Can someone explain to me the differences between JLL, CBRE, CW, and MM?
For investment sales...

I’m working in residential and want to jump into commercial real estate in 1.5 years.

From what I can tell: CBRE has lots of referrals, can have broker fights within their own office, but charge low fees (and take high % commission) while MM is cold calling all day and everyday with a super high washout rate.

Interestingly enough, my mentor told me to join MM (Marcus and Millichap) despite it looking like the worst brokerage in some redditors opinions. He argues that if Im there for 3 years, I’ll come out successful. That is, if I can survive.

So what are the differences from a new agents perspective?
[{"id": "e62cyqr", "text": "Go to wallstreetoasis you will have more responses", "replies": [{"id": "e62svqr", "text": "Thank you", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "e632oma", "text": "I\u2019m a little bit confused. Most of the threads are talking about analyst positions.\n\nIs that just the recommended track to becoming an agent/broker? Thanks", "replies": [{"id": "e66co2z", "text": "Looks, it\u2019s all market dependent. In essence CW/Cbre/JLL are the same. Instead of trying to target the company, target the team that you want to be on, whatever company they\u2019re at. Teams get poached to different companies all the \ntime. Each city will have a different company that\u2019s the top dog at that city.", "replies": [{"id": "e68lqna", "text": "That doesn\u2019t explain the track difference between agent and analyst though", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e62jx2w", "text": "M&amp;M is more multifamily focused, or at least that\u2019s the impression I get.  With your resi background this may make more sense.  The other three are global full service firms with varying levels of presence in different markets and product types.  What market are you in?", "replies": [{"id": "e62swd6", "text": "Irvine, California", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e62n5ey", "text": "Maybe not the help you're looking for but on the tech side of CRE, JLL seems to be the most willing to innovate.", "replies": [{"id": "e62sv9t", "text": "What do you mean by this?", "replies": [{"id": "e62x4lc", "text": "They just dropped a huge investment in Dealpath, http://www.jll.com/news/323/jll-spark-proptech-investment-dealpath\n\nAlso, they seem to be very willing to use and are using the newest tech for things like underwriting ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "e9drfiz", "text": "CBRE outspends its competitors by a fuck ton when it comes to IT. Make no mistake, CBRE is revamping a lot of its from what I understand. Whether it will end up working well is another question", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e62ok7n", "text": "I\u2019ve never heard a good thing about M&amp;M. \n\nWhere are you located? Sometimes you can get better attention and mentoring at boutique firms. ", "replies": [{"id": "e62svk8", "text": "I\u2019m in Irvine, California", "replies": [{"id": "e62utu4", "text": "Check out Lee &amp; Associates. They\u2019re a national firm but each shop is similar to a boutique. ", "replies": [{"id": "e630fz5", "text": "Thank you", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "e63155i", "text": "I have another question. Everyone seems to hate on MM for their calling approach of 300 a week. Is this 300 contacts a week or 300 calls?\n\nCause when I started in residential my call numbers were 281 on my first day, 323 my second as a part timer. I was definitely one of the slower callers in my office though.\n\nIm confused how people are burnt out on 300 a week. That\u2019s not even 60 a day? What do you do with the rest of your time? It only takes 1 hour for 60 calls unless you get a really great conversation (in which case you\u2019re golden!)\n\nIf it\u2019s 300 contacts, I\u2019m not sure how that\u2019s possible. 2 showings/listings (buyer or seller side) in a week is a really good number for me. (Most I ever set was 6 in a week, but that was just lucky)", "replies": [{"id": "e63b8bk", "text": "I used to dial about 500 a day to speak with 100 people a day. Over the course of two years, I had covered all of Glendale, Burbank and the San Fernando Valley cities, met with more than 50% of the owners and had competed on every deal on the market for a long while. The objective is to have at least 3 appointments a day while still leaving a few hours to source more appointments and just keep that pipeline flowing. The higher your numbers, the higher your chances of success. \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nTHEN you learn how to just go after the deals you want rather than casting a huge net. ", "replies": [{"id": "e63dqh3", "text": "Thank you so much! You\u2019re incredibly helpful.\n\nWhich firm would you recommend to learn the ropes and become a top producer? How long should I stay there? I learn quick and can grind grind grind with almost no financial obligations.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}, {"id": "e632lpp", "text": "Also, I\u2019m reading about LA on Wall Street oasis and not finding much. Is there any info you could give me?", "replies": [{"id": "e66crzc", "text": "cbre is based out of LA as their HQ. They probably have a decent market share there", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "e67bctn", "text": "&gt;amily needed me and working at M&amp;M was costing me over a grand a month. With my main focus being major asset office and industrial properties, I wasn't really in a good position to make money.\n\nI am  a MM broker in the Midwest. The training is pretty solid for someone who does not have a detailed real estate background. Like @gigo36 has stated, its hard to compete but there are a lot of great mentors. I am hoping to gain a few years of experience then see where it takes me.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e62rot0", "text": "JLL, CBRE, and Cushman have market dominance, MM generally doesn't. Find out which shop does the most business in your market and work there. For training on the commercial side you want to work for the strongest company you can find as you will have the most exposure to deals and most importantly you will get proper training. If you are interested in investment sales add HFF and Eastdil to your list.", "replies": [{"id": "e62tn8p", "text": "My main concern is that the \u201cstrongest\u201d company might be the strongest because they have hit economy of scale the best or because they have a ton of median producers instead of a couple top ones. A great example of this in my market is First Team real estate.\n\nAccording to my county\u2019s business journal, CBRE is by far the largest in terms of volume. However, they are counting leasing as well. In pure IS, MM takes the lead.