MANAGING DIRECTOR, MARKA-TECH ASSOCIATES, MIAMI

What was your first job in the realty industry?
My family has a real estate company in Peru. I’ve been running open houses since I was 10.

Who inspires you?
My wife Lesley and my daughter Daniela

What is your favorite free-time activity?
Water sports, skiing, biking and spending quality time with my family

How did you learn the business?
I am constantly learning from the best sales professionals how to improve sales and marketing techniques, and adopting them for today’s marketplace challenges.

What was your most difficult sale, and how did you succeed?
An adamant client walked through the door and demanded information. He instructed me not to talk. He told me he was going to ask me a couple of questions, that I would hand him a brochure and then he would be out the door in five minutes. I did exactly what he wanted and he ended up staying for an hour and buying two apartments! Every client is different. The key to sales success is to listen and understand your client’s needs and personality.

What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
Most people are set with traditional real estate platforms and in today’s marketplace you must continuously evolve your business and think outside of the box.

What was your worst job, and what did you learn from it?
Working in today’s marketplace is one of the toughest challenges I have ever dealt with. This market is teaching me to go back to the fundamentals but also to come up with new and better approaches. While some people may look at this market as a problem, I look at it as an opportunity.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?
It’s the sum of all the factors that makes me who I am today. It’s understanding the business as a whole, by combining traditional real estate fundamentals with technology.

What was the last good book you read?
“The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America”

What is your favorite restaurant?
La Cofradia, in Coral Gables. Peruvian food at its best!

Architecturally speaking, what is your favorite building in Miami?
Capital at Brickell, of course

What kind of car do you drive?
Mercedes-Benz

BlackBerry, Palm or paper?
BlackBerry

What is your favorite city after Miami?
New York

What is your personal motto?
Today’s marketplace is all about opportunities.