropperI m ean shareholder.
That m eans the apartm ent is y ours, but y ou don't really
own it." His ey ebrow cocked slightly . "Well, y ou own it,
but y ou don't get a c deed.' Instead, y ou get a 'lease.' But
the great thing about a co-op lease is that there's
absolutely no rent, just a m onthly m aintenance fee,
which cov ers all the salaries of the super and the
doorm en. And the great thing about that is with a few
hundred dollars at Christm as, they 'll fix any thing.
"And then there's the co-op's board of directors," I
any thing. Besides, y ou're so good with the big words, I bet
one day y ou'll be a doctor!" Seeing her face light up m ade
the m any nights of doing hom ework worthwhile.
Ray rarely cam e into the Corcoran-Sim one office
any m ore, other than to sign checks. He was working late
m ore frequently , often m eeting with his carpenters,
plum bers, and electricians. But he alway s got hom e in
tim e to kiss the girls good-night. One Tuesday , Ray
cam e hom e unusually early , at 6 :3 0. I was in the
kitchen pulling the spaghetti off the stov e.
"I hav e som ething I need to speak with y ou about," he
told m e seriously .
"Surer I said, dum ping the spaghetti into the colander.
"I'm going to m arry Tina." My hands went lim p, and I
sloshed the spaghetti into the sink.
"Tina? Tina, m y secr eta r y ?" I stam m ered. "I-I don't
understand."
He shifted his weight and put his hands in his pockets.
"I guess y ou should start looking for an apartm ent or
som ething," he continued. "But take y our tim e."
"It'll take fiv e m inutes" was all I could m uster.
The next m orning, I couldn't lift m y head, and m y feet
couldn't m ake it onto the sm all rug beside m y friend
Catherine's sofa. I was too proud to call m y m om and tell
her she'd been right all along. For the first tim e in m y
life, I called in sick.
I questioned m y v alue without Ray . I traced ov er the
details of our last y ear together, searching for the signs
im portant ones, and crossed out the ones that could wait.
I tore the lists from m y y ellow legal pad and hailed a cab
ov er to Hay m an and Sum ner stationers. I browsed
through the m erchandise, sizing up its usefulness, and
cam e hom e with a large carton full of file folders, colored
index cards, and labels.
9 :1 5 A.M. The Corcoran Group. First day .
"Good m orning, 1 ' I said as each of m y sev en
salespeople cautiously walked through the door. "After
y ou hang up y our coat, please com e ov er here, reach in,
and pull out a num ber." I had num bered and folded
fourteen pieces of paper and put them in a red
Bloom ingdale's shopping bag. Each num ber in the bag
corresponded with a num ber I had taped to the desks.
Cathy picked first, tentativ ely reaching into the bag.
"Oh, Cathy !" I exclaim ed. "Congratulations! You got
num ber sev en! You picked the best desk here!" Dav id was
next and pulled out num ber three. "Is that num ber three
y ou hav e there, Dav id?" I gushed. "Congratulations,
Dav id! You picked the best desk here."
The num ber I was pulling had ev ery one laughing.
"Now, rem em ber/' I shouted into the excited sales area,
"if y ou don t like y our desk, don't ev en giv e it a m om ent's
thought, because we'll be changing all our seats in six
m onths any way ! And if y ou do like y our desk, don't get
used to it, because we'll be changing all our seats in six
m onths any way ! And please don't put y our things on the
em pty desk next to y ours, because we'll be filling that seat
in no tim e at all."
On each of the sev en assigned desks, I had placed a
sm all y ellow rose in a white v ase with a handwritten
note. The salespeople settled in and sm iled as they read,
"I'm so happy y ou're here! xoxoBarb."
I spotted John Bachm an about to post his cardboard do
not disturb sign high abov e desk num ber fiv e. From his
perfectly parted blond hair to his stiff ironing-board walk,
ev ery thing about John said, "Leav e m e alone."
I approached cautiously . "John?" I interrupted. "You
m ay hav e needed that do not disturb sign in our old
office, but y ou won't need it around here. In this office,
ev ery one can disturb ev ery one.''''
John turned his starched neck, twisted his pinky ring
a half-turn to the right, and nodded, "Veil, if zat's v at y ou
v ant..." And took down the sign.
I walked to the front of the office and shouted, "Okay ,
now, please get y ourself a cup of coffee and a doughnut,
and we'll start our m eeting." While they sugared, m ilked,
and stirred, I began. "Good m orning, ev ery one!"
Ev ery one hum ored m e and chim ed back, "Good
m orning, Barbara."
"Today , I hav e six announcem ents to m ake, and the
first is that we're going to hav e breakfast here together
ev ery Monday m orning. It will begin at nine-thirty and
end prom ptly at ten-fifteen." Ev ery one looked around at
each other and seem ed pleased.
"The second announcem ent is that we'll be starting a
new sy stem for our listing inform ation, and here's how
the sy stem will work. I held up four different-colored
index cards. "The new listing cards carry the sam e
property inform ation as our old ones did, but the new
colors will m ake it easier to find the right-size
apartm ent when y ou need it." I dem onstrated each color
as I spoke. "All studio apartm ent inform ation will be
written on the white cards, all one-bedroom s on the
y ellow cards, two-bedroom s on blue, and three-bedroom s
and larger will alway s be pink. Ev ery tim e y ou get a new
listing, y ou'll write it on the appropriate colored card and
file it in the corresponding colored box. As our new listing
sy stem helps ev ery one, no one will receiv e listing credit if
the apartm ent is written on the wrong-colored card."
I sm iled and nodded, and ev ery one nodded along.
"The third announcem ent is about getting better
property inform ation. Pm sure y ou all agree that the
m ore we know about each property , the better chance we
hav e of selling it. So, from now on, I'll be pay ing cash for
better inform ation. For exam ple, when Dav id writes up
all the details about his new listing, and Sandy , after
seeing it, is able to add one m ore fact to Dav id's
inform ation, I'll giv e Sandy one dollar for helping Dav id."
I wav ed a fistful of dollars in the air and sm iled.
Ev ery one sm iled back.
"Announcem ent four is about the form y ou fill out to
get y our com m issions." I held up the fam iliar eight-by elev en sheet of paper. "Well, now, the com m ission request
up?"
"Me! Me! I would, Dad!" ev ery v oice begged.
"Or m ay be," he tem pted further, "a double banana
float with big scoops of chocolate, butter pecan, and
strawberry ice cream , all cov ered with caram el sy rup
and a big pile of whipped cream ?"
"Me! Dad, m e! I would!" we all chim ed in. Denise
jum ped up. John pushed Tom m y aside so his hand could
be better seen, and Ellen clam bered onto Dad's lap.
Dad had our attention, and we waited with drooling
m ouths for his next words.
"Well, kids," Dad sm iled, putting his arm s around
Ellen and m e, "so would I. Yep, that sure would be nice,
but . . . not tonight, kids. May be next week."
Denise sat down, John dropped his hand, and Ellen
slum ped against Dad's chest.
The next Saturday , though, Dad sm iled and said, "So
would I! Get in the car, kids!" And the chocolate Dilly Bar
was ev en sweeter, because we'd been m ade to want it
ev en m ore.
I thought about Dad's Dairy Queen tease and dialed
the New York Tim es.
"Hello, are y ou the sam e operator I was just speaking
to?" I asked the v oice on the other end of the line. "Oh,
well, any way , I'd like to place a help wanted ad in this
Sunday 's paper." And I read:
Sales, Real Estate
ONE EMPTY DESK
I?"
"It's y our gam e. Barbara Ann," she said, rendering her
decision \\ ithout lifting her ey es off Dad's white shirt, "So
m ake up y our own rules."
I bounded down the stairs, shouting Mom 's v erdict:
"My m other say s it's m y gam e and I can m ake up m y own
rules!"
I stepped off the curb and stared Michael in the face.
"And m y rules are: It's Patty 's turn!"
Fatty Patty finished the gam e on two solid feet, and I
prom ised m y self that tom orrow I'd m ake m y Snail ev en
bigger! I'd start all the way up at the library , com e down
past the church, and wind m y Snail right back up Oxen
Hill clear out of Edgewater!
