We represent a guy we call the Ultimate Salesman. It’s not what he sells, it’s what doesn’t he sell. The guy’s a hustler. I mean the man has a hand in everything. He’s a professional at all times and the most successful car salesman I know.

Anyway, the Ultimate Salesman calls me up and says, “I want you to find out about this garage.” I say, “What are you talking about?” He says, “It’s a one-bedroom with a 25-car garage.” I had to laugh. “Of course it is.”

It ends up being this awesome garage by the beach. The guy has an incredible car collection he has worked hard to build over the years. So I get why he wanted it, but never in my life have I strategized so much on a deal with my own client. The two of us would bounce off ideas for hours on how we were going to get this garage down from $10 million, a non-negotiable price, to $7 million. The replacement costs alone were more than $7 million on this property, and you could never rebuild it again because of the updated building-code permits for new construction by the beach.

In real estate we talk about how time is not our friend. But on this deal, time was our friend, for once, for a couple of different reasons. It’s just something in real estate you have to keep focus on, time, the shot clock.

A unique property can be either a really good thing or a really bad thing. That means that 99 out of 100 people are either going to love it or they’re going to hate it. So he was more like the one in a million type of buyer. We held a multi-month negotiation, far beyond the norm in real estate negotiations, which usually last a week tops, maybe two.

The plot thickens. During the negotiation the Ultimate Salesman says, “You know the owner of the garage offered to take me out for a ride in his classic Ferrari,” because they’re both major car guys. The Ultimate Salesman was reluctant. “I don’t wanna do it because I think it will mess up the deal. What if I say something I don’t wanna say?”

I spoke from my gut before my head could even formulate the words. “Actually, listen to me. Go and become best friends with this guy because he’s going to give his friend the best deal that he’ll be able to get.”

He needed a little nudging, but there’s no harm in making a new friend, and the friendship doesn’t have to be built solely on the need of the house. Yet, it’s a smart play. The guy had offered to take a drive knowing the Ultimate Salesman’s interest in the property. So, our guy spends the next 60 days really befriending the owner.

They actually did become real friends. Eventually it got to the point that it wasn’t about the money anymore. The owner wanted the Ultimate Salesman to have it because he was his now his friend and this way he knows that it’s in good hands. After that, we got the owner down from $10 million, non-negotiable, to $7.25 million. It was a steal. We call that a grand slam.

This is all about closing and negotiating. There is something to be said about getting people to let down their guards in negotiating. There are so many different approaches to different styles and different cultures. So many people can be a part of it. It’s not just you as the agent. In this case we directed our own client toward a further benefit for all. We were friends to him and he became a friend to another. Sometimes, it pays to be a good person and a friend, especially when it comes to a record-breaking sale of a garage.

I attribute our success to creative techniques like this. I’d say we probably have the lowest rate for losing clients compared to other real estate agents on the planet, and that’s because Matt and I become so tight with our clients that we can literally send them to go look at houses without us and never worry about someone else stealing them.

Now if someone ever walked into one our houses without an agent, call it a grey area or not, that person is leaving that house as our client. I don’t know if it’s because we just get so heavily involved in them, their life and their family, or because we offer so much more in the deal than just real estate. It’s business. It’s friendship. And people like doing good business with good friends.