Who is the greatest salesperson ever?

Historical legends range from Dale Carnegie to cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash. But today's TV viewers may be more familiar with stars of the Bravo franchise "Million Dollar Listing."

Each of the reality TV realtors sells hundreds of millions of dollars in New York and Los Angeles properties every year. But some of them began their careers with jobs that could literally make you cry.

As part of Reuters' "First Jobs" series, we asked these real estate titans about their humble beginnings and what they learned from them.

Fredrik Eklund

Star, Million Dollar Listing New York; author of "The Sell"

First job: Chopping onions

"I grew up in Sweden, and it was mandatory when you were in school to have a job for two weeks. Around age 12, they just send you out into the workforce, and I was assigned to a famous restaurant in Stockholm called PA & Co.

"My job was to chop onions in the kitchen. I cried a lot at the time, but I actually developed an obsession with onions: Now I can eat them like apples, and I put raw onions on everything.

Ryan Serhant

Star, Million Dollar Listing New York

First job: Carrying bags of roof shingles

"I was a laborer for Testa Building & Remodeling in Andover, Massachusetts, and my job was to take 80-lb bags of shingles up ladders, where roofers would hammer them in. I did that for three years and made around $8 an hour, which when you're 15 is a significant amount of money.

Josh Altman

Star, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles; author of "It's Your Move"

First job: Sorting mail

"When I first moved to Los Angeles from Boston, I had no money and no connections. My rollerblades were my car, and my brother's couch was my bed. I literally went around town just trying to find anything, and the only place I could get a job was in the mailroom, at a music agency called The Firm.

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Reuters