July 1 9 81 . The Corcoran Group.
I slid a piece of our new Corcoran Group stationery into
m y Selec-tric, still thinking about the blank sidewalks of
Undercliff Av enue and how I filled them with m y Snail
gam es. I stared at the blank page and scrolled up. I knew I
had little to work with now, but it was m y gam e, and I
was going to m ake up the rules.
The only inform ation I had gathered for The Corcoran
Repor t was a list of our apartm ent sales ov er the last six
m onths, exactly elev en. So, I added up all the sale prices
and div ided by elev en. I checked it twice and the answer
was $2 54 ,2 3 2 .1 rounded the figure up to an ev en
82 55,000 and ty ped in the words "AVERAGE AP
\RTMENT PRICE" next to it.
authority .
2 . Keep the report sim ple and nam e it after y our
business.
Our first Corcoran Report was one page long and had
one good hooksale prices. And since ev ery one was
interested in knowing what the next guy was pay ing for
his apartm ent, we told them . Besides, it's a lot easier to
churn out a sim ple statistical report than inv ent a new
story ev ery m onth.
3 . Be consistent.
Many of m y com petitors soon copied our m arket
report, but the) were nev er consistent in publishing it.
The Corcoran Report cam e out ev er y six m onths, rain or
shine. And reporters learned to rely on it.
4 . Alway s tell the truth.
In the m edia world, honesty is the key to longev ity
and there are three good reasons to tell it like it is. ev en
when it. seem s to be against y our best business interests.
First, bad news alway s prints. And when the m arket is
bad and y ou hav e little m oney for adv ertising, that's just
when y ou need free publicity m ost. Next, when y ou're
willing to speak the truth on how bad things really are.
reporters learn to trust y ou. Later, when y ou announce a
m arket recov ery , they believ e y ou. Last, reporting bad
news wont fuel a business downturn. Contrary to
com m on belief, it sim ply labels it and gets it ov er with.
5. Ignore the nay say ers.
When I issued our first Corcoran Report, our m ost
it works.''
I held up a m anila folder on which I had drawn
fourteen rcctan-gles labeled "Desk." and fourteen sm all
circles labeled "Chair." "Here's a picture of what we hav e
now," I said. "Sev en desks on I lie left side and sev en on the
right, all fourteen facing in the sam e direction, separated
by the aisle in the m iddle."
Then, allowing the folder to drop open like a hatch
door, I rev ealed m y drawing on the other side. "V oila !" I
said. "And here's our sam e office with a total of twenty
desks. Ten on the left, ten on the right, and the sam e aisle
down the m iddle."
I pointed to m y sketch and explained, "The key , y ou
see, is the space betw een the desks. If we place the desks
front to front, facing each other, we elim inate ev ery third
passageway behind the chairs, and it giv es us three m ore
desks on each side."
Esther studied the "After" drawing with suspicion and
counted the rectangles and circles once m ore. "But will we
still hav e the sam e eighteen inches for each chair to m ov e
back and forth?" she asked. I assured her we would, as we
went out to m easure the sales area.
I grabbed the office broom and turned it horizontally
to m easure the depth of a single desk including its chair.
Then I clasped both hands on the broom stick to m ark the
m easurem ent, and, turning the length of the broom back
and forth, back and forth, I m easured and counted off the
im aginary desks as I went. The salespeople looked on,
com pany .
6 . Extend y our territory bey ond its natural borders.
Ev ery good boxer knows that if he's going to pack a
powerful punch, the target's not the face, but a full foot
behind the face. Business lies bey ond ev ery office wall,
and to grab it, y ou need to reach bey ond y our phy sical
space. Here's how our business was able to extend its
reach:
Open houses in som ebody " else's house. After we filled
our conference room s with sales desks and had no room to
m eet our custom ers at the office, we began to use our
"apartm ents for sale" as satellite offices. We were the first
com pany to publish specific property addresses in our
Sunday "open house" adv ertisem ents, and, contrary to
our com petitors' dire predictions, it nev er led to m uggings
and thefts. Instead, we quadrupled the num ber of buy ers
responding to our ads and got to sit on som e lov ely settees
in som e of Park Av enue's m ost expensiv e hom es.
A v irtual office is v irtually free. With ev ery inch of
space filled and ev ery salesperson productiv e, we still
hired. Instead of a desk, we offered the new agents
specialized training, access to our database, and business
cards with the snappy new title of "v irtual agent." As our
v irtual agents operated from their hom es, we sav ed on
office space, phone bills, paper clips, sodas, pens. . .
Referral directors (a.k.a. the ladies who lunch). In
the real estate business, the person who controls the
property controls the m arketplace, and finding a
had the day off. too. Mom handed him Mary Jean and
said, "Ed, take a dish-pan and fill it with snow for Tom m y .
He's fev erish, and I'll help him m ake snowballs inside."
After taking Tom m y a dishpan of snow, Dad packed a
snowdrift hard against the front retaining wall that
separated our y ard from the sidewalk. He dragged his
two-story wooden ladder up to the v ery
end of our backy ard, the part that m erged into the
cliff behind our house.
"HEY, KIDS!" Dad y elled down, holding the ladder in
place against the hill. "Hop on!"
We all raced to the top of the hill. "I call front!" Marty
shouted, getting there first and taking the lead rung. The
rest of us clim bed on behind, locking our heels onto the
wooden rungs.
""Oh, ho., y ou don't!" Eddie declared, pushing Marty off
the ladder into the snow. "I'm the oldest, so /get the front."
Marty sprang up in a flash and reached back toward
Eddie, his fist cocked. "Cut it out, boy s!" Dad com m anded.
"Marty , either get on the ladder and hav e som e fun, or
we're leav ing without y ou." Marty pouted into place on a
m iddle rung. "Ready !?" Dad hollered, as we all stared
downhill, clenching the side rails with our hands.
"Yes!" we y elled in unison. Dad jostled the ladder side to
side as though he were losing control.
"Are y ou sure y ou're ready ?" he taunted.
"Yes. Oh y es!" we pleaded back, ov erwhelm ed with
anticipation.
"Then get going!" And with a quick shov e, Dad jum ped
on the back of the ladder and sent it lunging forward, zero
to sixty in less than a second!
We scream ed a Palisade's Am usem ent Park scream as
we zipped through the side y ard, hurtling down toward
Undercliff Av enue. We were picking up speed as we sailed
toward the six-foot cinder-block retaining wall at the
bottom . The front riders shrieked as their half of the
ladder went airborne and m om entarily waited for the
back half to catch up.
Then, all at once, we shot off the ledge, sailed ov er the
sidewalk, and thum ped down squarelv in the m iddle of
the street, just behind a lone passing car that was sliding
its way down Undercliff Av enue. We lay in the street, a
jum bled pile of kids laughing until our sides and faces
hurt.
Eddie offered Marty his hand and pulled him up.
"Okay , Marty ,
y ou go first this tim e," he said, and, still laughing,
Eddie and Marty helped Dad lug the ladder back up the
hill.
Mom was changing the sheets in the girls' room when
she spotted us fly ing by the side window. It was our third
trip on Dads death-defy ing ladder, and John caught a
quick glim pse of Mom from the front rung. iC It*s Mom !"
he gasped and pointed, as we plum m eted toward the wall.
By the tim e we hit the street, Morn had barreled
through the house, was down the steps, and had her face
cham pion ballroom dancer, and from the looks of his first
spin, we suspected he had been on the ice before.
"Follow Ron!" I gushed, and like ducklings doing their
first waddle, we all got behind Ron as he dem onstrated a
large figure eight. After a few hundred falls, Ron had us
looping large figure eights back and forth, back and forth,
farther and farther out onto the ice. Esther stav ed behind
practicing her glide close to shore.
We were alm ost to the m iddle of the lake when I
noticed we had attracted an audience on the shore.
Squinting m y ey es against the sun, I recognized the m an
in front of the old Gloy de's Motel as Old Man Gloy de
him self. He was wav ing to us, and I wav ed back with
enthusiasm . He shouted, "That's nice, that's nic el"
"Th ank s!" I acknowledged in the loudest v oice I could
m uster. "Watch t h i s! 9 And with a quick tap of m y right
toe. I turned m v left foot and went into m y best am ateur
v ersion of a twirl. I m ade a point of holding m y hands
straight out with pinkies up, just like Ron had taught us.
