Sales in general is a challenging professional endeavor, as not everyone was born with innate interest in it nor a set of skills to pursue it. But it does not mean that the business of sales cannot be learned.
Sam Lamac, one of the awarded real estate consultants of Avida Land, is proof that one can learn the ropes of sales and succeed in it with enough determination, hard work and grit no matter what your background is.
Humble Beginnings
Born Sarah Marie Lamac, Sam was raised in a small rural barrio in Quezon Province with her older siblings with not much financially. The provincial life back in the day also meant no clean running water nor electricity in the community, which made everything a little more difficult than the average daily life of a Filipino.
Living by a mountain in the countryside, Sam would recall how she and her siblings needed to wake up at 3:00 in the morning to prepare for their daily three to four hours walk just to get to their school— only wearing slippers. They would pass by greenlands, fields and mountains with not much comfort for their feet, feeling tired and hungry as sometimes they won’t have breakfast to eat before these long walks to school. These experiences, although really difficult, would build Sam’s character, grit and determination to envision a better life for herself.
By the time she was 16 years old, Sam would witness how her older sister started a new chapter in Manila— inspiring her to also move to the Philippines’ capital city. The initial plan was for her to go to college and be supported by her sister, but she decided that working right away could mean an opportunity for her to earn money already. She started a career in BPO, wherein she learned how to deal with people from different walks of life professionally, and how to address diverse issues of customers to provide professional support.
Two years into the call center industry, Sam would see her work as repetitive and tedious, and not as inspiring anymore. Her older sister’s booming career in real estate lit up her curiosity, which then motivated her to try the industry for herself. With no college diploma nor formal sales experience, Sam took the leap and started working for Avida Land, Ayala Land’s real estate division created to cater to the middle class Filipino clientele.
She started with handing out flyers in the malls, wherein she would close eight deals her first year— all of which ended up as canceled transactions. “Those eight clients all backed out. Can you imagine? They changed their minds, which meant one year of no income for me. But those failures made me step back, and really study what I was lacking in terms of giving sales assistance and consultancy to my clients.”
Learning Curve
“It is not about just closing a sale,” Sam recalled as her first realization from the ordeal. “Before, I would think that I just needed to close a sale, and that’s it. I’ve learned along the way that it is about improving the lives of my clients, truly addressing what my clients’ needs are, and building that trust. I’ve learned that I have to assure them that I am the right person to give them professional advice when it comes to their property investment. It is more than anything about educating them that what I am selling is for their own investment and future, and not for me.”
She gained a different perspective from her setbacks. “There were so many reasons why prospective clients backed out. But I learned that those experiences are not just failures, but also opportunities for me to learn how I can improve my skills and craft,” Sam said.
Sam shared that her sales breakthroughs happened in 2019. At the age of 23, she was recognized as the overall top property specialist out of thousands of Avida sales consultants in the country. In the same year, she was named as one of Avida’s Stellar Awardees in honor of her contributions in terms of sales. She was the youngest among the roster of awardees, which consisted of mostly seasoned sales agents. All in all, she was able to bring in hundreds of millions pesos worth of sales into the company.
Top 5 Tips to Succeed in Sales
No matter what industry or business you are in, sales is always involved to cash in money and keep the operations going. Here are some of Sam’s tested tips to close deals and succeed in sales:
- Focus on your clients’ needs.
“Sales is always about helping the clients in what they need, and not the other way around. You must learn to really study and understand what they are looking for, so you can put them into consideration to truly provide your clients with products that can improve their lives.”
- Build a lasting relationship through trust and reliability.
“Once you figure out what your client wants, the process of sales would become so much easier for you and your client, because you get to satisfy them by showing them that what you are selling is worth their money. Building a good relationship with them would truly benefit you in the long run,” Sam said. “Plus, each client can lead you to more prospective clients, so every relationship is important.”
- Provide solutions to your clients.
