Todd Bogwill, Sussex & Reilly
Roscoe Village, Chicago
What was your first job in the realty industry?
I dove feet first into the real estate business as a real estate agent/salesman and couldn’t have been more pleased with my decision.
Who inspires you?
My wildly successful fellow agents at Sussex & Reilly are proof that a lucrative and rewarding career in residential real estate sales is attainable through hard work and utilizing the incredible tools our brokerage makes available.
What is your favorite free-time activity?
Spending as much time as possible with my wife, Laura, and two young children, Griffin (2 years) and Lola (10 months)
How did you learn the business?
I believe I had a head start in selling real estate because I was fortunate to have had a successful career in outside professional sales where I learned and honed critical skills that dovetailed nicely into real estate sales.
What was your most difficult sale, and how did you succeed?
Working with a $2 million single-family homebuyer for 13 months logging immeasurable phone time, countless emails, and writing and negotiating three offers on three separate properties. Ultimately, I succeeded by realizing that every buyer has a finite tolerance for house hunting and by never letting my personal frustration with the client deflect my eye from the prize.
What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
To assuage the concerns of seller clients whose listings have been on the market for longer than they would like
What was your worst job, and what did you learn from it?
A high school summer job with a roofing company where I learned that manual labor is best left to others
Where do you go to network and meet new clients?
Sitting multiple open houses during weekends is by far the best way to maximize your exposure to the buying and selling public.
What has been your greatest accomplishment?
Setting a personal earnings and sales volume record for 2006 in the face of a deteriorating market
Where would you like to be in five years, professionally?
Doing exactly the same thing I’m doing now, hopefully with a five-fold increase in volume and earnings
What was the last good movie you saw or book you read?
Movie: Martin Scorcese’s “The Departed;” Book: Michael Crichton’s “State of Fear”
What is your favorite restaurant?
For a weekday lunch, the Athenian Room is hard to beat, but Gene and Georgetti still reigns supreme.
Architecturally speaking, what is your favorite building in Chicago?
77 West Wacker; it’s interesting that they skipped the 49th floor so they could say it is 50 stories tall.
What kind of car do you drive?
2004 Acura TL
BlackBerry, Palm or paper?
Everyone knows that if you’re from Sussex & Reilly, a BlackBerry is the only way to go.
What is your favorite city after Chicago?
San Francisco
What is your personal motto?
From Woody Allen, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
In 10 words or less, what is your advice for someone new to the industry?
You must maximize your exposure to the buying/selling public.