Mr. Gloy de seem ed to like m y twirl because he wav ed
ev en m ore v igorously , y elling again, "That's nice, th at's n
i c e!"
I was thinking about attem pting a pretty pirouette,
when I noticed Esther standing up on the boathouse ledge.
She was wav ing just like Mr. Gloy de. When I heard the
ice creak and begin to m oan, it hit m e. "Nice" wasn't
"nice"it was "ice." "Thin i c el Th in i c e/" And we were
skating on it!
trom ped through ev ery costum e shop in New York try ing
on and rejecting a series of 1 9 4 0s ball gowns because they
were just what people expected m e to wear. Still without
an outfit on the m orning of the party , I spotted a
cardboard box m arked "Girdles" in a Greenwich Village
drag queen shop. Fiv e hours later, I walked
into the glam orous Rainbow Room high atop
Rockefeller Plaza wearing a 1 9 4 0s girdle and 4 6 -double-D
bra stuffed with two softballs. seam stockings, and an ice
pack pinned to m y head. As a "1 9 4 0s wom an with a
m orning-after hangov er," I was the belle of the ball.
6 . Fun alway s follows the leader.
I n m y 1 9 4 0s costum e, I got m ore kisses and gropes
from m v salespeople and em ploy ees than I got in the last
ten y ears of m y m arriage. My insanity m ade the gossip
colum ns, and, m ost im portant, I m ade a big deposit in our
com pany loy alty bank sim ply because I was sm art
enough to be stupid.
7 . Make the party a m adm an's plan.
Fun isn t logical. Fun happens when y ou take people
out of their norm al routine and drop them into an
abnorm al circum stance. When I'm dream ing up a new
fun idea, I think of m y self as a half-m ad scientist in a
well-stocked laboratory m ixing up the potions. I take a
little of this and a little of that and try to create
som ething entirely new.
8. Take a few chances.
Fv e often been surprised by what happened during
with a terrace!
"How about Apartm ent 1 2 D at 1 06 5 Park?" Again
they signaled no. I quickly flipped through the thirty or
so sheets, each with a different address. Then I confronted
Elaine's bright ev e-linered
ey es and asked, "Elaine, is there any reason y ou
hav en't put these listings in our com pany files?"
Her lips quietly m outhed "Non. "
"Pack y our things," I leaned down and whispered into
her ear. "And if y ou don't m ind, I'll keep these."
We all watched as Elaine quickly shov ed her desk
accoutrem ents into her brown briefcase and huffed out of
the office door.
The m om ent the door closed, the whole office erupted
in cross-chatter, a m ix of astonishm ent and relief. I took
the pile of Elaine's papers and dealt them out like a
blackjack dealer.
I had caught Elaine with her pants down and in the
process charted a m oral course for our com pany 's future.
MOM'S LESSON #1 2 : When the clubhouse is quiet,
they 're probably not m aking spaghetti.
4 fe
THE LESSON LEARNED ABOUT SMELLING TROUBLE
My police action with Elaine that m orning becam e
folklore, and in the y ears that followed ev ery new
salesperson heard "The Tale of the Pocket Listing Lady ."
When som eone is uncharacteristically quiet y ou can
be sure they are up to no good. They 're either stirring up
aircraft carrier.
Mr. Trum p was seated behind a landing strip of a desk
flanked by a panoram ic v iew T of Central Park. She
gestured toward the two leather chairs positioned in front
of his desk and announced, "Mr. Trum p, this is Barbara
Corcoran.''
I walked ov er and extended m y hand. When Mr.
Trum p took m y hand. I filed it in m y m em ory as the
wim piest handshake of all tim e. "I r eally appreciate y our
coining ov er,'' he cordially said, sizing m e up and
whisking his puffed blond helm et to the side. "Hav e a seat.
Before I reached the seat, he began, "I got y our report
and I don't agree with it. Your inform ation is totally
incorrect because there's sales data on Trum p Tower y ou
don't hav e access to.
As prepared as I thought I was, I was startled by his
opening m ov e. I felt m y palm s getting sticky . "Oh,
really ," I said politely , "and just what inform ation is that,
Mr. Trum p?"
He leaned forward into the intercom that sat on the
left corner of his desk and barked. "Norm a! Bring m e
those condom inium num bers! " The giant doors opened
and a June Cleav er look-alike floated in. plunked a thick
folder on Mr. Trum p's otherwise clean desk, and floated
out. He puckered his lips, opened the file, and leaned back
in his chair. "If y ou'll take the tim e to look at these recent
num bers.'' he em phasized, "it will be obv ious to y ou that
Trum p Tower belongs at the top of y our list!" He pushed
did.
1 . Preparation is the birthplace of confidence.
There's just no shortcut to a confident deliv ery . All
good perform ances are a result of great preparation.
2 . Preparation takes tim e.
Showing up without hav ing done the needed
preparation is the equiv alent of leav ing on a long trip
without packing a suitcase. Chances are y ou'll be cold
when y ou get there.
3 . Self-doubt can be y our v ery best friend.
Self-doubt alway s m akes y ou ov erprepare. And when
y ou ov er-prepare, y our success is guaranteed.
4 . There's no such thing as winging it.
Successful people m ight a ppea r to be winging it, but
they only look that way because they 'v e practiced it a
dozen tim es before.
5. Whoev er controls the agenda controls the m eeting.
When y ou prepare the agenda, y ou're in control of 80
percent of the m eeting, because ev ery thing y ou discuss
will be in reaction to y our ideas. A good agenda includes
what y our objectiv e is and all the item s y ou need to
discuss in order to achiev e it.
"/ hav e no doubt Ms. Corcoran's tips on hom e buy ing
will help y ou ..."
It was m y first public speech and I had worked on it for
three weeks, editing ev ery word and rehearsing its
deliv ery ov er and ov er again in m y m ind. With the
Quick and Easy Way to Effectiv e Speaking as m y guide, I
hedges and pulled som e weeds from her backy ard. I didn't
like working for Mrs. Cacciotti m uch, but I was still
happy I wrote on her wall.
My nam e was fam ous on Undercliff Av enue for two
whole day s! On the third day , the sam e three m en cam e
back, and Mom paid them to erase m y nam e from Mrs.
Cacciottf s wall.
MOM'S LESSON #1 5: If y ou want to get noticed, write
y our nam e on the wall.
THE LESSON LEARNED ABOUT GETTING NOTICED
By growing up in a fam ily of ten kids, I learned how to
grab attention in a crowded m arket. I would later learn
how to steal the lim elight in
a city of eight m illion. Getting publicity is nothing
m ore than getting attention.
A l l reporters hav e one problem . They need stories.
And when y ou prov ide reporters with a good story idea,
y ou're not asking for a fav or, y ou're giv ing them a gift.
The Corcoran Group ty pically spends $5 m illion a y ear
on adv ertising, but less than $1 00,000 on publicity .
Adv ertising helped us m ake our nam e, but publicity put
it on the m arquee.
Unlike adv ertising, publicity has the power of the
third-partv endorsem ent, which builds credibility
around a nam e. If a com pany spends m illions of dollars
adv ertising how good they are, som e people m ay believ e
it. But if a m ajor newspaper presents the com pany in a
fav orable light, ev ery one believ es it.
m ade a deal," Barbara adm itted, "but the other six hav e
m ade alm ost twenty thousand dollars each and that's
certainly better than hav ing an em pty desk!"
"No, that's not how it works," I insisted. "With an
ov erhead of forty thousand, that's twenty thousand
dollars short for each desk! If y ou m ultiply th a t tim es six
desks, that's a hundred-and-twenty -thousand-dollar lossl
We m ight be in a fat m arket now, and getting away with
it, but if the m arket goes south, we'll be dead on arriv al."
What I really wanted to say was: Listen! Pre been
talking to y ou about cleaning up this m ess for three
m onths now and nothing has changed! What do I hav e to
do to m ov e this thing along? I won 9 t carry the deadwood
any longer. We 9 v e got to clean up our m ess and we'v e
got to do it now!
