Some of the great stuff I learnt from the book are as follows...
1. Increasing value of property
Improve it! Spruce it up! Whether with Italian carpets or decorations with a whiff of grandéur, improving yourproperty in terms of décor or added functions like an extra room or cupboard will make your property value go up. In fact, it doesn't even have to be expensive! The key is to improve features that the buyer will PERCEIVE AS EXPENSIVE. Polished doorknobs, varnished doors, fleece carpets, etc. Everyone wants to feel rich and good living in the place they live, whether they're poor, rich or middle class. No point improving features of your property which the buyer cannot see. If we were to look at Trump towers in New York, he gives condo buyers a sense of exclusivity and he decorates his properties with the finest marbles from the best quarries in Italy or the most beautiful trees.
If he sees a tree along the side of the road in someone's backyard he'd go up and knock on the front door of the house and say something like,'"Hi ma'am! I'd like to buy your tree." Usually he gets the tree which he would then plant in his golf clubs to beautify them. Be creative!Trump found a granite block while constructing one of his golf courses.The contractor told him he'd have to whack the granite out of the course. Trump, being the creative man in sprucing the golf course up,wondered, "Perhaps we can use this as a backdrop of the golf course?"". The contractor told him, "No way! You'll have to have lots of water to build a a waterfall that high and it might cost you a few million just to have this block of rock here renovated!". "Trump said, "Well,this will be a key hole in the golf course and golfers from all around will come and talk about it." Today the 13th hole is a much talked about subject and it costs $250,000 to have a membership in one of Trump's golf clubs. That's the benefit of making your property exclusive by sprucing it up. So key here is: improve features which the buyer will be able to see.
2. Negotiation tacticsIf he sees a tree along the side of the road in someone's backyard he'd go up and knock on the front door of the house and say something like,'"Hi ma'am! I'd like to buy your tree." Usually he gets the tree which he would then plant in his golf clubs to beautify them. Be creative!Trump found a granite block while constructing one of his golf courses.The contractor told him he'd have to whack the granite out of the course. Trump, being the creative man in sprucing the golf course up,wondered, "Perhaps we can use this as a backdrop of the golf course?"". The contractor told him, "No way! You'll have to have lots of water to build a a waterfall that high and it might cost you a few million just to have this block of rock here renovated!". "Trump said, "Well,this will be a key hole in the golf course and golfers from all around will come and talk about it." Today the 13th hole is a much talked about subject and it costs $250,000 to have a membership in one of Trump's golf clubs. That's the benefit of making your property exclusive by sprucing it up. So key here is: improve features which the buyer will be able to see.
Every negotiation requires planning, extensive at that. Your contact's background, etc. Know everything you can about him. And prepare everything for him. Instead of going through the numbers saying everything and going through all the ruddy graphs and all, what Trump does is put a bold, CAPITAL and BIG heading at the bottom which says something like...
RETURN ON INVESTMENT 20%
You see? Trump doesn't waste time telling you everything. He goes straight to the point of the negotiation and doesn't waste time on irrelevant stuff. That's the essence of his style.
3. Leadership- motivation
Trump doesn't hesitate to praise someone in public if he can. If he sees a woodworker doing a fantastic piece of work, he'd say something like...
"George, you see that man there doing the woodwork? He's the best woodworker in the city, maybe the world!"
Yea we all know it's extremely exaggerated, but you can be sure the woodworker will do a better job than he was required to, while blushing heavily. The best thing is, it costs nothing at all! But let's say if Trump were to say something like this...
"You! Why are you so slow with your work? And zip up your pants!"
Do you think the man would be upset? Of course he would! He was embarrassed and hurt at the same time, and you can be sure there'll be flaws in his work. So the morale of the story is that it costs nothing to praise someone but it will cost something if you criticise someone.Basically these are some of the more outstanding lessons i learnt from the book. It's an extremely information-rich book and i recommend it to any real estate investor or trader, whether just starting out or along the route already. The full title of the book is 'Trump strategies for real estate Billionaire lessons for the small investor'. I'm sure you'd find it a fantastic and extremely useful read.
I WOULD RATE IT :
That's all for today.
To the end of all may your life be filled with success!
Alex Trump
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