Chapter 145: Newcomer Interview

Many property owners, due to being overly busy with work, simply do not have the time to manage the leasing and selling of their real estate. In order to have their properties rented or sold as quickly as possible, they generally choose to leave their property keys in the custody of a specific real estate agency.

Under normal circumstances, in order to expedite the rental or sale, if another brokerage has a potential client, the owner will usually agree to let the agency holding the keys lend them out to that company. This allows the property to be rented or sold in the shortest possible time.

Of course, there are also special situations where the agency holding the keys refuses to lend them out, insisting instead that one of their own agents accompany the viewing—which is precisely the situation Zhang Wei is currently facing.

There are primarily two possibilities when this happens. One is that the owner is afraid that casually lending the keys to other agencies will compromise the security of their property and interior furnishings, and therefore proactively requests that the key-holding agency accompany all viewings. However, this scenario rarely occurs.

The second possibility is that the key-holding agency takes the initiative to propose accompanying the viewings to the owner. While ostensibly done out of concern for the property's security, the true motive is to poach the client during the viewing. Such practices are practically a daily occurrence in the industry.

While Maitian Real Estate's branch was not the largest in scale, its management system was exceptionally strict. They primarily recruited fresh college graduates, subjected them to a round of psychological conditioning to convince them how lucrative the industry was, and trained them on how to aggressively chase after deals.

Naturally, many people found this management style unbearable, but those who managed to persevere mostly ended up making money.

"Did you call the owner? What did they say?" Zhang Wei asked with a slight frown.

"The owner agreed to let Maitian accompany the viewing, and even specifically designated one of Maitian's agents," Wang Jian replied.

"Then you head over to the villa first and make him take off that Maitian name badge. Also, keep a close eye on him during the viewing; don't let him interact with the clients, and under no circumstances let him speak to them," Zhang Wei instructed in a low voice.

"I know, don't worry," Wang Jian nodded, then broke into a light jog toward the property designated for the viewing.

Competition among real estate agencies is fierce, and the poaching of clients is a common occurrence. The tactics used to steal clients are virtually impossible to guard against completely, so Zhang Wei could only do his utmost to keep rival agencies away from his clients.

The property to be viewed this time was a detached villa. Featuring independent access and private courtyards, it offered upper and lower levels of independent space along with a private garden territory. It was a single-family villa with extremely high privacy, characterized by completely independent space on the top, bottom, left, right, front, and rear. Typically, properties of this sort are surrounded by varying sizes of green spaces and courtyards.

This type of villa is the oldest in history, offering high privacy and commanding higher market prices. It also represents the ultimate form of residential architecture.

When Zhang Wei and Liu Cheng arrived outside the villa with Mr. and Mrs. Chen Jiansheng, they saw Wang Jian standing at the entrance alongside a woman in her twenties. Although Zhang Wei's expression remained neutral, his heart skipped a beat because the woman was wearing a Maitian Real Estate name badge pinned to her chest.

"Mr. Chen, this is the villa I wanted to show you. Please, go right in," Zhang Wei gestured hospitably, leading Mr. and Mrs. Chen into the courtyard. He then handed everyone a pair of shoe covers before ushering the couple inside the villa.

Before entering, Zhang Wei had intentionally positioned himself to block the Maitian female agent, yet he hadn't said a single word to her, acting as if he wanted to deliberately ignore her existence. This was out of fear that she might draw the clients' attention.

Once clients realized that the keys to a villa were held by Maitian rather than Zhang Wei's company, they might assume that Zhang Wei's agency lacked the professional competence of Maitian and could potentially seek out Maitian for future viewings—a scenario that had indeed happened before.

Therefore, the best way to handle such a situation was to completely ignore the other party's presence.

This detached villa was slightly smaller in area than Fatty Zhou's property, but it was a massive improvement over the previous townhouse. Mr. and Mrs. Chen Jiansheng felt quite positive about this house, inspecting it carefully from top to bottom before proactively asking about its price.

"Manager Zhang, can the price of this villa be negotiated down at all?" Mrs. Chen spoke to Zhang Wei proactively for the first time.

"Mrs. Chen, the thirty-eight million I quoted you earlier is already the rock-bottom price," Zhang Wei said after a moment of contemplation.

Zhang Wei had some impression of this particular villa. The owner was someone who lacked for nothing financially; he had stated thirty-eight million was his price and would not budge by a single penny. Since he didn't need the money, he was content to hold onto the property for appreciation if it didn't sell. Thus, there was simply no room for negotiation on this house.

"That's a bit over our budget." Hearing Zhang Wei's quotation, Mrs. Chen furrowed her brow, tugged at Chen Jiansheng's arm, and said, "Right, honey?"

"The price of the house is secondary. If the house is genuinely good, thirty-eight million is acceptable. It's just that while this house is better than the last one, I feel thirty-eight million is a bit overpriced," Chen Jiansheng remarked after listening to his wife, offering a slight nod.

In Chen Jiansheng's view, buying a house was no different from doing business—it all came down to cost-effectiveness. Although this property surpassed the previous one, its price was correspondingly much higher. With the two factors canceling each other out, the overall value proposition was essentially the same.

