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The year was 1966, the scene, the National Snowmobiling Championships - Detroit Lakes, the end of day one of racing. On the sidelines sat young Jack Chivers, one could not have missed him at six foot seven and 250 lbs but they may have missed what he was thinking. Basically a change of his life plans was taking place that very moment inside his head.  Before that moment, Jack Chivers – by the way you pronounce the ‘CH’ and then it rhymes with ‘rivers’ but is not ‘Shivers’ – got that? -- had already fallen in love with Detroit Lakes and knew he would stay in the area. But Jack had visions of snowmobiling and ice fishing all winter and selling real estate in the summer. Now, sitting there, with his banged up body, sore from a day of hard racing, he thought, “I am going to sell real estate full time.”

 

That is exactly what Jack did and Calhoun Realty, based out of Minneapolis, hired young Jack and for the next 13 years he dominated their sales team by being the top salesperson for 12 out of 13 years. Impressive in a four or five person office but this one had 200 sales agents. Extraordinary.

 

Jack eventually started his own real estate firm in Detroit Lakes, MN – Jack Chivers Realty. Fast forward, it is no shock Jack Chivers is considered a ‘mogul’ and a consistently dominate leader in selling real estate. Numbers don’t lie and Jack usually performs double the sales of his closest competitor and currently (2008) is operating MORE than double the sales volume of his closest competitor. 

 

We are a numbers society, so look at these numbers from 2006 and 2007:

2006:

With all the negative information on the real estate industry, someone forgot to tell Jack’s company, they are doing great….again.  Jack,  had personal sales in excess of $42 million and his office, of seven agents total,  had NUMBER ONE (Jack) , NUMBER TWO (Maureen Engel) and NUMBER SIX (Lynette Conmy) sales producers in the Lakes Country Association of Realtors.

Note: To put those numbers in perspective, there are 256 active MLS sales members in the Lakes Country Association of Realtors. So Jack’s realty had number one, two, and six – three of the top ten. Incredible.

 

A lot has been written about Jack and his amazing accomplishments as a sales person but there is a lot more to this man.  Jack describes himself as an introvert with the caveat his wife wouldn’t call him an introvert. Do we even mention his wife is a Myers-Briggs expert and teaches the subject? For many introverts, people wear them down, not for Jack, people energize him. 

 

Regardless, it is easy when you start asking Jack questions to know he is an expert listener. What is the secret of his success? Long pause from Jack and then he explained how he was an “incredible listener and poor conversationalist.”

 

“I understand people and am empathetic to them, I was given ‘two ears and one mouth,’” stated Chivers.

 

Jack is passionate about his work, he said “I wake up thinking about real estate and go to bed at night thinking of real estate.” 

 

Besides being an expert ‘Deal Maker’ in real estate, Jack is an expert at introducing people to each other and a counselor. Jack is motivated by bringing people together and installing them right into the Detroit Lakes community to share Jack’s profound love for the area from its people to its 412 lakes.

 

“Detroit Lakes is a great place to live,” stated Chivers.

 

In trying to figure out what makes Jack tick or energizes him, we do look to figure out what type of personality he is. Myers-Briggs is a respected way of trying to figure out people and teach others how to hone their interpersonal skills. There are 16 different types of people according to Myers-Briggs in two main categories, (I)ntrovert and (E)xtrovert, here is the US population broken down by type: 

 

Regardless of if Jack is an Introvert or Extrovert we bet his people skills allow him to relate and work with all sixteen types of people.

Jack’s wife did have this to say about Jack:

 

“I’ve worked alongside Jack for over five years and have come to be in awe of:

 

 A) His ability to maneuver a transaction between buyers and sellers with both parties hugely happy with the outcome and B) His ‘Rolodex’ developed from not only gaining the respect of his clients with his integrity but also the high esteem he puts on the relationships he’s fostered over the years, ” state DelRae Chivers.

 

Art Greenberg, a longtime good friend of Jack’s explained how some people mistake the two big guys for brothers.

 

“I can’t say enough good things about Jack, he is smart, fun, a good guy with a (great) reputation especially among the big hitters. Jack understands what he sells and dealing with him is a pleasure,” stated Greenberg.

 

No matter if you are an introverted ISTJ or an extroverted ENTP, if you are looking to buy a cabin, cottage, or lake home in Detroit Lakes, it would be worth it to hook up with Jack Chivers.  Jack Chivers Realtors are clearly experts in lakeshore property and lead by a proven top performing leader and if you can’t remember how to pronounce his name, just look up at him, and call him “Sir.” Jack deserves that title and he will be listening to you and remember - Jack was number one in sales in 2006 and 2007 and ahead by more than double his next competitor in 2008. Extraordinary for anyone else but Jack. Jack doesn’t raise the bar, Jack IS the bar.