Ryan Glass
Title: Sales Consultant, Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty
Age: 28
Experience: 8 years

Ryan Glass sold real estate part time for more than six years before jumping in full-time, but since then, his career has taken off. His methodical, targeted prospecting combined with his admitted fear of failure and attention to detail have propelled him to where he is now, listing properties that many agents spend careers trying to get. This year, Glass was selected to join Realtor Magazine’s prestigious “30 Under 30” and is currently featured on the cover of that magazine.

Q: Why did it take you so long to get into real estate sales full time?

A: I started working answering phones in a Coldwell Banker office in Boston while I was in college. My mother had worked doing relocation in the Coldwell Banker corporate office. She suggested that I get some office experience. I liked being around it, the hustle of it and a couple of agents told me I should get licensed. So I did.

I had a leg surgery scheduled for my junior year and I was wondering what I was going to do while I was recovering. I couldn’t go anywhere, so I figured I’d take the class, pass the test and get licensed. My parents drove me to class and I studied all summer while I was cooped up in the house. Then I joined a firm and mid-semester of my junior year, I started doing sales. I have an older sister, so I tapped into her friends who were starting to get married and want to buy something. It’s been a snowball effect from there.

I really wanted to do real estate full-time from the beginning, but everybody talked me out of it. At the same time I started doing real estate, I started a co-op with the federal government as a college student. I did them both for a year and a half. The government offered me a great job when I graduated and everyone told me to take it, so I begrudgingly did it.

It was a good job and it sort of peaked early and I grew more and more unhappy there. I made the decision to take the plunge and go into real estate full-time in August 2015. I actually didn’t have a choice because at the beginning of the year I had decided I’d do as much business as I could possibly do [while still working the government job] and when I couldn’t balance it any more, I’d give my notice. I think I’d done 10 or 12 sales by July and I had a listing coming on, three pending and I still had a bunch of buyers. So I figured if I didn’t do it then, I’d never do it. So I abruptly gave my notice.

Q: And in 2016, you sold 25 properties worth $18.2 million in total. How did you do it?

A: I’m OCD and afraid of failure! Last year my goal in January was to sell $10 million, which I thought was a pipe dream, but I hit that by June. That’s when I upped it to $15 million and I hit that in September. I really wanted to hit $20 million by the end of the year, but I didn’t.

I think it helped coming from a 9-5 job because I don’t like idle time. When I transitioned to real estate full-time, I finished up with the three or four buyers I had and I was dead. I had been so busy I didn’t have time to prospect. Now I treat this like a 9-5 job. I come to the office almost every single day, even if I don’t have something I need to work on. I try to work on something to generate business.

In this business, the busier you are, the easier it is to keep it going. You just keep it going. Business creates business. There’s a snowball effect. It’s easier to build on what you already have. You can always reach out to past clients. You have a base. But you can’t let the momentum completely die. Then it’s like starting all over from nothing.

Q: How did you break into the luxury market?

A: [Executive Vice President of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty] Michael Carucci has helped me a lot. He told me the number one reason agents don’t succeed in the luxury market is because they’re afraid to go after it. They’re intimidated by the numbers. But it’s the exact same job and it can be even easier in that market. These people are paying cash so you don’t have to deal with things like appraisals going wrong. And they’re very educated and they know the market. They know they have the funds to take care of something if it goes wrong. Negotiations are hard, but the clientele is easier to deal with.

It’s definitely more competitive and it’s hard to break in, but it can also help you. New agents don’t think to ask people for help. I partnered with Michael on a $4.5 million sale in Weston and that definitely created more opportunity for me. I was recently asked to be on a listing for $4.9 million in Brookline because I had that sale with Michael. It all comes back. You get opportunities when you do a good job. I did three other deals for over $1 million that came from that. Once people see you’ve been successful in that market, they feel more comfortable with you.

Q: How does it feel to be selected for Realtor Magazine’s “30 Under 30?”

A: It’s been amazing. They profile you in the magazine and they do lot of cool connective events to get the 30 under 30 agents together. They did an event in Boston and they invite all the alumni. They have alumni from across the country and they have a closed group on Facebook for referrals, brainstorming ideas and marketing. It’s cool to see the posts. It’s interesting to see the grasp people have on their business. I’m really excited and to be on the cover is absolutely a dream come true. 

Glass’ Top Five Favorite Things To Do In The South End:

  1. Brunch at Sister Sorel
  2. Bringing his dog, Ralph, a border collie/hound mix, to Peter’s Park
  3. After work oysters with wine at B&G Oysters
  4. Going to the SOWA Market
  5. Showing properties!

A Part-Timer Turned Producer

by Jim Morrison time to read: 4 min
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