ENTREPRENEURSHIP is not for everyone and is definitely not for the faint of heart.
If Anthony Gerard Leuterio got distracted and discouraged in life after losing his mother at an early age, he would not have been be able to share his expertise in selling to more than 8,000 real estate agents under his network today.
“I had all the reasons to give up. I lost my mother when I was young. We lived in a squatter area in Urgello. At such a young age, I experienced life’s difficulties.
But life has its own way of telling you to protect your dreams because one day, it will happen,” said Leuterio, who is fondly called “Tonton” in the industry. He is the eldest of two.
Leuterio is the owner and founder of Leuterio Realty and Brokerage Inc., now one of the leading realty firms in the Philippines. He is also the founder of Filipino Homes and co-founder of Rent.ph.
Some 600 developers in the Philippines are working closely with Leuterio’s network in real estate. He also looks after some 15,000 sales agents working under his various business units like insurance, website, cars and real estate.
Leuterio said the road to success was no easy feat.
He recalled that he had to sell barbecue every afternoon in college to augment his P600 allowance so he could pay his P3,000 tuition. He also ventured into other buy-and-sell businesses and this went on until he finished his computer science course at the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
“I had no background in business. My mother was an operator in a telco. But what I knew was that I badly needed more money for my studies,” he said.
Leuterio pursued his passion for selling.
He felt sales and marketing was the profession to which he was willing to devote most of his time.
“I wanted to not just give my wife May, and my children Brylle, Kylle, Mayann and Vanessa, a comfortable time they deserved, but more importantly, I wanted to give them my quality time. Getting into business will help me achieve these,” he said.
After graduating, Leuterio was hired by a retail company. In 1996, he stumbled upon an opportunity in multi-level marketing (MLM) which honed his skills in sales and marketing, leadership and communication.
His more than 20 years in MLM allowed him to diversify into real estate selling. He said that once you gain a customer’s trust and confidence and you maintain a good reputation in business, sales will naturally flow without pushing customers to buy from you.
Today, Leuterio’s brokerage firm is responsible for the fast sales takeup of most developments in Cebu, whether house-and-lot or condominiums.
He has, likewise, sent hundreds of Filipinos abroad for incentive trips and property roadshows.
“Selling is based on trust. And for people to trust, you have to have a good reputation,” he said.
Leuterio and his company has reaped over 1,000 recognitions here and abroad. With the booming property industry, he said opportunities abound for those who are willing to take and work hard for it.
What was your first job?
I was hired as a marketing manager for a local T-shirt brand named Kulas. Besides selling barbecue, I also ventured into other part-time jobs and one of these was selling T-shirts in school. The owner saw my potential and hired me after college. Because of the connection I built, I helped them get into schools in Visayas and Mindanao, where we printed T-shirts for intramurals and for school organizations. From 50 shirts in a month, we were able to sell a million pieces. We also opened in stores in malls in Visayas and Mindanao. After that, I went into freelance selling T-shirts from various brands.
In 1996, I was invited to join a multi-level marketing company, where I stayed for more than 20 years. I helped a US brand grow its network in the Philippines. In fact, I became a top agent until I was pirated by another local MLM company. I was able to bring that local brand to the US market and grow its Philippine network extensively.
But during these times, at the height of the Asian financial crisis, I already knew a lot of real estate agents because there were a lot of them who shifted into MLM, while some went back to corporate. Everybody joined MLM when the property market crashed. It was also during this time when MLM companies blossomed.
Who inspired you to get into business?
It was life’s difficulties that motivated me to excel in life. I am blessed because despite life’s struggles, I did not go in the wrong direction. When I became active in our community as SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) chairman, I saw life’s harsh realities among the youth. If you don’t give them the opportunity to work on their dreams, they will remain hopeless and become a burden to their families.
I also source my inspiration from my family, who has remained fully supportive of me, and to everyone at Filipino Homes, who have become my extended family.
When did you realize this was what you were meant to do?
I didn’t like real estate selling at first because of the bad experiences encountered by my downlines (who were real estate agents before). It was done the old- fashioned way, knocking on every door just to earn sales. Moreover, I got discouraged learning about ethical problems. Agents don’t obey systems and don’t honor good practices.
When I went to the US, I met a friend who wanted to buy a property in the Philippines but he was scared to buy one from a Filipino agent because he was afraid of getting scammed or be given false promises. In the US, Filipinos don’t trust their fellow Filipinos.
And this is where I saw the opportunity, that if only I could establish a brand, a system and build a good reputation, I might be able to attract more buyers to buy properties in the Philippines and get their dream houses. Selling isn’t about how you talk, but it is about reputation and good will. Whether you sell a small item or a luxury product, the formula of a good sale is honesty. It is based on trust.
Why did you pick this type of business or industry?
The Philippines is facing a huge backlog in housing, which means that more Filipinos still don’t own houses and successfully bridging them to these properties is already a big accomplishment. On the selling side, this is an industry that helps transform the lives of Filipinos who want to give their families a comfortable life, a secure future for their children, and for people who want to become their own boss.
In our company, we are catering to three-types of buyers—-the end-user, flipper and investor. With the hefty investment the company has poured in for software, we are helping the industry grow, seamlessly connecting developers to sellers and to the market. We are constantly innovating.
Where did you get the training you needed to succeed?
The intensive sales and motivational training I got joining MLM has helped me become the effective and influential leader and speaker I am today. But I know I shouldn’t rest on my laurels. I still go to the US to regularly attend real estate and realtors conventions. I also attend annually the Real Estate Portal Summit, which is attended by chief executive officers, innovators and founders.
How many times did you fail before you succeeded?
For me, failure is subjective. I know before hand that I cannot please everyone. There will always be people who will not like me, not like my product but I believe that if I allow them to hurt me, discourage me, that’s the time I will fail.
I thought back then that I was a failure because I didn’t have a complete family. But I believe that if you stick to that thought for a long time, you will miss life’s wonderful blessings every day.
You can’t be successful and wiser if you don’t face these challenges head on. You must have a better perspective about everything, because there will be many of them.