Anthony James: How the RE/MAX Gold Co-Broker Wrote His Comeback Story
December 12, 2018
If you’ve been a part of Gold Nation for a while, you’re likely familiar with Anthony James, RE/MAX Gold Vice President of Professional Development/Co-Broker of Record. With an electric personality and a cunning sense for business, you might be tempted to believe Anthony coasted through life and into his VP title—but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Anthony James’ first business card from 2002, with RE/MAX Gold.
In the midst of life’s twists and turns, Anthony learned to become independent from a young age. While working his way through college, Anthony was introduced to the idea of a career in real estate. In 2002, at the young age of 21, he hit the ground running as a licensed Realtor® with RE/MAX Gold, while earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from CSU, Sacramento.
In his early years, Anthony’s team leader funneled his enthusiasm and drive into cold calling FSBO’s and expired listings, which would eventually become his M.O. “I consumed every script and dialogue that I could get my hands on. From Mike Ferry to Zig Ziglar, I was obsessed with learning all I could about the sales process, sales scripting and closing techniques,” says Anthony. “Something I did regularly was write my script, read and record the script, and then fall asleep at night listening to the audio of my presentation, in an effort to flood my subconscious with how to dialogue around my value as a listing specialist.” Anthony credits his thirst for understanding sales and dedication to mastering presentations as the framework that helped build his career.
Despite his booming success at a young age, Anthony experienced the same downfall that impacted many of his peers during the recession from 2006-2011. Nearing the end of 2005, Anthony had a large active listing inventory, but by early 2006 every one of them had either cancelled, withdrawn or expired, which left him vulnerable to the market’s dilapidated state. By 2008, Anthony was enduring a financial crisis of his own, with two houses foreclosed on, his car repossessed and only $9.26 to his name. Things were looking pretty grim for Anthony (who, if you recall, was only 27 years old at this point) and he needed to make a strategic decision: Fight or Flight?
But for Anthony, quitting was out of the question.
“My mental toughness was really developed as a high school wrestler. Wrestling was a difficult sport; my first year I lost every match. There is nothing more difficult than getting physically dominated by another human and then training your brain to keep going back and telling yourself, “one day I will win.” It’s a blind faith that says, if I keep doing this long enough, work hard enough, I will beat the competition and my training will pay off. That mindset carried into my professional career. When I was financially beat, I looked myself in the mirror and knew without an ounce of doubt that if I kept fighting one day I would be winning again!”
Anthony stared down his failure, looked it in the eyes and made a decision to turn his present situation into the makings of his comeback story.
Anthony James, Vice President of Professional Development and Co-Broker of Record
But how does someone go from $9.26 in their bank account to Co-Broker of the largest independently owned real estate company in California? In short: Hard work, tenacity and grit.
Over the next 2 years, Anthony engulfed himself in education; he read books, watched webinars, enrolled in courses and did everything he could think of to gain a better understanding of the new market he found himself in. In 2010, he earned his Broker’s license and set his sights on using his experience to teach and serve others in the industry—and it wasn’t long before he would get the chance to do just that.
In 2013, Anthony was given the opportunity to contribute to the Selection department at RE/MAX Gold. His affinity for cold-calling, which aided him in building his career, had once again proved valuable, allowing him to take on a leadership role in the Company. Anthony went on to open and manage the RE/MAX Gold Natomas, Midtown and Rocklin offices, before being made a Market Vice President in the Sacramento region. Most recently, Anthony was asked to step into the role of Vice President of Professional Development and Co-Broker of Record for RE/MAX Gold, giving him the perfect outlet to teach and serve the associates of Gold Nation.
Anthony with his wife, Nikki, and their children: Leighton, Garner and Sloane.
With his upbeat and “never quit” mentality, Anthony went from “broke” to Co-Broker in less than 10 years’ time. But the hustle hasn’t stopped: Anthony is constantly moving, constantly growing and constantly gleaning from the experiences that make up his day to day routine—whether that’s in the field with Agents, in a meeting with Executives or at home with his family.
Today, Anthony’s life looks drastically different than it did just 10 years ago. He recently celebrated 7 years of marriage to his beautiful wife, Nikki (who is also a licensed Realtor with RE/MAX Gold in Rocklin). Together, they have 3 little ones: son, Leighton, 4 years old; son, Garner, 2 years old; and the newest addition to the James family—their 3 month old daughter, Sloane. While his comeback story is certainly inspiring, Anthony hopes that his life’s legacy is marked by what fulfills him the most—loving and serving his wife and family.
So what’s next for you and your story? While only time will tell, Anthony has shared his favorite resources and tips for personal and professional growth. “I read a quote by Bruce Lee that said, ‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.’ That’s a powerful statement. I don’t set a goal to read 30 books a year; I read a few books dozens of times to really affirm and understand what I am learning. In all of 2018, I have listened to only 3 different audios in my car over and over again. My go-to authors and speakers are Jim Rohn, Darren Hardy, Zig Ziglar, Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale and JC.”
RE/MAX Gold sells more homes each year than any other independently owned real estate brokerage in California, with 63 offices in 19 counties to serve you.