Speaker 1: 0:00

Oh my gosh. Congratulations, Alex. It's been over a year and you're finally in the Six Figures Club. Hello everybody and welcome to the Jet Life Podcast. My name is Tom Lelio.

Speaker 1: 0:15

We're pulling back the curtain on aviation. Whether you're a buyer or aspiring broker, we're helping you buy and sell private jets with no experience necessary. Today we are pulling back the curtain on one of the OGs. The original JetLife Aero broker, Alex Strohmeyer, is joining us today. Please excuse the recording setup we got going on.

Speaker 1: 0:39

We are escaping Hurricane Milton. Hopefully, by the time you're seeing this, there's not too much damage. We're praying for all those in the path. We've actually escaped from Florida to South Carolina and we'll be hanging out here throughout the storm and the aftermath. This is one of the interesting things about being a cloud-based brokerage is that we are able to work from anywhere. Just yesterday, I was at the Charleston airport closing a deal for Alex which kind of inspired this video, so we'll get all into that. So if you enjoy this kind of stuff, or whether you're a buyer or aspiring broker, don't forget to hit the like button, hit the subscribe button, because you got more content coming your way. So here we go, bringing them on Alex.

Speaker 1: 1:20

Welcome, Dude, I'm so excited for you, man. I'm just a little over a year and here we are, the promised land. This is what I'm telling people Listen, if you do the work, if you follow the process, trust the process, we want to get you into the six-figure world, and you have done it. Congratulations, man, Thank you, Thank you. So do you want to go back to the beginning and kind of talk us through this past year, or do you want to start with the closing of this Mustang that got you over into this achievement?

Speaker 2: 1:53

Sure, I'm happy to talk about kind of the beginning, how we got to where I'm at now. Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, so let's see, I started in June of 2023. Honestly, I was the first broker here at JetLife Arrow. How I got here I actually found Tom on YouTube and I sent you a cold email and we had, thankfully, you responded, which was great, and we had a few phone calls and then I decided to come down to Sarasota and do the training. I actually it was supposed to be a three-day training but I stayed for two weeks because I really wanted to just be boots on the ground and get an understanding of what the day in the life of a jet broker is. So really, that's how I started. That was back June of 2023. Got my first listing in. What I want to say was September of 2023.

Speaker 1: 2:45

That was a long sales cycle.

Speaker 2: 2:47

We ended up selling that in January I think we talked about that in a previous video and then I got another Mustang listing which I sold within the first week of getting the listing back in March. And then this one 5-10 November. Zulu, also a Mustang, also accepted an offer within the first week I believe it was two days after we had listed it for sale. We accepted an offer on that aircraft.

Speaker 1: 3:11

Found your original, no way.

Speaker 2: 3:13

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Summer of the Clutch YouTube channel, very passionate, combined aviation with a business background. This is awesome, man. Wow. And we got right into it from there. So that's, that's funny. Well, I mean, you know what? Here's the thing A lot of people will reach out to me, whether it's a DM or a comment or an email like that and what was great about you is that we started talking and then you were ready to take action.

Speaker 1: 3:46

And not only were you ready to take action, but, like you said, you went the extra mile. You stayed for an extra week or two in Sarasota just to kind of be in that environment, to get a good start. And I hear a lot of talk, dude. I hear a lot of talk like, oh, I need this, or I'm a go-getter, I'm a hustler, I'm already a successful this or that, you're our first broker to hit the six figures, and that's not an accident. You go the extra mile. You are constantly coachable. You went to Vegas, you know, for the, for the conferences. You, you seek out opportunities in the Miami area to connect with people, and you're just really coachable. So, um, let me ask you, what about this journey over the past year? Was what you expected, and what about this past year was unexpected.

Speaker 2: 4:43

Yeah, that's a good question. Um expected, I would say, well, that's tough.

Speaker 1: 4:51

I I guess you know, or maybe you did expect, but it was easier or harder than you expected.

Speaker 2: 4:59

Yeah, well, one thing I did expect and you made this clear from the beginning is this is a different type of sales process. It's much longer. We're commission only. So you need to, of course, be wise with your money, have a budget in mind and you really have to go after it. One thing that you were dead on about is you have to make a ton of calls. That's for sure, um, you have to make a ton of calls, uh, that's for sure, um, at least 50 calls a day, ideally 70 to a hundred.

Speaker 2: 5:31

In, really, cause you're the calls you're making right now is money that you're going to pay three, four or five months away, um, from now. So the more work you put in now, the better off you'll be in the future. So that, I think, was kind of what I expected, because that's what you really drilled into me Unexpected. Every single deal is different. It's really unique. Really, what can go wrong will go wrong. So when you think a deal is getting to the finish line and something random will happen, like Hurricane Milton, so yeah, I would just say you know, every deal is unique and anything could happen. That's the unexpected part about it. I think you're muted, tom, by the way.

