Nick Lu’s iron will to succeed

UNDER the beating sun, beads of sweat quickly appear on his forehead. Nineteen-year-old Nick Lu Weng Kong wipes them off with a quick flick of his wrist. It’s been a sucky day because he’s had a string of rejections. He lifts his bag and hops on to the next bus to somewhere else to sell the merchandise that he must.

Cue to present day. “Life is about numbers,” says Lu. “I needed to sell at least 120 pieces of whatever I was given to sell in order to survive,” says the senior real estate negotiator with CBD Properties Sdn Bhd of his striving times. Lu won the TOP Residential Real Estate Negotiator of the Year Award at the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents National Real Estate Awards last year. You could say he earned it, after spending two years of his teenage life in direct-sale purgatory.

“I was on the street and knocking on doors, selling assorted products costing RM15 to RM20; pens, toys, and anything you can imagine. It was tough, but I gained a strong set of survival skills. I soon realised I was good at communicating with people. This odd job somewhat helped build my confidence,” says Lu understatedly.

“It made me realise how important one’s attitude towards life is. If you carry a good attitude, and if people like you from the moment they speak to you, you may just be able to convince them to buy something as simple as a canned drink,” he says.

Now, Lu specialises in selling property in that Kuala Lumpur hotspot, Mont’Kiara.

A rocky start

Born in Kuala Lumpur, and bred in Damansara Utama, Lu was “never the studious kind”. After completing his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education), he had enrolled in a Diploma in Computer Science programme at a private college. It was short-lived. “I grew up with a single mum. Times were tough, and we couldn’t afford the college fees, so I decided to drop out of college,” he reveals.

It was then that he decided to go into direct selling. “It was not my first choice, but I didn’t have a lot of options. Still, I believe the experience has given me an edge in the real estate business. Where there will be rejections, there will always be a level of success,” he says.

“For the direct sales job, the rate of success was very low, so I needed to do whatever it took to reach a wider audience. For example, if I was selling pens to 30 people on a moving bus, there would always be one that would say yes. If it meant I would have to hop on more buses or go to more places to reach my target, so be it. I apply this rationale in how I do business now. I try to meet more people, do more listings and so on,” says Lu.

After two years in direct sales, Lu’s social skills and buoyant attitude opened many doors for him, one which led him into the automotive sales industry. “I was working for a few automotive companies, selling car parts, manufactured parts, and opening dealerships,” he says.

In between, Lu dabbled in real estate for about two years because he “wanted to see what it was like”. Tied to a small agency, his memorable moment came when he sold his first bungalow in Damansara Heights for about RM2.5 million. That was around 2003 and 2004, when multi-million ringgit price tags for residential property weren’t yet a dime a dozen.

But given his talents, Lu was lured back into the automotive industry. It was a decision that would take a toll on his personal life. “I was working seven days a week, travelling a lot. I got divorced, and I believe my hectic schedule had something to do with it,” he reflects.

In 2008, he’d had enough and became a full-time real estate negotiator with CBD Properties. He followed his inner voice. “I realised I had a passion for property. I can appreciate architecture, building engineering, down to the materials utilised to make a good home,” he says.

Now remarried, Lu had also wanted to make time for his family and was drawn to how the profession would allow him control of his work-life balance.

Travel broadens the mind if you let it

Lu knew he had wanted to specialise in expatriate-driven Mont’Kiara. He’s done so for seven or eight years, selling luxury condominiums with price tags of between RM1 million and RM3 million, as well as rentals, to local and foreign investors and homeowners.

“I gained a sense of ease with expats after a fair bit of time travelling in the UK, France and Germany when I was in the automotive industry. It’s always best to furnish them with information and let them know what to expect of the chosen property. I must understand their wants and needs, and trust I know how to serve them: everything from fixing cars and water leakages to recommending the best satay in town. Sometimes, I feel like a tour guide!” he quips.

“It was in late 2008, when I began closing one condo deal after another almost every week. I sold about eight condos in Mont’Kiara Meridin within four weeks. That was the turning point for me, and I became convinced I had made the right decision,” he says.

Lu has been riding that momentum ever since. “I would get two to three rentals a month, sometimes it could reach up to 15 rentals. And I would sell one to two condos every two months. So long as you keep updating your clients and listings, and keep yourself active in the job, there shouldn’t be a reason why you can’t close a deal,” says Lu.

His win at the MIEA Awards last year left him chuffed. “Receiving that award was a big achievement for me, it made tangible all my hard work, and has brought me a higher level of recognition in the industry,” he says.

Lu, now 40, is as street-savvy as when he first started. “I am still on the ground every day, I like to be out and see what is happening in the market. Everything I’ve learnt in property is self-taught. I do my research, attend seminars and hang out with the right people. It’s always good to get into the minds of the buyers, and socialise with people in the industry.”

What’s next?

Hitting higher sales targets and running a few more teams, that’s what. “That would be another milestone for me. I wish to train teams that specialise in Mont’Kiara and expats. We do currently run teams in the company for certain projects, and for selected members. We have done projects such as Agile Mont’Kiara and Pavillion Hilltop Mont’Kiara. We could do more in the future,” says Lu.

Tips for this year? “Best-performing properties are still the condos. For 2016, I expect the market to remain as flat as the previous year.”

Interested in property investments in Damansara, KL, after reading this article? Click here to check out the properties there.