Hire me, please.

The interviewing was fun, but exhausting. My first meeting was with Zephyr's Upper Market office. I have to say that the sales manager there just blew me away. She was energetic, direct, on-point, efficient with her use of the interview time, motivating, and just plain cool. I knew from that moment that I wanted to join her at Zephyr. But of course, I had to interview elsewhere to make sure I was making the right decision.

My other interviews were essentially wasted time. After Zephyr, all other agencies felt corporate, dry, stereotypical, disconnected, traditional. Boring. Some of the people were great, by my overall feel for the other offices was.. well.. the best way that I can describe it is that Zephyr felt like the dot com boom (energy, enthusiasm, self-motivation) and the others felt like the insurance business (zzzzzz). I could be wrong, but I like to follow my gut feeling in matters like these.

The Zephyr sales Manager (whom I will call "D") invited me to join the city-wide Zephyr sales meeting the following day. We had breakfast at 8:30am, followed by the high-energy sales meeting. Then the entire clan of agents caravaned around the city to take a peek at all of the new Zephyr listings that were put on the market that week. I *loved* the cohesiveness of the group. D made sure that I met several new agents so that I could ask them about their first 6 months. She also found someone for me to caravan around the city with. This fabulous agent had a very slow start her first year, but rebounded with a great second year. She was a fantastic resource to let me know what it's like to work there, as well as work for D. Her insight was invaluable! (Plus, she was cool!). I left the sales meeting with: 1.) 100% certainty that this is where I wanted to be and 2.) two really bad blisters on my toes. I made a rookie mistake. Never, EVER wear cute heels on Open House days. There are many stairs to be tackled on these days. Comfort is key. It's certainly not a desk job! (yay!)

Thursday, I went back into Zephyr for a tour of the office where I would be working. D showed me where I WOULD (not “could”) be sitting (sharing an office with a Top Producer, who could be my mentor). I like her style.. Assume The Sale! I participated in the office's weekly meeting. I was concerned about the fact that the next new-agent training wouldn't start till September, but D came prepared with a list of things I could do for my first 8 weeks. Combined with my own personal list, I wouldn't be lacking in the work department! I cannot start representing buyers/sellers until my license is issued by the state (I'm just waiting for them to get through the paperwork now), but I sure will be ready when it is issued. I was once again impressed, but not surprised, by D's preparedness, and uncanny ability to answer my questions before I have voiced them. Yes, this is the place for me. A fun staff. A beautiful office near my home. A lot of interaction with other agents. A fantastic, straight-shooting sales manager. Yes. I'll take it. When can I start?

I decided to cut the interview process with other agencies short. I had seen enough. Whenever I was in the Zephyr offices my gut screamed "Yes!". So I took it. I start next Tuesday!! D will be out of town, but I have plenty to keep me busy. Looking at houses. Studying contracts. Preparing my marketing plan. Oh yes. Plenty!

I am SO excited I feel like I am going to burst!

Zephyr's Web Site