But what 1 said instead was: "How about we go to the
m ov ies?" It seem ed the m ore attainable option.
Esther and Barbara looked bewildered, and then
reliev ed. Barbara spoke first: "That sounds like a lov ely
idea. Doesn't it, Esther?"
IF YOU DON'T HAVE BIG BREASTS 1 3 7
We left the office and spent the rest of the afternoon
drooling ov er Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon.
Fall. Hilliard Av enue.
We were halfway up Hilliard Av enue when m y older
sister Denise and I saw our house through the school bus
window. There were lots of colored stream ers dangling in
the big side-y ard tree, and the front retaining wall was
produce to turn a profit. Sim ply div ide y our total y early
ov erhead (including expected expansion costs and profits)
and div ide the figure by the num ber of salespeople in
y our organization. With y our ey es wide open, y ou'll work
toward m aking ev ery desk productiv e.
3 . Clean Out the Bottom 2 5 Percent.
The 2 5 percent rule is sim ply this: When a salesperson
rem ains in the bottom 2 5 percent of the com pany for
m ore than one quarter, the indiv idual is rev iewed for
possible notice of term ination.
Here are the three steps that m ake this sy stem work:
/ . Make a list of y our salespeople in order of
production.
Do it ev ery quarter. The idea here is to purge the
com pany of its deadwood, that is, the bottom 2 5 percent
of the salesforce.
2 . Fire a warning shot.
Meet with each underachiev er and find out what y ou
could do to help them turn their production around. Put
the plan on paper.
3 . Establish a deadline.
The deadline should be reasonable and m atch y our
degree of confidence in the indiv idual's ability to becom e
productiv e. A clearly stated deadline is a surefire way of
finding out who can swim . Usually only one in four does.
Allow One Pet per Office.
Our sales m anagers can choose to keep one
nonproductiv e salesperson. This is usually an indiv idual
should know. "They 're Jack Russells, and they hav e three
of them for sale right ov er there next to the barn."
"You better m ake that tw o" a lady with a poufed head
of blond hair said as she walked past cradling a tiny
brown-spotted puppy . She was m aking baby sounds. "I got
the absolutely cutest one of all! Just look at his sweet little
face!"
The people waiting in line bristled, and Mom m ov ed us
out of the way as the line squeezed closer together. "Com e
ov er here, kids," she directed, as the fan lady hurried
through the gate, "and I'll tell y ou
what's really going on." Mom laughed to herself as she
explained: "The farm er's wife was sm art enough to get
ev ery one to com e at the sam e tim e because she knew it
would m ake ev ery one want a puppy !"
"But why would it m ake ev ery one want a puppy .
Mom ?" Ellen asked.
"Because ev ery body wants what ev ery body wants.
And when there are ten buy ers and only three puppies,
ev ery dog becom es the pick of the litter."
I had an idea! What was good for the puppies would be
good for apartm ents. The next day , I called Bernie back to
m ake an appointm ent. Bernie liked m y new idea and
asked m e to explain it to his partners later that week,
which I did. Next, I explained it to three serious m en from
the underwriting banks. And later explained it to the
e v e n m o r e serious m en from the lead lender, Chase
Manhattan Bank. And finally I explained it to the m ost
None!"
"'None?'''' Tresa repeated. "But that's crazy ! Who'll pay
the m aintenance each m onth?"
"The sellers will," I answered, "because it's included in
the sale price. We're sim ply giv ing the buy ers one less
check to write each m onth and m ov ing the highm aintenance objection out of the way ." I pulled out a
sam ple contract and continued, "We'll hav e the eighty eight contracts prepared in adv ance by the seller's
attorney , and we'll stack them high for ev ery one to see.
The buy ers will sign them right then and there the
m orning of the sale."
"But that isn't legal, is it?" Esther queried, as she tilted
her head to the left. "Barbara, y ou know buy ers hav e to
show the contract to their attorney before they can sign
it!"
I pulled out the big rubber stam p I had had m ade and
with one quick m otion im printed the sam ple contract on
m y desk with bold lettering:
CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.
YOU HAVE TWO WEEKS FROM THIS DATE
TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT AND
RECEIVE YOUR FULL DEPOSIT BACK.
Esther and Tresa looked cautiously optim istic.
At the next Monday m eeting, I announced to our
salespeople thai we had eighty -eight new co-op
apartm ents for sale, that they were located in six
different buildings on the Upper East and West Sides, and
som eone would prim e the pum p. Our a eighty -eight-salesin-a-day " was its wake-up call.
The One Day Sale was a great m arketing gam bit, but
it was not a swindle. It was a fair deal, and its easy term s
enabled people prev iously unable to buy an apartm ent to
do so. It' was also a good deal lor the sellers because it
enabled them to m ake m ore m oney than they would if
they sold the apartm ents at auction.
When the last apartm ent sold, there were still another
fifty buy ers who wished they had gotten one. One guy
who didn't get an apartm ent actually sued us, say ing the
couple who used cell phones cheated. We settled the suit
by selling him the next apartm ent that becam e
av ailable.
As a result of the One Day Sale, I learned fiv e big
lessons about m arketing.
1 . Ev ery body wants what ev ery body wants.
Com petition alway s com m unicates the m essage that
there's a good deal to be had. And when people are told
that they can't hav e som ething, they want it ev en m ore.
On the day of the One Day Sale, buy ers could plainly
see the num ber of custom ers ahead of them and behind
them in line. Ev en the custom ers who weren't sure they
wanted an apartm ent decided they wanted one as the
litter thinned.
By announcing the sale date in adv ance, we set the
stage with anticipation. The "one per custom er" rule
em phasized the lad dial there was a lim ited supply , and
"Dart just jum ped off the roof and liv ed!" Tim m y Tom
proudly exclaim ed as he inched closer to Marty , try ing to
catch som e of his glow.
"And he hit the pool dead center!" Ellen bragged.
"Oh, m an," Stev ie whined, "but I didn't see it. That's a
bum m er."
Without a m om ent's thought, Marty gripped the pool's
edge, swung his m uscular legs, between his arm s, and
popped out of the pool dripping wet. "No problem !" Marty
said. "Watch m e this tim e, I'll do it again."
Before Marty 's second jum p ended, he had becom e the
town hero.
That night, while Mom pounded the chicken cutlets,
we were all still talking about Marty 's am azing feat. Mom
didn't look happy . She rolled out a sheet of waxed paper,
looked up at Marty , and said, "Jum ping out that window
could hav e m ade y ou either an ass o r a hero. You got
lucky , Marty ." As Dad cam e in the front door from
work, Mom lowered her v oice. "Since y our father's
interpretation won't m atch y our friends'," she warned,
pointing with the m eat cleav er, "y ou better keep y our
braggin' to y ourself."
Decem ber 1 9 9 3 . Corcoran West Side.
I m ade m y way down the wooden steps that leaned
precariously against the m oldy cinder-block wall in the
wet basem ent of our West Side office, right next door to
Zabar's deli on Broadway .
I pulled the string on the single lightbulb at the
ov erbite.
"Yes, dear, a good citizen."
"Well ..." I began, searching m y head for the answer to
Mrs. Day ock's riddle. M nice person?'"
"Yes," she nodded, and prom pted, "a nice person and ..."
I thought for a m om ent about what else m ight m ake a
good citizen and decided, "Just a nice person, that's all."
"Oh, that's v ery nice, dear," Mrs. Day ock said as she
nodded toward the two other ladies, who nodded back.
Mrs. Day ock stood up and gestured toward the door. "We
appreciate y our com ing, dear." Needless to say , m v
pontification on good citizenry did not win m e the
thousand dollars.
When I got hom e from Chicky Day ock's, I assaulted m y
m other with m y tale of woe. "I'm m ortified, Mom , just
m ortified," I sputtered. "Ev ery one there acted like they
were m uch better than m e. And now Mrs. Day ock is
going to tell Grace about m y stupid answer, Grace will
tell the cheerleaders, and the cheerleaders will tell the
whole school! I knew I shouldn't hav e gone. I just knew it!"
