By: Kate Merrihew – Director of Education and Marketing
Some might remember this gentleman from the breakout session he recently taught at the D.S. Murphy Family Reunion entitled “Selling Yourself,” where he discussed controlling the customer conversation and changing the outlook of how they see the appraiser’s role. If you missed it, you missed an individual passionate about sales and always looking for a different way to approach a problem.
Sales/Persistence is most definitely the thru line in Andrew Gipson’s story. He grew up in Duluth with a younger sister and 2 extremely driven parents. His father ran an engineering firm, and his mother was a VP at Coca Cola. Andrew was diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school and his parents sent him to GAC (Greater Atlanta Christian). He would later see this as one of the most formative decisions as it allowed him to explore many avenues and not feel overwhelmed in large classes. Clearly he tried it all – track and field, cross country, mock trial, debate, science Olympiad, and a turn as the school mascot to name a few.
He attended Auburn and couldn’t sit still so he took up rugby (until he “exploded” his left leg). In college, Andrew was one of few people to get into “Advanced Personal Selling” where he met Dr. Kincaide. Dr. Kincaide was Cold War researcher. He was most keenly interested in how motivation works in the enemy. He explained that his previous job was in a department whose sole purpose was trying to figure out how to win the war without physical weapons. Dr. Kincaide was pivotal in Andrew’s college experience and influenced his love of tactical sales. He helped him acquire his first job at United Rentals as a sales rep.
Essentially, Andrew explained, it was supposed to be a training program that would help them make a ton of money. It was cold calls. Andrew was able to turn what could’ve been a negative experience into a positive when he convinced the company to shift to commissions instead of base salary. They wanted all of the sales reps in the field and sent him back to GA. He got back to his home state and realized that he was had been working almost 100-hour weeks for 2 years. He needed a change…. Enter D.S. Murphy.
Andrew is currently a Certified Real Property Appraiser on Team Washney and lives in his condo in Virginia Highlands. When not slogging away on reports, he can be found with his girlfriend Meg, a pediatric audiologist, or his family. His sister recently got engaged, his father retired but his mother left retirement to become an agent for Berkshire Hathaway.
I asked Andrew the following questions…
Q: What made you want to be an appraiser?
A: I wanted to learn about real estate and I was ready to get out of my old job. Grant was talking about all of the certification stuff going quicker – clearly that happened after I went through the process. This seemed like the best way to get paid and learn about all of the detailed aspects that affect value.
Fun fact: Andrew was Grant Murphy’s sophomore roommate at Auburn. The 2 families met in 2001 in the 30A area of Florida where they both have houses. According to Andrew, he was the characteristically messy roommate that drove Grant crazy.
Q: What would you like to do when you are no longer appraising?
A: Open a brewery or distillery and maybe a bookstore. Anything where I can twiddle my thumbs and smell good things with a beer in my hand.
Q: What the weirdest thing you have come across when inspecting/appraising?
A: From a “what am I gonna do with this report” aspect… 2 kitchens in the basement with 6’ tall ceilings. Both kitchens were technically missing 1 thing to be considered a kitchen. I’m very glad it was a GP assignment.
There was also a house where the windows were boarded up. I’m walking around with a giant Maglite and I was just waiting for a rat. No utilities, upstairs and downstairs everything is pitch black. When I got downstairs there was a guy sleeping on a mattress. I said “hey man, I’m the appraiser. I’m just gonna get out of here.” This was 4 weeks into my tenure at DSM.
Q: Something no one knows about you?
A: I was the first guy to letter in Cheerleading from Greater Atlanta Christian as the school mascot.
Q: What words of wisdom can you share with the team?
A: If you’re ever wondering where work is going to come from or how to handle too much work being thrown at you, I always turn back to Calvin Coolidge’s perseverance quote, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”