Starting out in CRE.. what to expect as a new agent
After meeting with residential brokers/teams I am deciding to join a CRE broker and go commercial for multiple reasons
- more natural for me to speak to clients/generate leads regarding commercial space compared to a residential home. 

-in so cal the commercial brokers are a lot more serious and less “Hollywood” compared to residential
- 10% of agents are doing CRE so you’re working with/competing with them versus 90% in residential which is over saturated. 
-mortgage rates and government policy dictates residential more then commercial from what I’ve seen.

What type of wake up calls should I expected joining a CRE broker. 

Is it still a flexible agent job or are you at the office or working steady hours day in and out?

What are 1-2 year agents bringing in while working commercial? Do most brokers actually mentor and want their agents to succeed and assist them in building relationships or is it the same crap as residential where people are super jealous and envious?

Are leads generated with your office? Do you find it easier to find leads compared to residential?
[{"id": "iqpy8n3", "text": "Join an established team. Going in on your own will be extremely difficult with no experience in the space or financial accumen", "replies": [{"id": "iqpyieo", "text": "Financial acumen is there but not to the extent other brokers would have.. \n\nRegarding team, do you mean office or actual team within the office/broker. \nBeen talking to a boutique broker and then kidder Matthews", "replies": [{"id": "iqpzkws", "text": "Team within the office. Work under someone who has an established track record.", "replies": [{"id": "iqpzznc", "text": "The boutique office has 10 agents or less, no team just experienced seniors and some younger agents with 2-5 years on. After speaking to them they were very eager to building me up and making me a top producer due to their small size and being able to assist me and help me grow. Only thing is that they do a lot of business for their size but not compared to cbre or a big office", "replies": [{"id": "iqq1vz6", "text": "A bigger brokerage like cbre will have way more tools and resources. as a new agent starting out you'll also have the brand to back you.", "replies": [{"id": "iqrxzqx", "text": "Cbre won\u2019t hire people without experience in CRE from what I hear. Not sure how accurate that is", "replies": [{"id": "iqryyhb", "text": "Not accurate there are tons of kids fresh out of school. I started at a similarly sized brokerage with no experience right out of school as well before I even knew anything about CRE", "replies": [{"id": "iqrzxv2", "text": "Ok good to know. I applied online and tried calling local offices. Haven\u2019t heard back yet", "replies": [{"id": "iqvysf0", "text": "Work your existing relationships and see who you can connect with directly. Will get you a lot farther", "replies": [], "depth": 9}], "depth": 8}], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iqr3xv7", "text": "Did you go to ucsc? Do you have 6 months of money saved up as you wait for your first deal to close. \n\nSales or leasing? What property type and market. \n\nDoes your office have costar?", "replies": [{"id": "iqrlz6l", "text": "I have money saved \nI didn\u2019t go to ucsc \nNot sure about costar yet", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iqr5tq1", "text": "Do you know what NOI is?", "replies": [{"id": "iqr6jf2", "text": "Lol", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "iqrltsq", "text": "No shit", "replies": [{"id": "iqtdua0", "text": "It might sound basic, but you would be surprised. Also, learning to run proper proformas is something you will need to learn. Many amateur CRE agents would only consider \"property tax, Insurance, management fee and Utilities\" as part of the expenses and forget about, among many things, occupancy, repairs and reserves.\n\nAlso, you will need to get to be VERY familiar with the zoning in your area and what are the allowable uses. Finally, you will need to learn how to do a proper due diligence on a commercial property. Contracts are not as standard as in residential and there are plenty of small details that can turn a deal sour for your clients.", "replies": [{"id": "iqtel0e", "text": "Thanks for insight! What are CRE agents using to generate leads. It\u2019s different then residential because you\u2019re usually not running into business owners/possible tenants at bars or social events compared to home owners. I\u2019m assuming a lot of emails to businesses for expansion, offices for reloc etc", "replies": [{"id": "iqtfios", "text": "&gt;What are CRE agents using to generate leads.\n\nWhen you are starting? Two ways. Cold callling and family and friends. Seasoned agents will have return customers or connection with developers. You can also go to business networking events and start building relationships. It is very different than residential. Decisions in CRE are based of logic and experience while most Residential customers go more for feelings than logic.", "replies": [{"id": "iqtfzxx", "text": "Exactly which is why I think CRE is a better fit for me. Based on logistics, numbers and making sense. Residential is far too emotional and constantly ass kissing clients who might not even Use you and will go with a agent they personally know or an airhead \nIn CRE it seems that if you have what client or possible client wants they are yours.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}, {"id": "iqtg3sb", "text": "Starting hopefully this week or next. Doing residential now and don\u2019t love it. Now on that topic.. if a family member wants to buy a 15 mil house, is it frowned upon to rep them on that purchase or do I have to refer it out?", "replies": [{"id": "iqtwdsa", "text": "Not at all, particularly when you are starting and if you know the market. Once you have a base of clients,  you might want to refer it. Mostly because you might not be as well versed on that market and you would want your family member to be well represented.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}, {"id": "iqtg9j8", "text": "Not sure how you feel about it but I feel far better calling business and business owners for a deal on a new space etc vs home owners who may not want to sell or buy.. usually business people want to make more money so if you have a good opportunity it seems far more likely to get clients vs a home owner", "replies": [], "depth": 6}, {"id": "iqtgmmv", "text": "And.. commercial leads to more opportunities in future. If you want to join an investment group, bank or fund that invests in real estate or needs a acquisition manager or someone that has done CRE you have other salary based jobs in the future", "replies": [{"id": "iqtvwh7", "text": "If you want salaried base jobs, don't become a broker. Become an analyst and climb the corporate ladder.", "replies": [{"id": "iqtwml0", "text": "I don\u2019t want to but I\u2019m saying if I wanted to move to another state and not become licensed as an agent", "replies": [], "depth": 8}], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}, {"id": "iqug22n", "text": "Once you have generated leads, you can use this information to convert your leads into customers and, eventually transform them into brand advocates for your business. \n\nCheck our tool Notifier, to generate thousands of leads!", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "iqrr0e7", "text": "They call me NOI\u2026\u2026.ROI NOI", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iqrfdzw", "text": "Year 1-2 if you are lucky you will make enough to eat peanut butter sandwiches every day. \n\nIt\u2019s really a year 3-5 business where you start seeing a return on your time.", "replies": [{"id": "iqrxxjd", "text": "Interesting perhaps the agents who have less then 3 years and are killing it are just lucky ?", "replies": [{"id": "iqslco8", "text": "Well hard work but also large amounts of luck", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "iqsy2ev", "text": "Or have other connections like family that are already in real estate or family that are in high-income jobs.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iqsbxkx", "text": "Get ready to grind. It\u2019ll take you 1-2 years to really get comfortable with your market and deal knowledge.  Just trust your mentors and add value to your team of senior brokers.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iqsg34f", "text": "Chose a product type aka specialize;\nHave savings or support for a year;\nFind an experienced mentor;\nBe consistent;\nUse a good CRM -although the best database in one which is used;\nMarket and call \u2014and don\u2019t take rejection personal; \nShits not easy, a rollercoaster, but if you prefer the latter and can stomach it- go for it!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iqt6j07", "text": "Im assuming you're going with Tenant rep? And are you doing office? Industrial? Retail?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]