Mom threw up her hands. "Enough," she said.
"Barbara Ann, just get ov er y ourself! Whether y ou won or
lost isn't ev en im portant. What's im portant is that y ou
had the right to be there. Period. Besides, taking y ourself
that seriously will only giv e y ou a heart attack."
Susan crossed her legs and shifted in her chair
im patiently . Then it hit m e. Susan Cara was sim ply a
rougher v ersion of m e. She was hungry , passionate, and
baby ."
It took fiv e and a half m onths, nineteen m eetings, two
trips to Hong Kong, 2 ,7 00 pages of faxed docum ents, and
sev enteen attorney s, but
on June 3 0. 1 9 9 4 , the deal closed, and the six
wealthiest fam ilies in Hong Kong becam e one of the
largest landlords in Manhattan, purchasing the
outstanding S3 1 0 m illion debt from the banks for the
bargain price of $9 0 m illion, plus another $8 m illion in
real estate taxes.
MOM'S LESSON #2 1 : You hav e the right to be there.
THE LESSON LEARNED ABOUT INVITING YOURSELF
IN
When Susan Gara interv iewed for her sales position at
The Corcoran Group, she explained how she was m arried
to a m an who owned an auto repair shop in Brookly n and
how ev ery day she serv ed the m echanics coffee and
doughnuts in the m orning, and tea and cookies in the
afternoon. Susan succeeded in selling fourteen city blocks
in Manhattan to a Chinese conglom erate. Nothing in her
background said she had the right to be there, but Susan
Cara inv ited herself in.
Susan was inexperienced. But she was also im patient,
didn't listen, knew no boundaries, and was relentless in
keeping her ey e on the ball. It was partly dum b luck that
landed the Chinese inv estors in Susan's lap, but the fact is
that once they landed, she had the gum ption to take the
ball and run.
door was Mr. Milstein's. There was only one. The door was
m ade of gleam ing m ahogany , and
standing at attention holding it open was a m an in a
long-tailed coat. He looked as if he was dressed for a
wedding.
"Goooood afternoooon!" he said, finishing his o's and
bowing his head as if to collect a thought he'd lost. "Mr.
Milstein is expecting y ou, m 'daahm . Please follow m e."
He turned on his heel like a palace guard, and, feeling
rather awkward, I followed behind. The huge entrance
gallery was bigger than our house in Edgewater and it
had som e serious m useum -ty pe paintings hanging on the
walls. There were lots of tables decorated with the largest
flower arrangem ents Fd ev er seen. "Please wait here,
m 'daahm ," he instructed as we got to the m iddle of the
runway . "I'll tell Mr. Milstein y ou'v e arriv ed." I tucked
m y Korean deli daisies behind m y back and was thinking
about stashing them under one of the big tables when Mr.
Milstein suddenly appeared.
"So nice of y ou to com e, Barbara!" he welcom ed, while
eagerly shaking m y hand. "Perhaps we'll sit in the den,
Jam es," he said. Jam es nodded, turned on his heel, and
walked back in the direction we had just com e. I followed
along again, with Mr. Milstein bringing up the rear.
Mr. Milstein looked surprised to find Mrs. Milstein
sitting in the den. He politely introduced m e, and she
politely helloed m e back, and I decided it was as good a
tim e as any to unload m y three-dollar daisies.
not to, and I was also really hungry . "Oh, thank y ou," I
said.
Using m y hand like the m etal claw at the Palisades
Am usem ent Park crane gam e, I reached down for the
"burrito." I tried to get a good hold on it, but it was wetter
than I thought and both the pink stuff and the cav iar
sprinkles kept sliding around. Finally , I grabbed it and
popped the sucker into m y m outh. The burrito filled
ev ery bit of m y m outh, and I could hardly chew.
Will that be . . . all, m 'daahm ?" Jam es asked without
m ov ing, his ey es wide, as if he were giv ing m e a signal to
take m ore.
I shook m y head no and answered, "Hwum m
hwm um ," which was m y stuffed-m outh v ersion of "Thank
y ou, Jam es, that will be all."
Jam es m ov ed ov er to Mr. Milstein and offered him the
tray . Mr. Milstein took a sm all silv er fork and knife and a
little plate from the table between us. He lifted a burrito
and gracefully placed it on his plate. As I continued
try ing to chew, Mr. Milstein cut off a sm all piece, nudged
it onto his fork, and tipped it into his m outh. He nodded at
Jam es and said, "Mrarara, perfect!"
Oh, God, I thought, gum m ing at m y m outhful of
m ush, so that's what the little knife and fork were for!
Girl Scouts. The Fort Lee Pizzeria.
The first tim e I ev er had pizza was with Miss Griffin
and sev en Girl Scouts. Miss Griffin, our eighth-grade
teacher, was the only Holy Rosary School teacher who
him good-by e.
MOM'S LESSON #83 : Nev er be asham ed of who y ou
are.
THE LESSON LEARNED ABOUT BEING YOURSELF
Som etim es people fail to realize that their personal
points of difference are, in fact, often their best
adv antages, and that ev ery one likes and responds best to
people who are com fortable with them selv es.
Ev ery one recognizes som eone who's genuine,
especially in business, where group pressure often
im poses the status quo of expected business behav ior. I
was nev er afraid to be different and got to where I was by
being m y self. Although I wasn't fancy and didn't hav e a
business degree, I did hav e com m on sense and the ability
to laugh at m y self.
Mr. Milstein's offer turned out to be the first in a long
line of sim ilar propositions. But none of m y suitors ev er
asked what m y dream s and aspirations were befor e they
started their sales pitch. If they had, they would hav e
discov ered that m y personal goals had nothing to do with
m oney , status, or power.
But m y v isit with Mr. Milstein got m e thinking, and
for the first tim e, I realized I had a business actually
worth som ething! I decided to size up where I had been,
where I was now, and, m ost im portant, where I wanted to
go.
I realized that m y dream of being the "Queen of New
York Real Estate" had com e true. I had taken the
com pany from Ray Sim one's $1 ,000 inv estm ent and the
1 BR + DEN ad to what was about to becom e the num ber
one firm in the New York m arket. I had clim bed m y
m ountain and achiev ed ev ery thing I had set out to do,
and had prov en to m y self that I could "succeed without
him ."
Thanks to the fabulous m arket of the nineties, The
Corcoran Group was hugely profitable and had ended the
y ear with m ore than $2 billion in sales. Our salespeople
and em ploy ees were known as the best in the business. We
had twelv e beautifully designed offices equipped with the
m ost adv anced technology , and it was a l l paid for. In
short, The Corcoran Group was in m int condition.
But I had seen bad tim es, too, and considered m y self
lucky to hav e m ade it through. With our ov erhead now
m ore than a m illion dollars a m onth, liquidating m y
personal assets wouldn't be enough to carry the business
through another downturn. I knew we needed deeper
pockets.
I thought about taking on a financial partner as a
m inority shareholder, but knew that in bad tim es the
partner with the m ost m oney often wrestles away
m ajority control. I realized I was m uch too independent
for that.
What I treasured m ost about building the business was
working with all our great people and running the
com panv hand-in-hand like a fam ily . But now there were
so m any people at the com pany , I no longer knew each
"Oh, thank y ou," she said, seem ing grateful that I had
noticed. "It was m y m other's."
When m y eggs arriv ed, I took out the Citibank receipt
from m y bra, sm oothed out the crease, and leaned it
against the sugar dispenser. I took a sip of hot coffee and
wondered if Esther had v isited her bank y et. I laughed at
the thought of Esther quickly tucking her bank receipt
into her pocketbook and snapping it shut. I rem em bered
the chart I'd drawn the day I talked Esther into becom ing
m y partner, and the wild projections of how far we would
go. Things had turned out ev en bigger than we had dared
to im agine.
I thought about all the incredible adv entures we had
had building the business, and how lucky I was to hav e
been giv en the freedom to create a world just as I
dream ed it could be. I thought about the people who had
stood by m e through thick and thin, and how ev ery one at
The Corcoran Group had built great liv es for them selv es.
And I felt the im m ense satisfaction of a job well done.