“I am a problem-solver, and it really thrills me when I get to analyze my clients’ issues so I can provide solutions. I’ve made it a habit to take note of every unique issue or problem my clients tell me and how I’ve solved it so the next time I encounter the same problem, I’d know how to address it well and elevate my client’s transaction experience with me. After all, it is about giving them what they need. Especially for real estate since we are talking about their property investment and future, it is important that you help them along the way.”
“Trace your mistakes, accept them, and change them.”
- Never give up.
“Sales is not for the tamed heart as you will deal with rejection after rejection day in and day out,” Sam said. “But that’s why you have to build that strong character, patience and grit. If my first year of sales I’d stopped because of failures, I would’ve not eventually closed deals and been one of the awarded sales agents of Avida. The main key that led me to that success was that I never gave up despite rejections and failures.”
- Experiment with different approaches
“There’s no single formula when it comes to closing deals as clients have different personalities, quirks, and financial capabilities. You must learn to adapt and learn new and creative ways on how you could approach them during negotiations, so that you could reassure the clients about their investments, and properly close the deal. The key is being open to learning new strategies.”
There will always be barriers and challenges along the way, but you just have to be adaptable to changes. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Sam like all of us faced hardships to stay afloat in the business.
When malls closed, Sam had to rethink how to continue winning over clients. Being quick on her feet, Sam turned to different online platforms to roll out her sales strategy efforts. Her new tactic worked. So much so that she was able to close deals at the end of 2020, and still bagged an award as the top eight sales consultant in all of Avida, and was hailed as the no. 1 sales consultant for the Vertis North project.
“I was so blessed to be part of a team with tenured real estate consultants. They were so open and generous in sharing their learnings and experiences. I learned a lot from them. They guided me and honed my skills as a real estate consultant. My teammates, especially my sister Maya Lamac, manager Mr. Lawrence Lawas, and former team leader Mr. Carlo Perez taught me everything that I know. I wouldn’t be where I am now without them,” Sam enthused.
Building the Future
Aside from excelling in sales, Sam has decided to acquire investments for herself, too. “I saw how investors earn big through real estate especially in Ayala properties. I wanted to grow with them,” she said.
In 2019, she bought a unit in Avida Sola located in Vertis North. Not only that, she also partnered with other investors to buy multiple units with parking slots in the same property development.
Later on, she and another investor bought another unit in Cloverleaf in Balintawak and Serin in Tagaytay. Seeing the potential growth in Pampanga, Sam and another investor bought a piece of land in Greendale Alviera in Porac, Pampanga.
Sam shared that for as low as ₱12,000 a month, you can buy a condominium unit from those on pre-selling projects of Avida. While some property developers demand down payment, there are some Avida properties that do not need advance payment. This is an important consideration for those who have a tight budget, but still want to invest in a condo unit or a lot. She knows that it could be nerve-wracking to invest, but she knows she is on the right track because all her real estate investments are worth it.
She recalled that she learned many things from her clients while being their real estate consultant.
“I learned how and where to invest. I didn’t know anything but I was like a sponge that absorbed business and financial information. One of the best secrets that I learned was that successful entrepreneurs invest in real estate because they can be turned into ‘milking cows’, as renting spaces and assets can be ‘flipped’ or resold at a higher price. You have to know that real estate only appreciates over time. They do not depreciate because they are considered to have ‘an infinite useful life’. Moreover, real estate is easy to understand. You don’t need in-depth knowledge to understand how real estate works,” Sam said.
She also said that real estate allows you to take control of your investments. It allows for flexibility as you can take your assets and generate passive income. With this, she noted that location and developers’ expertise must be considered as those factors will determine rental and resale value of the property.
If you want to seek Sam’s assistance and professional consultancy for your real estate investment and properties, you may contact her through her email address sarahmarielamac@gmail.com. To learn more about Avida’s projects and other real estate tips, visit Sam Lamac’s Facebook page.