The Upside to Being a Doorman

The Upside To Being a Doorman

I was listening to a podcast the other day with Rory Sutherland, and as always, it was enlightening and insightful, but one part of the talk got my mind racing. He talked about how the doorman in luxury condos serves a multitude of functions. The doorman can provide a range of services, whether it's letting you know when your limo has arrived or discreetly moving a suspicious package for you. From nightwatchman to afternoon companion, the doorman is an unconscious staple of the living experience in a luxury apartment. This got me thinking about one of my oldest friends.

A buddy of mine named Vonski was a doorman in Boston for almost a decade. He comes from a Haitian immigrant family, and as one of the oldest siblings, he was a primary provider. Rather than take the risk of amassing piles of debt by going to college straight out of high school, he decided to become a doorman. Most people don't think of being a doorman as a launchpad for a lucrative career (and neither did he), but there are a number of skills you gain over time that have surprisingly powerful applications.

A doorman provides a kind of comraderie for the tenants. This was no challenge for Vonski. He has a magnetic personality and is an incredible listener. Maybe this is natural to him but being a doorman amplified this trait. Residents would often tell him about the excitement of a new relationship, the pressure of closing a business deal, drama in their immediate friend groups, and all the latest gossip between occupants. (I promise he did not hide any suspicious packages for anyone.) This rapport built trust between him and the residents, and I'm sure there were thousands of subconscious cues that he started to pick up on overtime that made his presence in the building feel more like a community. He was always the first and last person they saw.

This led to him seeing how other entities in the company interacted with current residence and an equally important group, prospective ones. Vonski would see the leasing agents touring the apartments to potential residents at the two most important parts of the touring process, the beginning and the end. There were hundreds of times he saw how a pitch began. Maybe an agent would try to use visual persuasion and sell them on the view from the apartment. He saw how they would frame the tour to make that piece of the experience stand out. He learned what words to say in this context and what ones to avoid. He would also see how they would attempt to close based on the client’s personality. He saw agents gauge their mental makeup. Were they reserved, someone who would need time to contemplate the offer, or were they impulsive? Someone who would sign on the dotted line today. Vonski witnessed all of it.

Armed with the knowledge of resident psychology and the subtleties of leasing, he picked up a powerful skill—the ability to sell to prospective residents. After many years of stellar performance and rave reviews from residents, he decided to apply for a leasing agent job, and the rest is history. He's sold nearly 500 apartments in the last five years and is making his former salary as a doorman in a few months in commissions.