The boring m an at the next table was telling his sister
all the news she had m issed while she was away on a trip
of som e kind. He y akked on and on about the bad
econom y , Republican politics, and the city 's terrible
school sy stem . When they were finished, the m an paid
the bill, turned to his sister, and said, "Oh, and did y ou
hear Barbara Corcoran sold her business for m egam illions?" He didn't wait for a response before adding,
"Must be nice to hav e all that m oney in the bank."
Yes, I guess it is, I reflected, but the real joy has been in
getting here.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE BIG BREASTS
21 1
I opened the packet of newspaper articles and read
through the pile of clippings.
The New York Tim es
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 5,2 001
Corcoran Sells Realty Firm She Founded
Cashing Out After Years Of Rising Housing Prices
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
Barbara Corcoran, the powerhouse Manhattan real
estate broker, agreed y esterday to sell the firm she
founded, the Corcoran Group.
NEW YORK POST
LATE CITY FINAL
Septem ber 2 5, 2 001
It's official:
Corcoran
to Cendant
By BRADEN KEIL Following an em otionally charged
com pany m eeting last Friday , Barbara Corcoran sent a
m em o to com pany em ploy ees announcing the sale of the
Corcoran Group.
Barbara Corcoran
CHAIN'S
NEW YORK BUSINESS
October 1 -7 , 2 001
HI \H\
THE END
Bonus Manual
WHAT MOM DIDN'T TEACH ME
when there's the m ost uncertainty and the m ost scope for
negotiating win-w in deals.
B A KBA R A CORCORAN
F YOU DON'T HAVE BIG BREASTS
PARTI
The Most Am azing,
Extraordinary , and
Distinguishing Characteristics
of Great Salespeople
1 . Great salespeople fail well.
Great salespeople get knocked down like ev ery one else,
but take a lot less tim e getting up. In fact, the lowest rate
of suicide is am ong com m ission salespeople because in the
course of a norm al day , they field so m any rejections that
ev en when life strikes them som e extra-difficult blows,
they bounce back out of habit.
2 . Great salespeople are passionate!
Great salespeople hav e an attitude of "I'll either
succeed, or I'll die try ing!" You can't fake passion. There is
nothing harder to resist than a passionate salesperson.
3 . Great salespeople m ake lousy em ploy ees.
Great salespeople are creativ e, m av erick personalities
who put a lot of effort into their jobs, and do them well,
prov ided no one tells them how to do it.
4 . Great salespeople hav e split personalities.
Great salespeople are som etim es m iserable to liv e
with, but on the outside they 're alway s m asterful
charm ers.
PART 3
How to Make a Business Plan that Works
I'v e nev er m et a great salesperson who didn't hav e a
plan. With a good plan, y ou'll hav e a long-term v iew of
where y ou want to go and a specific way to get there.
A good business plan should m atch the way y ou think.
There's a left-brain and a right-brain approach:
It's the Money , Honey !" (The left-brain logical
approach)
The first thing y ou do is decide how m uch m oney y ou
want to m ake, and then work y our plan backwards.
Let's say y ou want to earn $1 00,000 a y ear. Figure
out what y our av erage com m ission is likely to be, let's use
$6 ,000. Now, div ide y our desired earnings by the
av erage com m ission and the answer is roughly eighteen
sales a y ear, or Wi sales each m onth.
Okay , what will y ou hav e to do to m ake IV2 sales a
m onth?
"Paint a Pretty Picture." (The right-brain v isual
approach)
This plan is for day dream ers. The first thing y ou do is
v isualize y ourself as an incredibly successful salesperson.
Where are y ou, what do y ou look like, what are y ou
wearing, and how do y ou feel? Fill in ev ery detail and
play that picture ov er and ov er again in y our m ind. This
picture becom es y our road m ap.
2 3
Okay , what will y ou hav e to do to m ake ev ery detail of
picture of y our
BA RBA RA CORCORA N I I Y O U D O N T H A V E BIC
BREASTS
best sources of business, y ou'll be in a better position to
get m ore of it.
7 . Figure out what y our custom ers hav e in com m on.
Salespeople becom e m ore successful once they 'v e
figured out who they sell best to. You'll probably discov er
that y ou sell best to people sim ilar to y ou.
8. Rate y our custom ers.
Rating y our custom ers is sim ply deciding who y ou
should spend y our tim e with. Rate them based on need.
The "A"s are the custom ers y ou should call tom orrow at
the latest, the "B"s can wait till next week, and the "C"s
should be thrown away . Don't be m isled by custom ers
with big budgets; they 're often the biggest tim e wasters.
9 . Make a "Not to Do List."
Figure out which past efforts am ounted to nothing and
label them y our "Not to Do List." Post the list where y ou'll
see it.
1 0. Expand on y our best sources of business.
With an understanding of y our best sources of leads,
y ou can play to y our strengths. For exam ple, if m ost of
y our leads are from social contacts, spend m ore tim e
socializing.
//. Find three new way s to get m ore business.
Design a m arketplace report, create a personal
newsletter, host a dinner party , produce a sem inar, be a
upper hand.
Q Buy a m irror.
Put it near y our phone and sm ile info it. Sm iling on
the phone is heard in y our v oice.
Tape-record y our v oice.
Listen to y ourself while on the phone with a custom er.
The changes y ou'll m ake will increase y our appointm ents
by a third.
Use y our answering m achine as y ou would a
secretary .
Be tim e-specific as to when y ou'll return. No one would
ev er instruct a secretary , "If any one calls, tell them I'll
call them back as soon as I can/'
J Nev er answer a sales call without a backup list in
hand.
In real estate, custom ers rarely buy the house they
call on, so the salesperson needs to hav e other properties
to offer in order to win the custom er's confidence and get
the appointm ent.
Repeat back the attributes that got the custom er to
call in the first place.
When custom ers call in response to a specific
adv ertisem ent, they like what they saw, so sell the sam e
attributes back. In real estate, a custom er calling about a
newspaper ad is looking for a reason to end the call and
get on to the next one.
The objectiv e of ev ery phone call is to get the
appointm ent.
tair
Don V let the custom er back him self into a corner.
By not agreeing with his position, y on giv e him the
opening to later rev erse his position and m ake his way
out.
Don't rush the bid.
Buy ers change their m ind when they are pushed to
buy before they 're really ready .
Don't ev er suggest an opening bid.
If y ou do, it quickly becom es the n ew asking price in
the buy er's m ind.
BARB A R A CORCORAN
II VOL) DON T HAVE BIC BREASTS
Dress up an offer by putting it in writing.
Ev ery one takes a written offer m ore seriously .
Nev er refuse a low offer.
Make a counterbid. Most deals start as low offers, and
for som e custom ers, it's a way to put their toe in the
water.
Nev er subm it y our offer without a deadline.
If there's no deadline for acceptance, a bid will often
becom e the one to be bid against.
Nev er hav e the first bid accepted.
People like to negotiate. When the buy er's first bid is
accepted, the sale feels too easy and he'll alm ost alway s
back out. Easy com e, easy go.
Q Delay a quick counteroffer.
When y ou reply "I'll try to hav e an answer for y ou in
sales slum ps start when com petition is stiff and one m ore
lousy custom er succeeds in wasting y our tim e. You know
y ou re headed for a slum p when y ou start taking y our
business personally .
Steps for Getting Out of a Slum p
/. Stop worry ing about the next deal.
Instead, m ake weekly appointm ent goals and write
them in y our calendar. It'll take the pressure off and lay
the right foundation for future sales.
2 . Knock that chip off y our shoulder.
It's a sure sign y ou're taking the business too
personally .
3 . Don't worry about what ev ery body else is thinking
about y ou.
Nobody 's watching and nobody giv es a dam n.
4 . Make a plan of action.
Failure is a state of m ind, but success is a state of
action.
BA RBA RA CORCORA N I I V O L D O N 'T H A V E Bl(.
BREASTS
5. Mind y our own business.
Stop com paring y ourself to ev ery body around y ou. If
y ou're m inding som eone else's business, who's m inding
y ours?
6 . Take a v acation.
