Sunny Ray sits down with Joseph Aquino of JAACRES for a story that starts on the pavement and ends on Fifth Avenue. Aquino describes selling novelty world-time watches door-to-door in the 1970s, using a structured pitch taught by a former encyclopedia salesman, after leaving Baruch College with only six credits. He explains how a canvassing job in Manhattan retail leasing taught him the market block by block, and how that groundwork led to a 26-year partnership with Faith Hope Consolo, known as the Queen of Retail. Aquino also discusses the business dispute and falling out that shaped his career, and why he wrote his 41-chapter book during a bout of vertigo in 2021. He shares lessons from running 11 health clubs, a funny story about a foggy gym mirror, and his brokerage philosophy of doing the hard work up front. The conversation closes with where listeners can find the book and its audio edition, which he narrates himself.
From selling watches door-to-door to Fifth Avenue deals, Joseph Aquino shares 50 years of persistence, mentors, and hard-won lessons.
What will listeners learn by the end of this episode?
You need mentors, and you need to listen, learn, and then go out and apply it. Above all it comes down to persistence. Some days the work takes one hour and some days it takes five. Some days you get knocked down, and the next day you have to go back into the ring.
How did you sell watches door-to-door, and what made it work?
I was trained by a man who sold encyclopedias, so it was a full presentation, not a hustle. There was the opening, the demo, answering objections, and then the close. The watch had a black dial with cities around the world, which was a bit of a gimmick in 1976. I did it for two years.
Why did you leave college, and what did you find instead?
I only had six credits at Baruch College. After the fast pace of aviation high school, the college pace felt slow and I was bored. I met some hustlers, lived in the George Washington Hotel, and learned communication skills on the street that school was not teaching. I found my passion early.
What did your years with Faith Hope Consolo teach you about how deals get found?
It starts with canvassing. I took a ground-level canvasser job at 31 because I knew it was the way to learn the sector. Within six months I knew every retail space in Manhattan. There was no shared database then, so results depended on how much you were willing to canvass. I worked with Faith for 26 years.
Why did you write the book?
It is my 50-year journey, and I wanted to tell my side of what really happened without defaming anyone. I had proof to back it up. During COVID in 2021, vertigo kept me home, so I typed 3,000 words the first day and finished a first draft in six weeks. The book has 41 chapters.
What is your approach to brokerage and closing deals?
Brokerage is less about sales and more about negotiating and staying in the field. Do not show a customer just one or two locations. Show them 10 or 15 and teach them the market. By the end of the tour they say they want to focus on two. The work at the beginning makes the close easy.
What did your health club years teach you?
I thought it was a sales job, but it became management. Over eight years I ran 11 different health clubs. In my last year I took the last-place club in profitability and brought it up to number two out of 40 branches in our region. The book includes those management tips.
Where can people get the book?
It is available everywhere, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For readers in Europe it is available through Waterstones. For the book's first anniversary I also released the audio version, which I narrate myself.
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