\n\nI\u2019m interested in your comment about training. Could you give me some insight into how training might look for a newbie? If they are formal classes, how much would it cost?", "replies": [{"id": "e63wsm8", "text": "&gt;My main concern is that the \u201cstrongest\u201d company might be the strongest because they have hit economy of scale the best or because they have a ton of median producers instead of a couple top ones. A great example of this in my market is First Team real estate.According to my county\u2019s business journal, CBRE is by far the largest in terms of volume. However, they are counting leasing as well. In pure IS, MM takes the lead.I\u2019m interested in your comment about training. Could you give me some insight into how training might look for a newbie? If they are formal classes, how much would it cost?\n\nWhen you join one of these firms you will first be responsible for market research, putting together offering memorandums, and running Argus or Excel cash flows. You won't be running your own deals for a while because you need to learn the business. Selling homes to joe neighbor and selling cash flowing buildings to institutional investors are two completely different animals. CBRE's materials are generally more institutionally polished, you learn how investors think. That training will be more valuable to you a few years down the line whether you decide to stay at a CBRE or go somewhere else.", "replies": [{"id": "e645tt7", "text": "So would you recommend CBRE out of the gate?\n\nWhere would I go to master soft skills? (Other than MM.)\n\n\nDo I need a background in finance or will they teach me as I go? I\u2019m a fast learner but I only know a few basic calculations (TVM, IRR, Cap rates) and nothing like the guys at Wall Street oasis talk about.\n\nHow do I get a summer internship?", "replies": [{"id": "e64khz4", "text": "Yes, as mentioned in my first post, I'd recommend a company like CBRE. For an internship you should reach out to people from their office for coffee chats to learn more about what they do. You can always ask them what their offices recruitment process is like when you meet with them. \n\nThe soft skills will come after you have more technical skills. Worry about learning the language and valution first. ", "replies": [{"id": "e64wht5", "text": "Thank you! I will start calling", "replies": [{"id": "e65bj86", "text": "Good luck!", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e63azgd", "text": "CBRE and JLL do a lot of leasing for office/industrial. There's actually a lot less competition here, but also a lot more oversight. They are also publicly traded companies, so the amount of bad ideas trickling down increases after every board meeting. These two are pretty much the authority in the Class A office market. Brokers don't really compete as much as other firms, but commission splits are also drastically lower as a result (it's typical to see at least 4 brokers on a single listing). According to most of my friends who work here, the constantly evolving technology they use and the ability to do some of the most challenging deals because of the amount of support they get from tech/staff are what make it worth climbing the ranks. \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nM&amp;M is a private firm that sunk its roots DEEP into the dirt of the nation's multifamily market, with a strong focus on private property owners (individuals, families, trusts as opposed to REITs, giant corporations, etc.). They'll wash your brain thoroughly during training with catch-phrases like \"culture of information sharing\" and \"adding maximum value for our clients\", but in reality it's just a giant sales team armed with CRMs and a phone. If you want to rub elbows with some of the most talented salespeople on the planet, this is where you'll find them. You'll find that most of the agents are trained to just get an appointment with the client and let their senior partner (mentor) handle the rest. M&amp;M doesn't do much leasing (anything they do is as a favor to a client/broker/corporation). They stick to their \"tried-and-true\" model of targeting the private owner with cold calls and mailers. When I showed management my investment real estate blog that was getting millions of hits in 2008, I was told that I'm wasting my time and I have no right to represent the firm online. It took another 4 years after that for them to start preaching to their agents that they \"need to embrace social media marketing as a tool\".\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nEither way you look at it, there's a ton of corporate dumbfuckery in this business, being that everybody in it is either driven by money and/or feeding their ego. You won't learn to be the best if you don't see the worst, though. If you have the patience to tolerate M&amp;M for three years, God bless you. In my opinion, though, all you need is a year of diligent, painful and seemingly unrewarding work there and you'll come out learning three extremely helpful things; 1) how to communicate effectively enough to steer a decision-making process, 2) how to cover your ass in a real estate negotiation and 3) that you don't need to pay 50% of your paycheck for a cubicle, a phone and a hierarchy of people telling you how to do your job.  ", "replies": [{"id": "e63e2ee", "text": "This is probably the best and most detailed response so far. Thank you gigo(:\n\nI take it that you used to work at MM briefly before moving on? Which firm did you go to and why?\n\nI may be wrong, but I see being an agent and broker as being a salesperson first, limited adviser second. Would you recommend MM for one year and switching brokerages? I\u2019m also open to that plan as well. I could survive the 3 years, but I\u2019d be unhappy to.\n\nWall Street oasis recommends starting as an analyst at a top firm and then moving up to broker/manager.", "replies": [{"id": "e64agxe", "text": "Start as an agent at M&amp;M. The Irvine office is relatively pretty awesome compared to Encino, where I worked. Starting out as a researcher is the dull way up the corporate ladder where you'll never really do anything exciting. You learn the most by meeting new people and extracting what you can from your experiences with them. Being a junior agent will give you plenty of that. :) \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nMy family owns and operates a small full-service brokerage, so I had a pipeline the second I quit M&amp;M. After the recession, my family needed me and working at M&amp;M was costing me over a grand a month. With my main focus being major asset office and industrial properties, I wasn't really in a good position to make money. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e63pb5e", "text": "Only information I can provide is at M&amp;M expect to be gathering information for 50+ page OMs and for other firms maybe 15 pages at most.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]