Vacations are the best way to recharge y our soul. Put
aside the day s for y our next v acation now, and the one
after that, too. Slum ps nev er follow v acations.
< Tn
W
Whatev er Happened To . (in order of appearance)
there. Marty 's pool is gone, and the rocks are no longer
white.
Credits
Barbara's Heroic Mom
Florence Corcoran Barbara's Lov ing Dad
Edwin Corcoran Barbara's Leading Man
Bill Higgins Barbara s Business Partner
Esther Kaplan Barbara's Literary Agent
Stuart Krichev sky Bruce's Co-Star
Scott Stewart Bruce's Guardian Angel
Ray m ond Papa Littlefield B race's Literary Agent
Mitchell Waters Inspirational Teachers
Caroly n Randolph
Sandra Salinas
Dav id Wertz
Key Play ers
Scott Durkin Tresa Hall Lori Lev in Shery l Martinelli
Anita Perrone Bob Sauer Rebecca Wood
Secret Counsel Sy lv ia Alpert Ellen Carlson Mary
Cleary Jennifer Mitchell Im ogene Mullin Sy Presten
Joanne Rooney RonDeena Ross Liz Garland Sauer Jennifer
Stewart Karen William s
Suzanne Borowicz
Ruthann Bowers
Deanna Bowm an
Ev a Marie Bozsik
Jim Brawders
Cindy Breedy
Karesa Bridges
Elizabeth Bright
Jesus Brillem bourg
Laura Brillem bourg-Osio
Barbara Brine
Barton Brooks
Christina Brooks-Terrell
Marcia Browin-Irv in
Aly sande Brown
Brad Brown
Caroline Brown
Garret Brown
Juliana Brown
Katie Brown
Ly nne Brown
Robbie Brown
Tony Brown
Elizabeth Brownback
Irena Brownstein
Jay Brownstein
Gary Bry nes
Fern Budow
Credit;
249
Anuria Buglisi Karen Burden Frances Burgarella
Laura Burkell Sharon Burroughs Clarke Paul Burton Paula Busch Anne Butler
Marianne Bv eMiller Sofiy a Cabalquinto Judy Cacase Julia Cahill
Susan Caldwell Tatiana Carries Lisa Cam ilieri Cam ille
Cam pbell Barry Cam pm ier Tony a Canady Leighton
Candler Diane Cane Nancy Capasso Patricia Carbon Enid
Card Fabio Carli Loy Carlos Cathleen Carm ody Barbara
Casey Karen Casey Leslie Casey Danielle Cash Denise
Castagna Eric Castaldo Anthony Castellano Denise
Cataudella Benjam in Caushaj Jennifer Cella Rosem arie
Ceraso Catherine Certa Suzanna Chan Barbara Chase
Ella Chav ers Marisa Chav es
Tracy Chazin
Linda Chen Debra Cheren Carrie Chiang Linda
Chipurnoi Eun Choi Matthew Chook Suan Chow Sonia
Christian Eun Young Chung Eric Ciam bra Jane Cibener
Lenny Cicio Stev e Cid Victor Cino Mark Ciolli Peri Clark
Wendy Clark Am anda Clarke Ty rone Clerk Patricia Cliff
Warburg Carol Cohen Ingrid Cohen Stev en Cohen Kelly
Cole Tricia Cole Michael Colem an Sharon Collington Sheri
Collins Susanne Colum bia Peter Com itini Lawrence
Com roe Carm en Cook Jenifer Cook Jody Cooney Susan
Cooper Keith Copley Daniel Cordeiro Jam es Cornell
Donald Correia Antonio Cosentino William Costigan Mary
Fast
Bev erly Feingold Dennis Feldm an Peter Feldm an
Marcy Feltm an Am alia Ferrante Angela Ferrante Beth
Ferrante Am ie Fields Bruce Fields Sam arrah Fine Jay ne
Firtell Louise Fitting Thom as Fitzpatrick Sheila Flatley
Betsy Fly nn Linda Fonseca Karen Fontana Jacqueline
Fopiano Frank Ford Brett Form an Renee Form an Sheba
Forrest Mary Fortuna Joan Fox Eileen Foy Carm en
Franco Sim one Franco Stev e Frank Roby n FrankPedersen Barbara Freehill Ellen Freem an Patrice
Freem an Inna Frenkel Lorraine Friedberg Marianna
Friedm an Stev e Friedm an Martha Friedricks Charles
Fritschler Stacey Froelich Alexandre Froes Wigder Frota
Caroline Fuchs Cathy Fuerth Stephanie Gaasterland
Angelia Gabry Patricia Galante Jeffrey Gallo Jennifer
Garabedian Martha Garcia Cam ille Garelik Nathan
Garner Louis Garrett Greg Garwood John Gasdaska Carol
Gat Jam es Gates Erin Gaudreau Maura Geils Thom as
Geisler Heidi Geistwhite Sara Gelbard Alexandra George
Elizabeth Geraghty Ly nne Geras Stan Gerasim czy k
Stev en Gerber Gerald Germ any Adi Gershoni Linda
Gertler Aria Giauque Heloisa Gilbert Laurel Gilbride
Elizabeth J. Giles Louisa Gillen Justine Gilles Judith
Gilsten Arden Ginsberg Barry Giske Paul Glenn Dav id
Glick Susy n Gliedm an Caroline Gold Lisa Gold Judy th
Goldberg Am y Goldberger Maureen Goldstein Mort
Goldstein Bennett Goldworth
Credits
51
Am erica Gonzalez Isabel Gonzalez Lisa Gonzalez
Barbara Goodm an Marc J. Goodm an Linda Gorby Julie
Gordon Michael Gordon Anne Gorey Dam on Gorton
Barbara (Clem ent)
Gould Richard Gould Robbie Gould Dolores Grant
Adrienne Gratry Dav a Gray son Joseph Gray son
Christine Graziano Bob Green Cry stal Green Irsa Greene
Judith Greene Lori Greene Rhonda Greenwald Dorothy
Greiner Karesse Grenier Daniel Grey Jim Gricar Rose
Grobm an Alison Gross Lili Gross Deborah Grubm an
Marianne Guadiana Helen Guittard Ely se Gutm an
Joseph Guzzo Suzanne Halasz Gregory Hall Tresa Hall
Susan Halpern Tim othy Ham m Joy Handler Kathie
Hannaford
Donald Hannibal Elizabeth Harding Judith Harrison
Christine Harste Marsha Hartstein Atoussa Haskin
Meredith Hatfield Nicole Hatoun Stev en R. Hauser Dean
Hawthorne Benjam in Hay den Julie Hay ek Jam es Hay es
Kev in Hay es Nisha Hay es Harriet Hay nes Zachary
Hay nes Carole Healy Suzanne Hebron Margaret
Heffernan Sharon Held Barbara Heller Yv onne Hem m ing
Diane Henning Jacqueline Henriquez Eric Heras Terry
Herbert
Katrina
Hering
Dav id Hertz Barbara
Hochhauser Debra Hoffm an Eileen Hoffm an Susan
Holden Carol Holder Deborah Hollon Yury Holohan
Hilary Holt Linda Hom ler-Ferber Linda Honan Hillary
Hopkins John Hopkins Jennifer Hoxter Lily Hu Robin
Hudis
Caitlin Hughes Derm is R. Hughes Tary n Hughes Holly
Hunt Danny Huy nh Eli Ickov ic Dorian Irizarry Debbie
Isaacs Christine Iu Carol Jacobanis Alton Jam es Stev en
Jam es Carla Jean Deirdre Jennette Brian Johnson Ingrid
Johnson Michael Johnson Susan Johnson Heather
Johnson-Sargent Allison Jones Michael Jones Sharon
Jordan Bo Jung
