Alberto Ramirez is a veteran salesperson, currently holding the position of Sales Supervisor at Terrenos Houston, a Houston, Texas-based real estate development company which promotes property ownership centered around a community in North Houston.
Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Alberto attended the University in Mexico City, majoring in Communications. After earning his Associate’s Degree, he pursued a career into the multimedia industry. Over the next two decades, he held jobs all over the media industry, including in radio, television, and advertising. In 2003, Alberto embraced his inner entrepreneurial instincts and launched his own production company, which he created with the goal of better serving the Hispanic market.
In 2015, he was introduced to Terrenos Houston—a meeting that would change his life and his career path from that point forward. Terrenos Houston offered Alberto Ramirez the opportunity to follow his passion for helping people rather than simply chasing sales numbers. He moved from Mexico to Texas to begin working with the firm, and suddenly found that his clients were everyday people with dreams of owning land to house their families within decent communities. This development gave Alberto great feelings of fulfillment and a strong sense that he was using his career as a force for good, as he began to connect those who don’t own property with plots of land in a community in North Houston ideal for growing families.
Alberto Ramirez now lives in the Houston-area community that he is proud to have had a big hand in developing. These days, he measures his professional success through hard work and the ability to genuinely help his clients, each of whom he cares about very deeply.
What do you currently do at Terrenos Houston?
My biggest role in the company is to train, support, and motivate our sales staff to reach their goals. I do a lot of coaching. As the sales manager, my main focus is assisting Terrenos Houston in achieving its financial goals. The most important part of what I do is help our clients. I sincerely care about our clients. I work with my colleagues by trying to improve their skills on our Customer Relationship Management software, and also by motivating them to achieve their goals. However, it is important to state that they have two overarching goals; one is selling, and the other is fulfilling their dream to have a place of their own that they can call home.
What inspired you to take on this role?
Working at Terrenos Houston satisfies my passion for helping people. The company grows when we help others find a great place to live. Speaking for myself, I personally feel the intangible benefits that come from helping others deep within my soul. Working here not only inspires me, but motivates me to do better every single day.
What defines your approach to business doing business?
The company is very focused on the community that it is currently building. And just to let you know, I live in that community. So, I’m not just selling the product—I’m also a stakeholder in every sense of the word. We are always evaluating issues and coming up with solutions to make the community better every day. If a problem should arise, Terrenos Houston always takes care of the clients and resolves it.
What are the keys to being productive that you can share?
For me, the keys to being productive are to keep my focus, stay on task, and maintain the self-discipline to work hard every day.
Can you share a long-term career goal for yourself?
My long-term career goal is to become a partner with Terrenos Houston. I am about two to five years away from recognizing my dream.
What advice would you give to others aspiring to be successful in the real estate industry?
Building an entire community from scratch has not been easy, but I am inspired to see how our community has grown. I am very proud of what we have accomplished. The advice I would give to anyone aspiring to become a genuine success in the real estate industry by building a community from scratch is to design an intelligent development plan that will create a win-win situation for everyone involved—anyone who wants the opportunity to own land in the area. Then you can really help to make the dreams of families and individuals come true. You, too, can watch a development grow into a prosperous and thriving community.
What is a piece of technology that helps the most with your daily routine?
The technology that I use all the time is my cell phone. I do use the computer when I am in the office, however, I travel to several offices all the time, so a computer is not as practical as my cell phone. My cell phone is what I consistently use to be in contact with clients and co-workers at all times.
What would you say is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?
The most valuable lesson I’ve learned during the course of my career is to never give up. Years ago, I was working in a sales position when I was approached by my manager. My manager told me that I had 30 days to raise my numbers or I would no longer be working for the company. I was understandably caught off-guard, and tried my best to think of what I was going to do next. After all, I only had 30 days to increase my sales and save my job.
My solution was this: Mentally, I pretended that I was going to work for this company for the next 30 years instead of just the next 30 days. I decided that I was going to do the best that I could to achieve the highest possible numbers. And so, that’s what happened. I raised my numbers and saved my job. Within the next three months, I was a top biller in the entire office. In fact, I boasted the highest numbers in four years. So, the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the course of my career was to change my way of thinking and never give up! That is now my default mode of thinking, and it is the advice I would give to any professional—especially if they happen to work in sales.
What is one piece of advice you have never forgotten?
Working or not working, enjoy the moment.
