American History 1988
Chapter 82 - 77: Sales Champion

Chapter 82: Chapter 77: Sales Champion

In early April, Dean returned to Youngstown. After dealing with a series of matters such as collecting extra rent and DCAP affairs, it was already late April.

Hurriedly returning to Cleveland from Youngstown, the first thing Dean did was to deal with his transfer application. Two weeks prior, he had already sent all the materials to Stanford in California.

Three letters of recommendation, one from Professor Miller, one from Academic Dean Clark, and another from Judge Vitte of the Youngstown court.

In terms of the lineup, it was luxurious. The first two were a given—that was basic. But getting a judge from the court to write a recommendation letter wasn’t something any student could just have.

After all, being related to the legal profession, their words carried some degree of authority. Besides these, Dean also treated the DCAP project and the One Cleveland project as his research subjects, and after organising them, sent them off to Stanford.

There’s no need even to mention academic transcripts, his 3.9 GPA was top-notch. With this comprehensive resume, Dean’s transfer was virtually set in stone.

Of course, to fill the number of options, he casually chose two other schools just to make up the numbers. Besides, since he was about to transfer, there were some procedures to take care of at Cleveland State University.

So after returning to Cleveland, Dean wasn’t exactly leisurely, as various bits and pieces occupied most of his free time from classes.

"Dean, I think Erie Street is a good choice. With our relationship with Cheap Rent, perhaps they’ll give us a nice discount,"

"Erie Street is nice as a residential area, with its beautiful scenery backed by Lake Erie. If the mood strikes, you can even take a boat directly to Canada.

But the commercial atmosphere there isn’t strong enough, we need to find a place that’s more bustling," Dean said, then leaned over the community map of Cleveland, carefully searching for the right location.

Dean and Simon were looking for a suitable office location for Price’s List; with the growth in users and the site’s rising prominence, more and more companies were coming to Price’s List to discuss advertising collaborations.

The part-time worker, Arlene, couldn’t handle the large amount of copywriting by herself, let alone the consultation calls that might come at any time. Therefore, Dean recruited three more part-time students from the university. Counting him and Simon, as well as computer desks and other equipment.

The temporary office that had originally been set up in an unused classroom at the campus activity center couldn’t even last two months before it started feeling cramped.

Moreover, with Dean set to transfer in the latter half of the year, it wouldn’t be right to continue freeloading off the university’s classroom. Hence, after discussing with Simon, Dean decided to officially run Price’s List like a company.

A company with a fixed office location, full-time staff, and an advertising signboard. And since they were to actively carry out external business, a bustling street was of course the first choice.

In fact, the ideal location in Dean’s mind was the city center, the area with the densest business atmosphere in the whole of Cleveland. Facilities for finance, technology, healthcare, art, and shopping were all available.

Most importantly, the city center was just on the west side of the University Circle, a mere ten-minute drive from Cleveland State University.

Unfortunately, the rent there was prohibitively expensive. Dean and Cheap Rent’s Jerry had inquired—the rent for a street-facing office, less than twenty square meters, was already over two thousand US dollars.

Mother F*cker, how much does Price’s List make in a month now?! After deducting server costs and rent, there isn’t much left over for Dean.

So without a second thought, Dean ruled out the city center. Besides, Price’s List didn’t rely on foot traffic for profit, so there was no need to be in the city center’s bustling area.

Some places just outside the center, with a comparable commercial environment, would do. The two of them pored over the map for a long time and finally set their sights on Ohio City in the west of the river.

"This place isn’t bad, it’s the old town area of Cleveland. It’s located on the west side of the city center, right next to the West Side Market, one of the shopping centers." Ohio City has existed since the last century; it’s also one of Cleveland’s old business districts.

Dean had some impression of it, having passed by last time he dropped off Miranda. The iconic Franklin Boulevard was lined with European-style buildings featuring Italian and Greek designs.

"You’re right, compared to the city center, the rent there is much cheaper. Most importantly..." Simon turned to Dean and mimicked a lip-flapping gesture.

"There are no niggers~! Haha~" Both laughed in unison.

Ohio City, located west of the river, had a community made up of over 80% white people. The rest were mainly Hispanic and Asian, with a negligible percentage of black people.

"Good! Let’s settle Price’s List’s office in Ohio City. I’ll give Jerry a call later and ask him to help look for an appropriate property under Cheap Rent,"

Jerry remained Price’s List’s biggest client because he had tasted success with Dean’s platform. He had gradually shifted the advertising budget he used to spend on newspapers and flyers to Price’s List.