Jacqueline Kabat Joy ce Kafati-Batarse Gary Kahn
Greg Kam m erer Christopher Kam i Joan Kaplan Rachel
Kaplan Marcia Kapp Jason Karadus Bill Karam Carey
Karm el Karron Karr Kara Kasper Masanori Kataniii
Howard Katz Sharon Katzoff Claire Kaufm an Debra
Kav aler Renee Kay e Darren Kearns
Credits
Judy krkcsi
I a m i Kellerl Carol Kelly Frank Kelly Meghan Kelly
Beth Kenkel Shaw na Kent Sarah Kerzner Cy nthia
Keskinkay a Aim o Kettle Jam es Kim Ky eong-Soo Kim
Ly nn Kim Dannie King Grant King Warren King Lucy
Kirk Naom i Klein Jan Kline Rebecca Knaster Jennifer
Knestrick Jack Koenig Larisa Kognt Karen Kohen J ana
Kolpen Jennifer Konsev itch Anna Kopel Sv etlana Kopil
Am ir Korangy Jussara Korngold Victoria Kortes Deanna
Kory Jane Kory n Gale Kotlikov a Marianna Kotly ar Ellen
Kourtides Oly a Kov aeev ic lldi Kov acs Bill Kowalczuk
Andrew Kram er I lighly ann Krasnow Roberl Krieger Peter
Krim stock Ralph Krueger
2 53
Maggie Macdonald Clarissa Mack Keith Mack Matthew
Mackay Rodney Mackay Rita Madan Melinda Magnett
Charlotte Maier Anna Makarov a Eliada Maldonado
Serena Maldonado Ely se Mallin Barrie Mandel Joanna
Mandel Zoe Mandel Dennis Mangone Jill Mangone Jean
(Gigi) Mankoff Eileen Mann Francesca Mannarino Jean
Manon Susan Mansell Maria Manuche-Allen Bob Manzari
Stev en Manzi Dav id Marangio Maritza Marcano Loretta
Maresco Nordine Marniche Iv or Marry show Leslie
Marshall William Marshall Ellen Martin Jane Martin
Kern Martin William Martin Shery l Martinelli Carm en
Martinez Gene Martinez Peter Martino Jennifer Marwood
Sherry Matay s Jam es Mathieu Keiko Matsm ura
Barbara J. Matter Dana Maurer Tam i May er Kathy
Ann Mazzola Robert Mazzola Maria Mazzuckis Joan
McArdle Bonnie McCartney Eileen McCauley Jam es
McDade Missy McDonald Eric McFarland Cindy McField
Cristina McGillicuddy Laina McGowan Valerie McKee
Madeline McKenna Joan McLaughlin Ky le McLaughlin
Deborah McLoughlin Marta McLoughlin Dan McNally
Mary Jo McNally Brian McQuade Spencer Means Jill
Meilus Rachel Melniker Felix Melo Dav id Menendez Julia
Menocal Lolis Merope Betsy Messerschm itt Lisa Mey er
Lisa H. Mey er Mary Micali Jean Michael Jeanne Michels
Scott R. Michener Laura Denise Milkowski Brandon Miller
Liane Miller Michael Mills Willard Mills III
Rodney Mim s Jerry Minsky Eileen Mintz Arm ando
as research center, 4 7 -4 8, 1 3 5
sale of, 2 1 0-1 6
sales training in, 58-59
sm udging serv ices of, 1 3 2 -3 3
success projected for, 6 2 -6 3 , 6 4
swing m anager of, 6 6
team work in, 4 8-4 9 , 6 5, 9 3 , 1 02 -4 . 1 53
technology and. 1 7 6 -7 8
$3 5 m illion fixer-upper of, 1 3 3 -3 4
v alue of. 2 07 -8
Web site of. 1 7 4 , 1 7 7 -7 8
welcom e lady of. 6 6 Corcoran Report, The:
birth of, 7 1 ,7 3 -7 5
on condom inium s, 9 0-9 1 , 1 07 -8, 1 1 2 -1 7
creating statistics in, 7 3 -7 5, 7 6 -7 7 , 1 1 4 -1 5
publicity v ia. 7 5-7 6 . 1 1 6 -1 7 , 1 3 1 Corcoran-Sim one:
breaking up. 3 4 -3 8. 3 9
and co-op sales, 2 7 -2 9
startup of. 1 . 5-6 , 7 cost of each desk, 1 4 4 counterbids.
2 3 8 counteroffers, 2 3 9 cov er it with laughter, 1 6 -2 2
Grain's New York Business, 1 9 7 , 2 1 4 Cram er,
Herbert, 2 1 ,2 2 credibility , 7 6 , 7 7 credits, 2 4 5
custom ers, 2 2 6 , 2 3 0-3 2 custom er's tim e, control of,
230
Day ock, Chicky , 1 82 -83
Day ock, Grace, 2 04 -5
deadlines, 1 6 7 , 2 3 8
dogs, and co-op boards. 1 3 3
dream , sharing, 6 9
dressing for success, 1 4 -1 5, 55,
1 3 6 , 2 2 2 Durkin, Scott, 83 dy slexia, 3 0
early lead, taking, 82
Edge water, New Jersey , Corcoran
hom e in, xiii either an ass or a hero, 1 6 9 -7 8 Elaine
(associate), 1 02 -4 , 1 05 Ellim an, Douglas, 1 9 9 e-m ail,
inform ation v ia, 1 3 5 enthusiasm , 2 3 4 -3 5 Equitable Life
Insurance Societv .
1 58, 1 6 1 exit strategy , 1 4 4 expansion, 82 -85, 2 2 6
expectations, 1 4 3 , 1 4 4 experience v s. attitude, 6 5
failures, learning from , 6 7 , 1 2 7 , 2 2 1
fair play , 4 9 , 1 05
Fatty Patty , 7 2 -7 3
feedback, 2 3 1
filing sy stem s, 4 5
fill in the blanks, 2 3 -3 0
firing low producers, 1 3 7 -3 9 ,
1 4 1 -4 6 first bids, 2 3 8 first in y our industry , 1 7 6
fitting in, 6 5 form s, 4 4 , 4 6 -4 7
Index
Fort Lee Diner, 1 -2 , 6 Fort Lee Pizzeria, 2 04 -5 Friday
rush hour, 2 3 8 fun, 86 -9 8
ice-skating trip, 89 -9 2
photos of, 9 8
resistance to, 9 5
them es for, 9 6 -9 7
tips for, 9 4 -9 8, 2 2 3
South China Morning Post, 1 9 7 space, expanding, 82 85 spaghetti, m aking, 9 9 -1 02 splitting the pie, 3 1 -3 8
standing tall, 1 2 6 -2 7 statistical reports, creating. 7 3 -7 5.
7 6 -7 7 , 1 1 4 -1 5 Stella Marie. Sister. 2 4 -2 6 , 3 0, 3 2 , 1 08
Stfflwell, Linda, 1 7 2
success, tem poral) nature of, 2 2 1 surprise, 9 4 -9 5
sweeping the corners, 1 3 7 K) sy nergism . 2 02 -3 , 2 05
team work, 4 8-4 9 . 6 5. 9 3 , 1 02 -4 .
1 4 7 -53 telephone tips. 2 2 8-2 9 thank-y ou notes, 2 3 5
third-party endorsem ents. 7 6 . 1 3 1 .
234
$3 5 m illion fixer-upper. 1 /J3 -3 4
tim e
m anagem ent, 2 2 2 , 2 2 6 traits for success, 2 2 0-2 1 . 2 2 5
trouble, discov ering, 1 04 -5 Trum p. Donald:
and com m ission doily , 1 86 -87 .
1 9 2 -9 7 and condo report, 1 08. 1 1 2 1 1 8 and Poly links, 1 84 -89 truth, 7 7 ./1 05, 1 3 6 , 1 4 5.
2 2 2 two places at once, 58-6 9
uncertainly . 2 3 9
v acation tim e. 86 -9 8, 2 4 2 Vanderbilt Mansion, New
York.
1 3 3 -3 4 v ideo idea. 1 6 9 -7 0, 1 7 2 -7 3
v irtual offices. 84
Wall Street Journal. IK). 1 1 < ). 1 %.
2 1 3 Ward. Grandpa, 1 59 -6 0 winging it. 1 1 8 winning
in court. 1 9 8 Wom en's Business, 2 1 5 wom en v s. m en as
leaders. 6 5 World Wide Web. 1 7 4 writing y our nam e on
the wall.
1 2 8-3 6 written contracts. 2 4 0 written offers. 2 3 8