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TR U M P STR A TEGI ES FO R R E A L ESTA TE

stop and say, “George, see that woodwork? This guy is the best wood-
worker in the entire city, maybe the world.” I knew that that was ex-
aggerated praise but the broad smile on the worker’s face said it all.
He will tell his friends and family what Trump said and you can be
sure he will be a perfectionist in everything he does for Trump.
You can motivate your real estate specialists like Trump. For ex-
ample, if someone is painting your house. You walk by and say, “Hey,
that really looks good; you’re really doing a great job.” What did it
cost you? Nothing! You can be sure that the worker will do a better
job as a result of your praise. This is how Trump inspires people. On
the other hand, you could go by the house and say to the painter,
“Hey, why are you taking so long to do that?” Now you have taken a
negative approach, and he has to defend his position. If he feels unap-
preciated his work will reflect his attitude.
Trump also motivates contractors by staying in touch with them
personally. When Trump is negotiating over the phone with contrac-
tors about a job, he will speak personally to them, he won’t have
someone else do it. When bidding out any contracts he gets a list of
all the trades, and he will personally call each of them and negotiate
the final price. This takes place after his people have already negoti-
ated prices and have come up with a price acceptable to the contrac-
tor. When the time for finalization has arrived, Trump calls and
gives the final push. “I’d like to do the deal with you because I love
your work, but I can’t. Your numbers are way out of line. You bid
$1,000, I have a bid for $600; aren’t you ashamed to be that far off?”
“But I do better work,” is often the reply. Trump responds, “I only
deal with people who do great work but your bid is $400 more than
my other bid from another guy I’ve used before and I guess he wants
the job more than you do. You have to do something for me to make
this work.” Usually an agreement is reached which is mutually ac-
ceptable. Donald will often end it with, “I know I’m still overpaying
but I know you’ll do a great job. Don’t let me down.” Trump will

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