Even though these two villas failed to fully satisfy the clients, Zhang Wei had only been able to unearth these two within such a short timeframe. Through these two viewing sessions, however, Zhang Wei had successfully narrowed the distance between himself and the Chens, laying a solid foundation for the next viewing.

"Mr. Chen, our company has several other wonderful villas on hand, but because today's viewing was arranged rather abruptly, we weren't able to schedule the owners in advance. They won't be able to make it over right now, so we'll have to schedule another time to view those," Zhang Wei smiled as he accompanied the couple out of the villa.

"Then let's wait for next time. It's blindingly hot out here at noon; my skin is going to get tanned," Mrs. Chen said somewhat reluctantly, using her small hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"How does six o'clock this evening sound to you then? The weather will have cooled down by then, and taking advantage of the afternoon, we can easily schedule the owners in advance," Zhang Wei suggested.

Sometimes when a client's attitude is ambiguous or their personality tends to be hesitant, the real estate agent showing the property must learn to make decisions on the client's behalf or gently force them toward a decision. Naturally, this so-called 'forcing' also required a certain level of tact.

"Very well. Let's make it six o'clock this afternoon," Chen Jiansheng said noncommittally.

"Alright, I'll give you a quick call at five o'clock this afternoon to confirm. How does that sound?" Zhang Wei asked.

"Let's do as you say!" Chen Jiansheng nodded, glanced up at the blazing sun overhead, and added, "It's getting hotter by the minute. We're going to head home first."

"Alright, I'll see you off."

Zhang Wei watched as Mr. and Mrs. Chen boarded their car and tracked it until it pulled away, before finally turning and walking back toward the Yayuan Residential Community. Wang Jian and Liu Cheng naturally followed closely behind him.

"Jian, what on earth were you doing? Didn't I tell you to make the Maitian person take off her name badge?" Zhang Wei chided.

"I told her several times, but she stubbornly refused to listen. Besides, she's a woman, and she had the badge pinned right to her chest—what was I supposed to do?" Wang Jian said with a somewhat aggrieved tone.

"You should have taken it off for her! Who knows, maybe she took a liking to you and was deliberately manufacturing a romantic opportunity, and you were just too dense to pick up on it!" Zhang Wei teased.

"Oh, go jump off a cliff, Zhang Wei. You've been promoted to store manager and you're still as inappropriate as ever," Wang Jian spat back with a smile, half-scolding him.

"Ahem... Do you Zhongtong people always have this little manners? I was kind enough to use my keys to open the door for you! Is this how you bully people?" A woman's voice rang out from behind them, carrying a trace of lingering anger.

"You... why are you still following us?" Zhang Wei turned around to find the woman standing behind them—none other than the female agent who had unlocked the door for them earlier.

Zhang Wei was now even more convinced that this woman was most likely trying to poach their clients. Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept following them even after the clients had departed, especially since this direction was entirely opposite to the way back to the Maitian office.

"Who's following you? This wide street isn't built by your family. What gives you the right to walk here while forbidding me?" The female agent glared at Zhang Wei and retorted without a hint of weakness.

"I apologize for what I said just now. I was merely joking. With a girl as pretty as you, you must have suitors queuing up by the dozen; there's no way it would ever fall to a kid like this!" Zhang Wei offered an apology, recognizing that his previous remark had indeed been out of line.

"Queuing up by the dozen? I'm not running a fly trap! What kind of person are you?" The female agent glared at Zhang Wei once more, spun around, and walked off in the opposite direction, her low-heeled leather shoes clicking sharply against the pavement.

The female agent had delicate features and a fantastic figure, particularly her full, rounded hips that stretched her black miniskirt taut. With every step she took, her hips swayed rhythmically, easily capturing the attention of any man.

"She's decent-looking, just a bit too sharp-tempered," Zhang Wei murmured, watching the woman's retreating figure with a slightly absent gaze. He thought to himself, "It's been so long since the breakup; I really should find myself a woman."

"Brother Wei, do you think I'll be able to close this deal?" Liu Cheng asked, stepping up beside Zhang Wei.

"Hmm... No problem at all. As long as we can find a suitable property, the deal will be signed." Liu Cheng's words snapped Zhang Wei back to reality. He patted Liu Cheng on the shoulder in reassurance.

Since it was already lunchtime, the three of them decided against returning to the branch office, opting instead to grab a bite at a small nearby restaurant. Liu Cheng insisted on treating Zhang Wei and Wang Jian, considering that both had spent the morning helping him with viewings; in any case, he felt obliged to show his appreciation.

Back at the Zhongtong Yayuan branch, half of the staff had gone out for lunch while the remaining half stayed behind to mind the store. As there were no phone calls coming in at this hour, the office was exceptionally quiet.

"Excuse me, is your company still hiring real estate agents?" At that moment, a young man's voice came from outside the shop entrance.

"Our company is still hiring. Are you looking to apply?" Li Lin, who was manning the front desk, raised her head and asked.

"Yes, I'd like to apply to be a real estate agent," the young man walked into the Zhongtong branch and said with considerable confidence.

"Wow, what a handsome guy! He looks even better than a movie star!" Liu Ziqi exclaimed excitedly upon hearing that someone was applying, rushing out from the back with a look of astonishment. (To be continued)