Selling Two Citation CJ1+ Aircraft with Two Different Brokerage Strategies
An Arizona-based aircraft operator owned two Citation CJ1+ aircraft, but the airplanes did not come to market at the same time.
The first CJ1+ had already been listed for sale through another brokerage firm and had spent months on the market producing primarily low offers.
Later, when the company decided to sell its second CJ1+, Fleet Manager Chase Headman chose a different approach.
He engaged Jon Gilbert and The Jet Agent to represent the second aircraft.
That meant the company’s two CJ1+s were now being marketed by two different brokerage firms—with The Jet Agent’s aircraft entering the market later.
Within 30 days, Jon had the newly listed CJ1+ under contract.
And although The Jet Agent did not hold the exclusive listing on the first aircraft, Jon also played an important role in connecting that airplane with the buyer who ultimately purchased it.
In the end, both aircraft sold—and Chase saw substantially better results than the company had experienced during the preceding months.
Transaction Snapshot
Aircraft: Two Cessna Citation CJ1+ aircraft
Client: Confidential Arizona-based company
Client Representative: Chase Headman, Fleet Manager
The Jet Agent Representation: Seller representation for the second CJ1+ brought to market
Confirmed The Jet Agent Aircraft: 2007 Citation CJ1+, serial number 525-0654
Sequence:
- The company’s first CJ1+ was already listed with another brokerage firm
- After months of disappointing activity and low offers, the company later decided to sell its second CJ1+
- Chase engaged The Jet Agent to represent the second aircraft
- The Jet Agent’s CJ1+ therefore entered the market after the first aircraft
- Jon Gilbert had the The Jet Agent-listed aircraft under contract within 30 days
- Jon also helped connect a buyer with the earlier-listed CJ1+ even though The Jet Agent did not hold exclusivity on that aircraft
- 525-0654 ultimately sold in 98 days versus a 218-day market average
The First CJ1+ Was Already on the Market
When Chase first engaged The Jet Agent, his company’s two aircraft were not starting from the same position.
One Citation CJ1+ was already being marketed by another broker.
It had been exposed to the market for months, but the activity had largely consisted of offers below the level the company considered acceptable.
The second CJ1+ had not yet been brought to market.
When the company subsequently decided to sell that aircraft as well, Chase chose The Jet Agent to represent it.
The result was not two airplanes simultaneously divided between brokers from day one.
It was a real-world opportunity to see how a different brokerage strategy performed when the second aircraft entered the market later.
The Later Listing Went Under Contract First
Despite coming to market after the company’s first CJ1+, The Jet Agent’s aircraft moved quickly.
Within 30 days of taking the listing, Jon had the aircraft under contract.
That timing is particularly significant because another similar aircraft owned by the same company had already been exposed to the market for months.
The difference wasn’t that The Jet Agent had received a head start.
The opposite was true.
Our aircraft came to market last.
Yet it generated an actionable transaction first.
Helping With the Earlier-Listed Aircraft, Too
The first CJ1+ remained represented by the other brokerage firm.
The Jet Agent did not hold exclusivity on it.
Even so, Jon ultimately played a key role in connecting that aircraft with the buyer who purchased it.
For Chase, the objective was to get both company aircraft sold.
When The Jet Agent’s relationships created an opportunity involving the aircraft we did not exclusively represent, Jon helped make the connection rather than treating the competing listing as someone else’s problem.
Both aircraft ultimately sold.
The Result
The company’s two Citation CJ1+s entered the market at different times and under different brokerage representation.
The Jet Agent:
- Took on the second aircraft after the first CJ1+ was already being marketed elsewhere
- Had the later-listed aircraft under contract within 30 days
- Sold Citation CJ1+ 525-0654 in 98 days
- Outperformed the prevailing 218-day CJ1+ market average
- Helped connect the buyer for the company’s earlier-listed CJ1+ despite not holding exclusivity on that aircraft
- Helped the company move both aircraft after months of disappointing activity on the first listing
The sequence matters.
The Jet Agent’s aircraft did not benefit from entering the market first.
It entered the market last—and went under contract first.
