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\nAt 27, Jessica Siow has achieved what many her age only dream about. (Photo: Cheryl Marie Tay)
\nJessica Siow took the leap from a steady salary to the unpredictable world of property sales. Despite obstacles early in her career, things have turned out remarkably well for her.
\nby\u00a0Cheryl Marie Tay
\nJessica Siow, 27, started her career in consumer insights and marketing research after graduating from Nanyang Technological University (NUS) with honours in Economics. She had a passion for helping others and felt she could do so by better understanding different consumers in different markets.
\nHowever, she soon realised a nine-to-five deskbound job where deadlines, reports and overtime were commonplace was not fulfilling, especially for a stagnant four-figure monthly salary.
\n\u201cAs time passed and I thought about my career advancement, I decided to do something that\u00a0would provide me with constant returns (that were) to scale with the effort I put into my work. I wanted to be in control of my time, and I realised my\u00a0opportunity costs were not high enough.\u201d
\nThe switch
\nSiow wanted to go into sales, but had not decided which industry she should join. At the advice and encouragement of her business partner, Jyen Ke, whom she had met while studying at NTU, she \u201ctook the plunge (into the property industry), and the rest was history\u201d.
\nShe started her career as an estate agent in the HDB segment, dealing exclusively in rental properties for the first few months. She then gradually widened her scope to include private properties in District 3, before setting her sights on Districts 9 and 10.
\nShe explains her decision: \u201cI believe in constantly challenging myself and never settling in my\u00a0comfort\u00a0zone. I realised there was a huge money-making opportunity in the Core Central Region (CCR),\u00a0particularly\u00a0Districts 9 and 10.
\n\u201cTheir\u00a0luxury properties and central location have a very high potential upside, as prices have softened significantly. Most buyers have also given up\u00a0waiting\u00a0for the removal of the cooling measures, especially as they are usually compensated with discounts given by developers.\u201d
\nThe transition, however, was not easy.
\nA major roadblock
\n\u201cJyen Ke and I started planning the switch to the luxury property market in December 2015. We gave ourselves a deadline: we would sell at least one D9 or D10 property before the end of April, knowing this was one of the toughest area to do sales.\u201d
\nThey started marketing OUE Twin Peaks, where they conducted viewings daily, but to no avail.
\nThis dry spell continued for five months. Naturally, they were discouraged and disheartened; Siow even considered giving up and reverting to dealing in HDB flats.
\n\u201cWe spent every single day there and didn\u2019t close any deals. What\u2019s worse is that we were the ones with the most appointments among all the agents there!\u201d
\nThe turning point
\nSiow and Jyen Ke discussed where they were going wrong and came to the conclusion that the main problem was not managing their clients\u2019 expectations well.
\nAnd then, over the last weekend of April this year, the tide finally turned.
\nNot only did Siow manage to earn six figures that weekend, she went on to sell 11 units at OUE Twin Peaks within three months.
\nTo date, she and Jyen Ke have sold over 20 units at the development, and have been thriving at both OUE Twin Peaks and Gramercy Park.
\nWhen asked what advice she has for young agents starting out in the industry, Siow has some tough love to offer: \u201cLife is never fair; no one will treat you fairly and no one owes you anything, so you just have to accept that and make the best of what you have.\u201d
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