Speaker 1: 6:15

So the part that was expected you had to make a lot of calls, maybe that or something else. What was easier than you expected and what was harder than you expected.

Speaker 2: 6:26

Easier, maybe for me, I guess, because I kind of already have a background in, or a passion and a knowledge of, aviation. Just learning the markets and learning about airplanes was easier because I love airplanes, so I'm happy to study and put in the work to learn about markets and learn about specific airframes and about the maintenance. I think that was easier. Harder, I mean, I don't know, it can be well. Actually I'll say this so this is my first sales job or experience. You know, taking this job was my first sales experience, so actually making the calls and finding creative ways to provide value for clients. I think that's the hard part that I've found and kind of pushing past some of those barriers you get. I mean, it's my first sales experience, so the training that we do has been very beneficial to me. But it's always every single day, every call is different.

Speaker 1: 7:28

It's my first sales experience, so the training that we do has been very beneficial to me, but it's always every single day, every call is different, so I guess it's the hard part. So you came into this with no background. Why were you thinking aviation sales? And did you look at anything else? Charter brokering? Did you look into real estate? Did you look into? Yeah, what did you look into?

Speaker 2: 7:44

I definitely looked into real estate. Did you look into? Yeah, what did you look into? I definitely looked into real estate. I didn't. I didn't look into charter sales. I actually had a finance degree in college. So my original plan I always knew I wanted to combine business with aviation. I just didn't quite know what that would look like. So I had been applying to financial analyst jobs at you know airlines like JetBlue, boeing, lockheed Martin just aviation companies, financial analyst positions. But then I discovered you know aircraft sales and that I was between that and real estate. I actually had a job offer for commercial real estate. But I think it's important when you're in sales that you do something you're passionate about, because if you're not passionate about it, you can't be successful. So that's kind of what led me to go into private aviation sales.

Speaker 1: 8:34

What did your friends and family say when you were talking about becoming a jet broker a year ago, and what are they saying now?

Speaker 2: 8:45

what are they saying now? Oh, they were they. They were definitely very supportive, but they wanted me to understand the risk of taking a commission only job, uh, and the chance that you won't make some money for a while. That's definitely a huge, huge risk. That's probably the, you know, the biggest risk of going into, um, you know, being a private jet broker or any commission only job. So that was something they I wouldn't say they were worried about, but they wanted to make sure I understood what that meant and that meant I needed to work hard. But now I think you know, I think they're excited and happy for me and I have, you know, I just recently got my private pilot, my private pilot license as well, so I've really embraced aviation. I want to continue to learn. Hopefully I get my instrument rating, multi-engine rating and then, on the sales side, continue to be a resource for my clients and build new relationships.

Speaker 1: 9:39

How have you found the aviation industry? I know you're younger. You had, you know, a little bit of experience in the finance world before this. But what can you say about the industry as a whole, the good, the bad, the ugly? What have you found over the past year? Like if you were explaining this to someone that's like what is the industry like? What are the people like? What would you tell them?

Speaker 2: 10:04

Yeah Well, the aviation industry. I think this is a good and a bad thing. What's great is it's a small industry, so everyone knows each other, but also can be a bad thing because it's very reputation based. So you know, it's important that you know you're putting your best step, you're putting your best self out there, being a resource for others. I think it's important that, as brokers and just in general, everyone in the aviation industry should be one. You know family and everyone should be helping each other out, whether that's sharing market research, sharing ideas. I think that has been the best thing about aviation and, again, could be a bad thing. What else do I love about it? I would say almost everyone I've met is also passionate about aviation. So while we are doing sales, we all love airplanes. So we don't need to talk about our jobs all day. We can just talk about airplanes all day. And yeah, that's one thing I love about aviation.

Speaker 1: 11:03

How have you found the fact that we are remote-based brokerage, a cloud-based brokerage, so you don't come into the office, we don't have. You know, it's not like Wolf of Wall Street where we're throwing people against a dartboard or having crazy, you know, plane rides and going to Vegas for weddings or anything like that. What has that been like for you? What are the pros and cons of the cloud based aspect of the brokerage?

Speaker 2: 11:32

Yeah, I think the pros are. We have people all over. So I'm in Miami, you're in Sarasota and again you happen to be in Charleston and our aircraft was closing there this most recent one, 5-10 November Zulu so you were able to show up for closing. I wasn't going to go to closing because of the incoming hurricane and the logistics to get back to Miami. A bunch of airports were closing so it wasn't looking too good. So that's definitely a benefit, again, having brokers all over the place. We have brokers in Pennsylvania, colorado, texas, California, so we can all help each other out with our deals and go show aircraft for each other if needed.

