That’s your decision to make, but i guarantee you can be plenty successful while also being able to set appropriate boundaries.
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It doesn’t shock me that their are people that find success in making themselves available at all hours of the night, but man, what a shitty customer to have those expectations.
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I once drove an Autobiography to Scottsdale from SoCal at 10PM on Christmas Eve since transport fell through and the client needed it as a present for his wife.
Saved a 32k positive deal.
Sure, you don’t have to do work hard but that’s what separates top salespeople from the bottom.
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I’d rather deal with the guy/gal who will sign in the morning at 0230 than play email tag with someone for two weeks only for them to go with someone who offered $200 more discount.
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That’s incredible. I hope they at least offered you Christmas dinner.
All I’m saying is a humble brag about how late you stay up isn’t providing any value to OP’s question. Can you broker more cars if you work 24/7? Yea. Is it required if you want to be successful? I’m not a broker, so i can’t say for sure, but I’m 99.9% sure there’s plenty of successful brokers who work very relaxed hours…
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It wasn’t necessarily a humble brag as much as setting expectations as to what to expect when being a broker. I switched my number on LH to a google voice because I couldn’t handle the 1AM texts and calls from people wanting Bolts. It can and will eat into your life if you start. Not really possible to do well part time. Especially if you have an employer that would be touchy about you working on a side hustle on the clock.
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I filter who gets my direct #. Serious inquiries only.
I got a glass of wine for delivering from DFW to Austin. @AZTaz
Surely enough, one truck turned into two trucks and more to come!
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Hope you got your 25% cut of that!
I dislike everything about this 
But, you’re young, hungry, and powered by monster, so if you like it that is all that matters.
As @jananth1 said, having calls at 1:30 is not what it takes to be successful. All this is doing is setting improper expectations and letting clients know they can do whatever they want, which is not good in any business. Expectation management is an important part of any customer facing role and the customer is not always right. However, as experts in any craft, a big part of the role is to guide them to the right decision in a professional and friendly manner.
Once you do something like this, you’re giving this prospect the keys to the castle meaning, they think they can contact you anytime of day/night. That is not a way to be successful long term.
If people value your services and what you do, they will work with you on a more reasonable schedule. If not, it’s OK to pass on them.
Posts like this make it sound like brokers are doing Gods work. They (we) are not. It’s a car after all. If it’s there at 130 in the morning, it’ll be there at 8AM the next day.
Also, I think it’s important to define success. Success, at least for me, is not defined by getting every single deal out there at the expense of my family, sanity, etc…
It’s being a trusted advisor to those who value my services and finding the right balance of when it’s time to work and when it’s time to disconnect (this is the hardest part of any job with a sales component)
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You want your M550i or not. 
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I think one of the tried and true ways people here started brokering cars (or at least thinking that they broker cars) is by calling someone who is already established, and pretend they’re interested in buying a car from that person. Then they waste that person’s time for about an hour and a half trying to learn the ins and outs of how that person does business. Then they pick a brand that they feel is under-represented on this forum and contact every dealer around them to see who is interested in dropping their pants the furthest. All of a sudden, BAM, LLC gets formed and phone numbers start slinging. Can name at least 3 people in this forum who have done that.
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Very long, read some.
I think this is what a lot of young, motivated people do in their respective fields. I was guilty of similar things, taking extra shifts, working late and what happens is what you said- you don’t become valued, you actually become abused and taken advantage of.
My advice from a different prospective is the same- set some reasonable boundaries. When I reached out for a quote- I am respective of the time and day.
The other point, however, is everyone has their own value of time, money and dedication to their customers/clients, and one shouldn’t be shamed for the efforts and sacrifices they make to do what they think is right for everyone.
And this does not mean that’s the right way to run business. Boston is right.
Love this thread. Anyone can do this. He’s right. Lease brokerage, in general, is a low-skill, high-hustle job.
But the thing is, LeaseHackr’s customer base is no joke.
I can without a doubt say that some of my LH leads have been some of the cheapest, stingiest, manipulative, controlling, and self-righteous people that I’ve ever come across. Some people lie, cheat, and steal over $10/month.
It’s not the majority that you see represented on this community, more in the lurkers and friends-of-friends, but if you get a few dishonest people texting you 24/7, then skating you over $100, and it will discourage the average Joe Broker and slowly grind you down.
Most of my customers are excellent people, but make no mistake, some real motherfuckers have come into my sales pipeline via LeaseHackr. It seems like the cheaper/better deal I have on offer, the volume of assholes that want the LOWEST price go up. And if I only have lukewarm deals listed here, the leads stop coming in.
Anyone can get started easily but if you don’t have extremely thick skin, a shit-ton of time, and strong business experience/accumen, you will get railed and eaten alive by this customer base. It’s just like working retail except the worst-case “I Demand to speak to the manager” people are inside your house, inside your phone, 24/7/365.
I show my friends and family my phone, full to the brim with text inquiries on new Hyundais, and they all think I’m a masochist for it.
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I agree, I’ve learned my lesson in my field and I would caution others the same.
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Isn’t all brokering contacting dealers to see which ones are willing to work with you too have a standard discount. This standard discount and your ability to drive attention to said deals helps the dealer reach tiered goals? If someone sells a number how does it affect you if you offer your customer true end to end service?
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For sure. I am not shaming anyone for what they do.
I am providing advice on what it takes to create a sustainable business model in the long term.
Some people put money at the top of their list of priorities. For me, it’s family, but I don’t look down on those who choose money. Everyone needs to do what is right for them at the time.
Like you stated, it is easy to become de-valued when you only say, “yes,” to everything and never manage expectations or manage up appropriately.
I think (hope) Hershey would be the first to tell you that I have always been supportive and encouraging of him getting into this. I have tried to help at least 5 people on this site, some previous clients even, start in this business.
We all need to begin somewhere. For me, it was finding this forum, and getting my first Jag PIN.
I have developed some tremendous relationships with members/clients on this forum and will be friends with these folks for the long haul. Like with any business you take the bad with the good. As long as you can mentally let the good outweigh the bad, it’s a net positive.
I meet/work with more awesome people on LH than those I don’t care to do business with. That is one of the many reasons that makes this all worth it for me.
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I am curious to hear whether you think it has gotten worse since Covid.
Right back at ya!
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