CRAIG GAUDRY MINDSET IS EVERYTHING Cover Photo by Rachael Ann FOCUSED Media Collective ALSO INSIDE: Rising Star Debbie Lin and her new path to success Celebrating Laura Lynn and Women of Compass Sit Down with Hao Dang and How to Build a Team And so much more!
FORWARD LOOKING WITH CRAIG GAUDRY cover story Written by Allison Frey Photos by Rachael Ann, FOCUSED Media Collective CRAIG GAUDRY
When Craig Gaudry made his big move from San Diego to Seattle in 1987, he knew about five people in his new hometown — and he was related to two of them. So, when his stepfather suggested that real estate might be an interesting career path, Craig needed to dig deep. He didn’t have a network of friends that might help him land that first big sale. He started by door-knocking and con tacting the FSBO listings. In his first six months, he was spending down his entire savings without having any prospects or viable leads. And then there was a shift, and Craig went from no listings and nothing in escrow to having three new listings that all sold quickly. Now with money in the bank, he was on his way!
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Craig knew that he needed to readjust his mindset to really succeed in his newfound profession. To do that, Craig tapped into his past. He channeled what he calls his “sports mentality” and leveraged lessons learned from his high-school days playing football and wrestling to dig a bit deeper in his commitment to real estate. He used daily affirmations, courses like Lou Tice’s “Investments in Excellence,” and other meditative measures to help tune in to his selling and real estate endeavor. He also admitted to using a “fake it until you make it” mindset to continually ask questions, learning from the best peers over the first few years. With his early clients, given his general newness to real estate, he would seek answers from more REALTORS®experiencedlikehis Craig working on the move with his first work phone. Craig Looking over a market report in 1990! stepfather. Soon, he was also calling on expired listings, selling 30 in the same year.
There was a time Craig would go everywhere and anywhere to land a deal, with about 15%-20% of all sales coming from his home base of Kirkland. Today, about 70% of his business is centered in Kirkland, but he also services much of the Eastside and Seattle. As part of his commitment to his local community, he served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and also did multiple stints as the Chair of their Ambassador Group. He sponsors various Kirkland Downtown Association events and activities and helps the community decorate around the holiday season. Where his marketing started with a full-page ad on the back of the Kirkland Courier newspaper, he has diversified
HE'S A FIRM BELIEVER IN STAYING CONNECTED TO PAST, CURRENT, AND FUTURE CLIENTS.
realproducersmag.comCraiggettingtomeet a life long hero Magic Johnson his branding through social media and postcards/mailings, and now sponsors a float in the Kirkland parade annually! In 1997, Craig purchased a 17,000-squarefoot property in a light industrial area of Kirkland. He built a business plaza with two side-by-side, 4,000-square-foot office buildings, giving him a unique office space that he could truly call his career home. And the city of Kirkland has grown up to meet his future-looking expectations.
Craig has a few guiding principles that help him with every one of his transac tions, his peers, and his clients.
Google has since built their first Kirkland campus directly across the street from his offices. He hosts movie nights and client events with food trucks right in the park ing lot. This eye towards the future has enabled Craig to adapt, learn, and mature as an agent. He currently works with a team of three: a buyer’s associate, Matt Whitehouse, who is a life-long Kirkland resident, and his daughter, Carrina Gaudry Walthers, who is his listing/transaction and marketing specialist. She is also a third-generation REALTOR®. He’s a firm believer in staying connected to past, current, and future clients. Email and text can be great tools, but an actual conversation goes the distance for Craig.
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Conversations are especially helpful when guiding people through transitions. Craig’s longevity and experience through several downturns in the late 1980s, 1990s, and again during the Great Recession, enables him to speak to his clients about the market with a unique perspective, having seen many different corrections in the 35 years he’s been in business.
46 • August 2022 1. Always be in the game; stay dialed into what’s happening in every transaction, every day. 2. You’re only as good as the last time you helped someone. 3. Ask discovery questions to figure out how to help and where to go next. 4. Remember, you’re never bigger than the deal. 5. Always be overprepared, especially when prepping listings! 6) Always want to do a sale, but never need to. 7. Your job is to help buyers and sellers come together, but don’t get in the way! These reminders help Craig to continue to inno vate, adapt, and develop over time, keeping him looking towards the future with excitement!
