It might mean breaking in his new eight iron at the local golf course. A ball game? Sure—whatever it takes for Lawrence Ruggieri to satisfy a client or prospect. Heck, if he had to, he might even attend a bridal shower.
“My job isn’t just working nine-to-five,” says Ruggieri, director of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., in Rye Brook. “I might be out until ten or eleven o’clock at night, whether it’s attending events or networking.” Needless to say, he’s all in, no matter how tired he might be, or how full his day may have been. “There’s always room for a little extra.” Sounds like a mantra.
While Ruggieri’s relentless routine might seriously suggest sleep deprivation, “it’s really a matter of knowing the right people and being out there. The more people you know, the more connections you’re going to have.” Often, his high-octane efforts yield results. “Hopefully, someone needs some help with their commercial real estate,” he says. “The more you know about a client or person, the better you’ll be for it.”
He thinks he’s also better for the fact that he understands the meaning of the word “no,” immediately backing off when a client needs a little space. “I’m typically not super-aggressive. If they tell me to call back on a certain day, I do. It goes back to knowing the person, the clubs he goes to, his hobbies, whether he has kids or likes sports. If you invite someone out to play golf, you get out there and have their ear for four hours.”
Ruggieri says he’s also benefited from his experience in the Air Force. “You learn how to deal with people and get things done, which isn’t always easy. I wasn’t in combat, but I used to work with ICBMs [Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles], so you had to know who you could turn to.”
Okay, so perhaps an aptitude for working with ICBMs wouldn’t necessarily come in handy at most bridal showers. Then again…
