Seeking more information on a retail investments sales associate position within a larger company.
Long time lurker of this sub, you guys and gals are awesome!

I have a question for everyone!

I was recently contacted about a position at one of the larger firms, think JLL, CBRE, Cushman, etc.. in a growing market area in the south.

The job title would be sales associate and it would be with the retail investment sales brokerage team. 

I was wondering if anyone had first hand knowledge of this position. What the position entails, salary, how to succeed, is it even a good position? What the day to day looks like. I really would love to hear other people's experience with people in this position or, yeah, really just anything and everything about it tbh.


 I'm a new grad out of college with a finance/ real estate degree with six years USAF experience and I absolutely love real estate.
[{"id": "gu21cyz", "text": "Investment broker at a big shop. Started 8 years ago straight out of college. Feel free to message me and I\u2019ll give you plenty of insight", "replies": [{"id": "gu4rvkd", "text": "Did you specialize in a specific asset class?", "replies": [{"id": "gu5h7pm", "text": "I do - I mainly focus on office, medical office, and industrial/flex assets but I also sell and work  buy side for a lot of retail strip centers.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gu21lcj", "text": "I've developed and sold retail centers, but don't have specific knowledge to your potential job.  I just wanted to say that there is a large shift in retail happening right now so I would want to make sure you aren't getting into a dying position.  I've seen posts here about principal firms with annual $250k budgets for ICSC not going anymore because retail is dying and they're migrating to other sectors.  Either way, best of luck", "replies": [{"id": "gu2hokt", "text": "Wow interesting. I always heard retail was dying out. I looked at some of the senior VP listings and they seem to be of high quality. But yeah I don't know too much and your input has been helpful, thank you!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gu25p0c", "text": "It\u2019s pretty much what it sounds like, a sales role as a broker for retail assets. The big brokerages have good mentorship programs to teach you the skills you need to succeed, but what it ultimately comes down to is charisma, networking, sales ability, and understanding the market.\n\nTypically it\u2019s a 100% commission role, they might give you a small salary for the first year or two til you get your footing. Compensation is as good as you are. Top guys in major markets can clear 7 figures.\n\nThat being said, retail is a struggling asset class even ignoring covid. There\u2019s very little interest in developing retail currently, and not much interest in investing in existing retail either. People only want very high quality retail nowadays, and there\u2019s only so much to go around.", "replies": [{"id": "gu2hf13", "text": "So if the firm only dealt with very high quality retail it would be advantageous to go with the position? My thought process is use the job as experience and a stepping stone to another asset class? Idk if it's that simple/easy. But anyways thank you for your response!", "replies": [{"id": "gu2jqyh", "text": "Is your goal to stay in brokerage or move to the principal side?\n\nI\u2019d try to find out how the team ranks in the local market compared to other retail teams. If they\u2019re top dogs it\u2019s invaluable experience.", "replies": [{"id": "gu2mk1e", "text": "Honestly, I have no experience in either so I'm not 100% sure. I like sales and talking to people so perhaps brokerage but idk I also like not talking to people sometimes haha. \n\nVery good advice, thank you!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "gu2mwmp", "text": "What other questions do you think I should ask to figure out big and successful their deals are?", "replies": [{"id": "gu2n1px", "text": "You should be able to do some research online to track down deals they\u2019ve worked on. On the lead broker\u2019s page on the website they will usually list major transactions they\u2019ve worked on.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gu2ogxc", "text": "Depends if you are doing nnn retail and calling grandmas to sell Arby\u2019s, or a structured finance group doing spreadsheets. But getting your foot in the door and starting somewhere is great. Make sure whoever has a good reputation", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gw505zy", "text": "Hi, I\u2019m on my mid-20s (female) and started at Marcus &amp; Millichap right out of college doing investment sales. I quickly realized I didn\u2019t know shit about CRE finance and knew I couldn\u2019t sell deals if I didn\u2019t understand the numbers. It took me many months to get an offer but I left Marcus &amp; Millichap and went to HFF (now JLL) as an analyst for three institutional and middle market teams. I left the shop and transitioned to the principal side before starting my own consulting and advisory company which is what I do now. \n\nThe best thing you can do for your career is be an analyst and get GOOD at running the numbers and structuring deals. The experience I got working at large brokerage houses was invaluable and gave me a solid foundation that I was able to grow quickly. \n\nWork for a large brokerage house preferably on a team that\u2019s seeing a lot of transaction volume. It\u2019ll give you the chance to work on more deals. You\u2019ll sit behind a desk and work out of Argus and Excel all day. Your hours will be shit and you\u2019ll most likely work for a broker that will be tough on you. Brokers are compensated via commission so when a deal comes in, get ready to bust your ass to get it over the finish line. Enjoy the downtime when deal flow is small and be ready when it ramps up again. Your day to day changes every hour based on priorities your boss has. One minute you might be working on one deal and the next minute a new priority comes up and you\u2019ll be working on another deal. \n\nMy best advice - be an OBSERVER aka be a sponge and soak up as much information as possible. Don\u2019t go into the job too eager and assert your opinions and shit. Really take in all the information and experiences that are in front of you. You will gain respect this way. \n\nBig brokerage houses are tough on their analysts. You\u2019ll he married to the job. But you will learn quick and all the ruthless hours spent analyzing and underwriting CRE is worth it because there is no better value you can bring to a deal than exceptional knowledge of how money moves in and out of buildings. \n\nHope this helped. Message me with any questions.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]