Speaker 2: 12:23

I would say also, I guess you know a con of it could be. You know it's really. You really need to set goals and motivate yourself, because when you are working from home or working in a, you know a, you know a WeWork or something by yourself, only you know you can motivate us from afar, but at the end of the day, it's on us to make the calls and to work. So if you, you know, don't have goals set and you're not constantly trying to pursue them or you know better yourself, then this could be, you know, a tough industry for you and a tough job for you.

Speaker 1: 12:59

How's the training? Like you had, so it was a little bit different for you. You came in for two days. We went through the workbook. The workbook would eventually become the online course, um, but you still have access to circle. You still see the, the, the, the, the courses that I put up there. Can you speak to this training that you've received? Um, both what's on circle and the recent sales training that we've been doing? How, how would you describe that to someone who's thinking about you know well, how do I get support? Or maybe they've been in other uh, industries, other jobs where training wasn't a big thing. Like, especially with this it's a new jet program. Like who knows how to go. Like there's like no place to to learn. So like, can you speak into the training environment you found here, yeah, and how it's actually helped you? You know close deals and get into the six figure club?

Speaker 2: 13:45

Yeah, no, I. It's definitely been a great resource for me. I wouldn't be where I am today without it. Again, it goes all the way back to coming down to Sarasota in person and staying there for two weeks. I learned a lot in those two weeks and after leaving there I knew for sure that this was something I wanted to do. And then consistently having multiple trainings per week kind of keeps us sharp, gets us thinking about new ways to be creative on the phone and how we can provide value to our clients. So I definitely think the you know the training has been a huge resource, especially to when I think back and I was looking prior to a JetLife Arrow I knew I kind of wanted to be a private jet broker.

Speaker 2: 14:26

I just didn't know too much about it. I didn't really know where to get started either. I think there were a few things I found online, a few courses, but they didn't seem that credible or I don't know it. Just they weren't very transparent up front. So I think you know the great thing about the Circle community is you know we have that course on there and it's not like a course you take and you're going to be an expert and you can sell an airplane in the world. That's not the a course you take and you're going to be an expert and you can sell an airplane in the world. That's not the purpose of it. It's really an introduction to what being a private jet broker is like and how you can take that basic knowledge and you go from there and you continue to learn. So I think it's a great overview of everything that's involved in the transaction and just what it's like to be a private jet broker.

Speaker 1: 15:17

So, speaking of the training, what are a few skills or a few specific tasks, if you will, that you're like, oh my gosh, like I had no idea, like I needed this skill or I needed this task and I'm so glad that I was trained on how to do it. Maybe objections, maybe it's closing, maybe it's just escrow contracts.

Speaker 2: 15:36

Yeah, um, outside of court again. I was new to sales, so everything about, um sure, the sales process was important to me. Uh, of course, you know practicing. We continue, you know continuously practice handling objections in our trading calls. So that's great, uh, and I am always benefiting from that. I would say. I mean just, I would say the finite deal, details of the transaction, such as the aircraft purchase agreements. You know how we do our market research. That's very important. Being able to uh conduct market research. Uh, it's very important that you're an absolute expert on the model of the aircraft you're selling or acquiring for a client. So that, learning how to do market research, you know creating spec sheets.

Speaker 1: 16:23

How is JetBroker Alex today different from JetBroker Alex a year ago?

Speaker 2: 16:29

I would say number one, experience. I don't know it all, I'm always continuing to learn, but I have a, you know, a good idea of what a transaction would look like and what's required for a successful transaction. I kind of have a routine now. I, you know how I operate on a day-to-day basis and how I do my market research. You know I design my spec sheets a specific way, present information, you know. I would say I would just say mainly it's experience.

Speaker 2: 17:05

And then, of course, like you know, hidden objections. You know there's always something new you could hear, but for the most part it's a couple of same objections and kind of knowing how to get through them or just discuss them. And, more importantly, the longer in the industry, the more people you meet, and that helps with your transactions as well. So you may, you know, learn of a new maintenance shop that could help with a specific issue, or someone wants to, you know, get an interior refurb or repaint their aircraft. You, you know, have a person you can refer to them. And then, knowing more people in the industry, that definitely helps with off-market deals as well, because a lot of times clients will be looking for an aircraft and they don't like any of the options that are on the market. So it's important to have a few off markets or, you know, have established relationships with other brokers.

Speaker 1: 18:00

Maybe you guys can put a deal together as well. So you've made it to the six figure club, the double comma club. We'll have to figure out some like really cool uh, uh designation for what would be a piece of advice that you would give to someone who's just starting that journey. Yeah, Um, and, and can you speak to how long it took you? Um, like, why did it take that long?

Speaker 2: 18:17

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:18

What expectations should be. I don't know. I'm not saying it was a bad thing. First of all, let me just be clear. Like you're doing great and I don't want to disparage Because you did your first year I mean you did a good salary not quite $100,000 in the first year, but I mean you were more than halfway there. So your first year, like you did, you did well enough for like a normal full-time job. So can you maybe speak to somebody who's just getting started? What was your first year like and like what advice you would give to them?

