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Here’s a Commercial Real Estate Broker Who Wrote the Book on Getting Rich

By Jim Gillespie | August 17, 2011

It’s not often when I come across a broker who’s really implementing some solid new marketing and promotional ideas into their own brokerage business. But Dan Dulin of Marcus & Millichap has implemented not one, but two new ideas into his business that have really gotten attention. He’s written a book on how to become rich, which I’ll give you a link to download for free at the end of this article, and he’s also invented a card game that teaches people the tools and the proper decision making that’s involved in becoming rich.

Dan wrote the book to unquestionably brand himself as a top real estate authority within his own marketplace. As in any marketplace, there are brokers in his territory wanting to be perceived as a top authority, but Dan seized the opportunity and took a bold step to set himself apart from everyone else.

"I had three main objectives in writing the book", Dan says. "Number one, I wanted to endear my clients to me. I involved them in the development process of the book and exposed them to the wealth creation concepts in it that they weren’t getting directly from any other source. Many of my clients provided me with valuable feedback on the earlier drafts of my book, and my first objective has largely now been accomplished.

Second, I found that many times I was arguing with my clients when I’d see them getting off track from making the decisions that were the best ones for them. So in the book I compiled the ‘golden rules of investing’, and now when a client fights me on something that is clearly in their own best interest, I refer them to those golden rules, which then usually solves the problem. The book itself is an authoritative instrument on the subject, and a broker arguing with them is not!

Third, I wanted to generate more business with this creative marketing idea. Since I’ve just released the book, this aspect of my plan is currently a work in progress, because I really want to finish the audio version of the book before I begin marketing the book full out to my prospects. But the early feedback I’ve gotten from people on the book has been very positive!"

Then when I asked Dan to elaborate further on this last statement, he said, "When someone learns that I’ve written a book, a ‘real’ book, they’re both surprised and then they want me to tell them more about it. In addition, they treat me with more respect. My clients and prospects are very complimentary and admire what I’ve accomplished. However, once they actually read the book, they turn into raving fans and tell all their friends about it!"

For most brokers, writing a book alone would be a great accomplishment, but as I mentioned earlier, Dan also invented a card game that teaches people the principles of building wealth. The game is called "Net Worth, The FUN Money Game", and here’s what Dan has to say about it:

"The game teaches people the value of becoming debt free and collecting assets like investment real estate. Players shed their debt, collect assets, and use financial events to prevent other players from doing the same. As the game’s name implies, the player with the highest net worth at the end of the game wins.

While I was writing the book, I thought that it would be nice to be able to teach some of its wealth strategies in a tangible, fun way. But I had two big challenges to overcome while I was creating the game. First of all, it had to be fun to play. Secondly, it had to have a tie-in to my commercial real estate brokerage business. Eventually, both challenges were solved.

The game is another tangible reminder that I am not your average broker. When clients get their hands on both the game and the book their jaws tend to drop. In fact, most are so curious about the game that they interrupt our meeting and want to play it! Then after a few hands we return back to the real estate business that we need to talk about.

I’ve been giving each client and prospect I meet with a single card game for themselves, but inevitably they like the game so much that they ask me for more of them, and on the average, I end up giving away three card games per client. This is something I didn’t anticipate when I created the game, and the game has really become a huge conversation piece!

The game is really a blast to play. It’s probably best been described as ‘Uno meets Monopoly, with a dash of financial planning’".

So there you have it. One broker’s quest to stand out from and beat his competitors has him writing a book about becoming rich, and inventing a card game on the subject also. In times like these, the subject of becoming rich really gets people’s attention, too, because so many people’s financial statements aren’t what they used to be.

Click here if you’d like to download Dan’s book, or if you’d like to read more about his book and his card game.

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The latest edition of my Commercial Broker Newsletter is now ready for you to mail or E-mail to all of your clients and prospects. If youre not currently sending a monthly newsletter to all of your clients and prospects, youre missing out on a huge opportunity to brand yourself and keep you in peoples minds every month throughout the year! If youre interested in more information on how you can send this newsletter to your clients and prospects, click here.

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BRC Advisors

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