After all, those flyers would end up in the trash can as soon as someone turned the corner, so it made more sense to spend 4 US dollars to have them stay up on the site a bit longer.

However, when Dean called Jerry’s office, he was surprised to learn that Jerry had gone to Columbus for a meeting.

Columbus, the capital of Ohio. If someone asked where the largest city in Ohio was ten years ago, the answer would have definitely been Cleveland.

However, if the same question were asked today, the answer might very well be Columbus. Upper Arlington, one of the central areas of Columbus, where the headquarters of Cheap Rent is located.

Unlike the shabby two-story building in Cleveland, the office building of Cheap Rent here is no different from those skyscrapers of financial companies. The clean and transparent glass curtain walls, the polite reception desk, and the minimalist decor gave Jerry the illusion of being on Wall Street.

Damn it, even though he had been here a few times, Jerry couldn’t help but criticize the headquarters for its prejudice against Cleveland every time he came.

The proud second-largest city in Ohio doesn’t even have a respectable branch. Look at this damned floor; he could even use it as a mirror. What about Cleveland? Not to mention its unevenness, the places where tiles had fallen off were like ugly scars that remained, day after day, year after year.

"Hey~, Jerry, you’re doing great! The boss must have something special planned for you this time," Ritter, Jerry’s immediate manager, said warmly as he patted Jerry’s shoulder while he mentally lambasted the situation.

"What? Boss, I haven’t heard any rumors," Jerry looked at his manager with some confusion, not understanding what he meant by a special arrangement.

"You’ll know soon enough," Ritter winked at him and motioned for him to join the meeting room.

Today was the day Cheap Rent routinely held its monthly sales meeting, and the main managers from Ohio’s major cities would attend.

Normally, Jerry might have been just a little short of the required level, but this time the headquarters had sent him a special invitation, so he too became one of the suited and booted members of the office.

"OK, guys, it’s time for our monthly sales meeting again," David, the Sales Director of Cheap Rent, began the meeting from the front of the long table.

"We manage nearly a million housing resources across Ohio, and we serve more than three million people annually. Without a doubt, we are the juggernaut of Ohio’s housing market!"

"Yeah~!" Managers of all sizes cheered and applauded in the meeting.

"And why are we the juggernaut? That’s because we always meet our clients’ needs, providing them with satisfactory housing!

Renting out all those millions of properties to those in need, getting all those homes leased, and collecting ample rent—then, no one in the housing market can compete with us!"

"That’s right!" "Ample money! Ample commission!" The suited figures in the meeting room waved their fists in excitement without any concern for their image.

"OK, I know, everyone makes money when the houses are rented out," David’s straightforward talk once again made everyone laugh.

"And today, among us, there’s a hero," David shifted his gaze to Jerry in the corner, "Come on, Jerry, stand up and let everyone recognize you."

Encouraged by David and Ritter’s gazes, Jerry tried to muster a smile. "Hello everyone, I’m Jerry Wilson from Cleveland."

"Yeah! Jerry Wilson, our sales champion for March!" David introduced him enthusiastically, "In the past month, Jerry reduced the vacancy rate of his properties from 55% to 15%! Over 85% of his homes found tenants, which is a tremendous success!"

"Well done, Jerry!" "Good Job!"

Everyone was aware of the situation in Cleveland, so raising the occupancy rate to 85% was truly an impressive feat.

"Jerry, would you like to share your insights with us?" David invited Jerry to talk about how he achieved this.

"Actually..." Jerry looked around the room at all the curious eyes and started to speak with some uncertainty. "If I had to talk about a secret weapon, it might actually exist."

"What?" The already curious looks from the crowd grew even more interested.

"A website called Price’s List." Jerry then explained his initial contact with Price’s List and his experience with placing advertisements on it.

After hearing Jerry’s story, everyone exchanged glances, baffled. They had never heard of this website and were even nebulous about the internet itself. An advertisement could be placed on it?

"Does Price’s List have services in Columbus?" David’s focus was somewhere else, though.

"That I’m not sure of, but I would need to go back and ask," Jerry replied uncertainly.

"If not, see if they’re interested in starting a similar advertising service in Columbus. Cheap Rent can talk to them about a partnership," David commanded decisively, despite his own limited understanding of the internet.