Speaker 2: 18:44

Yeah, I think it goes hand in hand what I was going to say, but it's really important to stay motivated and push yourself to make calls, to become informed about the market and to be a resource. I think every single day you should be trying to do something, that try to learn something, whether it's about maintenance or anything in the industry really Staying informed, keeping up with current world events, keeping up with the news and aviation as well I think that's really important Really, you know we can give you all the tools you need to be successful, but at the end of the day, it's on you. You've got to put in that work yourself. You can't put in 20% of the work and expect 80% of the result. So you definitely have to set goals, keep pursuing them, stay motivated and just keep pushing on. I think that's definitely the best advice I'd give.

Speaker 1: 19:34

So what did you struggle with your first year?

Speaker 2: 19:37

Again and that's why I was going to say it goes hand in hand. I'm, you know, I'm very proud of where I'm at right now, but I know I can do so much more and I can do better, and that, you know, falls on me. You know, either making more calls I really I think it's just really making more calls and I think I do okay with my market research and learning new things, just learning how to make pilots, you're doing really well with the market.

Speaker 1: 20:01

You're probably one of our most dialed in brokers. As far as your mark, you know your market Like I can ask like, oh, what about you know one, two, three, four, five hotel Charlie? Like, oh, yeah, that one in, uh in in Boise, idaho, that has the red stripe on it, that last week you know? I mean, you know your market really really well. Um, why do you think it's hard to pick up the phone and, by the way, this is something that I struggle with too. You look at my call numbers and it's easy for me to be like, well, I'm training people, but like the reality is I need to, I need to be on the phones too.

Speaker 2: 20:33

So why didn't?

Speaker 1: 20:34

you pick up the phone.

Speaker 2: 20:36

Honestly, I think it's. It's kind of a muscle and that's why I think, um, it's like a muscle in your brain. It's you just got to keep it's. It's sometimes it's hard to go to the gym, you know, and you know you got to go to the gym and you get a routine. And then if you, uh, once you go to the gym for two weeks straight, then you're good and you, you keep going, but then if you take a week off, it's hard to get back in the gym.

Speaker 2: 20:54

I think it's similar to that. So, um, if you're making a ton of calls, you're in a rhythm and you keep going. Um, that's great about you know staying motivated. I think that's what it is, because you know it's not, you know, uncommon to have stretches of you know no luck or success. Um, on the phones and you could be calling through market, it could be a month or two and you're not getting any traction, but I think that's normal in sales. So it's really just about staying motivated and keep pushing through it, because I think, um, of course, a lot I you know in sales, I think it's a lot of you know experience and well, what's the phrase? Luck is definitely involved in sales, but you create your own luck, so you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky. So if you're not making calls then it's going to be harder to get lucky, because you might call someone and they are absolutely ready to sell their airplane or ready to, you know make a change.

Speaker 1: 22:08

So, yeah, it's like luck is when consistency and hard work pay off, or when timing and consistency meets. That's luck kind of thing. I'd agree with that. Well, Alex, I appreciate so much about everything you've done over this past year. Your last deal, the 2008 Citation Mustang just about almost a $2 million plane. All the planes that you've sold so far have been over between $1 and $2 million. One was over $2 million right, yes, it was.

Speaker 2: 22:39

It was the Mustang back in March.

Speaker 1: 22:41

Yeah, so you've sold almost $6 million worth of aircraft. That's awesome. You've handled over $6 million in in total transactions. A 24 year old right.

Speaker 2: 22:53

Yeah, 25, 25. I was going to correct you, but. I recently turned 25.

Speaker 1: 23:01

That's right. So, um, great man. Well, thank you so much for everything. I'll give you the last word. Um, I guess that the prompt I would give you is you know, what does it mean for you, moving forward into the future, to live your jet life to the fullest? What does that look like in the next year, in the next five years? How you know? How would you describe that?

Speaker 2: 23:24

Wow, definitely continuing to learn and pursue my goals and hopefully achieve them. Can you share?

Speaker 2: 23:35

one or two of those goals with us. Yeah Well, I have one goal up there. I don't know if you can see it on there Was even close to hitting it, but I wanted to close 10 deals this year. I'm probably going to get five or six, but that's and that's on me. You know I can work harder, I can always work harder. So that's one thing I definitely want to do for next year. Maybe I'll up that number to push even harder for it, but that's definitely one goal I want to achieve. So really, I just want to continue to provide value, to be a resource, build relationships, become more informed about the market, learn more about aircraft and just be the best that I can be.

Speaker 1: 24:23

That's awesome, man. I appreciate your time. Hope we have a great rest of the day. Thanks, tom, stay safe. I appreciate it.