Alberto Ramirez, Supervisor of Sales at Houston, Texas-based real estate development firm Terrenos Houston, has spent years developing an amazing community in Texas where individuals and families can realize their dream of property ownership. In his capacity as a real estate professional, he prides himself in excelling in problem solving, negotiations, and cultivating personal relationships.
Alberto was born, raised, and received his media and communications training in Mexico City, Mexico. The first part of his career was spent in the multimedia industry, where he was dedicated to providing better service to the Hispanic market. Over the span of two decades, he held positions and honed his skills in radio, television, advertising, and communications.
In 2003, Alberto Ramirez launched his own marketing and production business with which he achieved unqualified success. However, after a full decade as an entrepreneur, he accepted another, more traditional role in the multimedia industry as a sales and marketing executive.
In 2015, Alberto was introduced to Terrenos Houston and was thoroughly impressed by the company and its vision for the future. While maintaining his position as a senior account executive for television entertainment, Alberto took a part-time position with Terrenos Houston. Once settled, he could not help but observe the differences between the two companies in the manner in which sales were conducted. He was also impressed with the small but growing community that Terrenos was building on the north side of the Greater Houston Area, noting that the firm seemed to genuinely care about helping people in addition to making a profit.
As time passed, Alberto enjoyed the feeling of each sale he made at Terrenos more and more. In contrast to his previous work, he felt he was contributing good to the world instead of merely making a sales quota. That feeling was enough for Alberto to make the decision to leave the multimedia industry entirely and build a life and a career for himself with Terrenos Houston. He is very proud of the community he has helped to grow and currently lives there himself with his family.
Can you share a little bit about your early days with Terrenos Houston?
I began working with Terrenos Houston on weekends during their busiest season while I was still at my previous job at a radio station. Eventually, I decided to work full-time for Terrenos.
Do you have any experiences that stand out that made you decide that this was the right place for you?
I was impressed that Terrenos Houston was transforming communities in a positive way, and making it possible for more people to buy land in Texas to develop their dream properties.
How have you achieved your success with Terrenos Houston?
To me, success is doing what you enjoy doing, all the while making a decent living. My success was achieved through hard work and genuinely caring about my clients. I excel at providing client needs analysis. At Terrenos, they recognized that, and promoted me to Supervisor of Sales. I currently do most of the training at the company, as well as some negotiations. My strength is in problem solving. I possess the skill set to help other departments to achieve their goals, so I sometimes do that, too.
Can you reflect on a situation that was a challenge for you and explain how you overcame it?
One challenge we had to overcome was when we upgraded to a new customer relationship management software. It was difficult to adapt to and it was a bigger learning curve than was expected. The way we overcame that issue was when I encouraged everyone to stay on task. It took patience, persistence, and focus. Eventually, the software became easier to understand, and we now find it to be a wonderful tool with which to manage our customer relations. It has made everyone’s workload much lighter, and made the company faster and more efficient.
What drives you to succeed in your role?
The satisfaction that I enjoy in my position with Terrenos Houston drives me to succeed. At the firm, I have the opportunity to help other people. I love that. I help my clients to achieve their dream of land ownership and help my sales people achieve their sales goals. When I was in the multimedia industry, I excelled in helping businesses to succeed and reach their potential in sales. At Terrenos, my focus is on helping my sales people achieve their goals and for my clients to live out their dreams. That’s what motivates me to work hard every single day. I have an innate passion for helping people.
How has your definition of success changed over the years?
My definition of success changes every day. Sometimes I set small goals or challenges for the day and upon completion, I consider that I’ve had a successful day. Any challenge you manage to overcome is a success. Another path to success is to have a plan or specific goal set, no matter how large or small the task. When I achieve those goals through persistence and patience, I consider that a success. It does not matter if these goals are personal or professional. I consider them all successes.
What has achieving the current level of success meant to you?
I find my position most rewarding when I’m helping others. I enjoy assisting co-workers and the people within my community. I love the whole process of resolving problems. I collaborate with co-workers and other departments to provide ideas and suggestions for any project. Doing so gives me great satisfaction.
Do you have any advice for others who are trying to be as successful as you are?
My advice is to enjoy the process. Whatever you decide to do in life, you have to enjoy each aspect of it, especially the process. One day, someone asked my son what he wanted to study in college and what he wanted to do for a living. He said, “I don’t know yet, but I want to be like my dad because he enjoys everything he decides to do.” My son wants to enjoy whatever he is going to study; whatever profession he is going to pursue; whatever he is going to become, and enjoy it the way his dad does! So, my advice to others seeking success is to choose your vocation wisely. If it turns out to be something you don’t like, don’t do it. If you have the choice, choose what makes you happy.
How do you feel achieving success affects a person’s outlook or perspective?
My perspective changes all the time. The thing that motivates people to succeed is seeing results from their efforts. Results inspire people to make the changes required to continue to be productive and accomplish their goals. And accomplishing goals always makes you feel great!