Agent at small CRE brokerage looking to move to a big house
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[{"id": "e2nq5c4", "text": "1) joining a big house is easy. Just call the managing director tell him or her you are ready to take your skill/Career to the next level. Then call them again and again and again. Remind them you will never quit calling until they find you a desk. Remind him or her you will be persistently polite when cold calling tenants and landlord as well. Be relentless thats what they are looking for.\n\n2)Colliers is the only group that spends millions every year on training on a worldwide training platform. But that doesn\u2019t mean you will benefit you actually learn way better by doing/failing. CB and Cushman, JLL are great firms as well they just train differently.\n\n3) deal flow forms doesn\u2019t magically come because you join a big firm. Senior guys earn the right to get on corporate business. You\u2019re starting from the ground up. Guess how? Cold calling.\n\n4) marketing is important, but you should not be doing it. Your marketing team or EA should be spending all that time NOT you. You need to be on the phone or meeting decision makers.\n\n5) financial background is important, but it\u2019s rather basic, not a competitive advantage.\n\n6) your senior guy is still calling? What\u2019s wrong with that? Every agent and every team is built differently. \n\n7) Book of business? If you are in the leasing game, that book changes all the time. People get fired, retire, changes jobs, die etc... I applaud you boss for keeping the fire going and hitting the phones. \n\n8) remember you splits get way worse at a big shop.\n\nGood luck.\n\n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2nscax", "text": "I don't know fuck all about CRE, but have some knowledge about careers and entrepreneurship in general. It sounds like you're currently in a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Based on the other comment, moving to a large firm will be relatively easy, and will only get easier with time (market swings aside) so that opportunity isn't going anywhere.  My 2 cents is to stick around until you've 100% outgrown your mentor.  You're in sales, right? Sell him on the value of better marketing and tools.   If you're right, who knows where it will end up.  If you're wrong, you'll learn  something you never could at a large firm.  Who knows, maybe becoming a partner is in the cards. Either way, good luck!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2nxjlv", "text": "He's not wrong that it is all about the hustle.  Maybe he already  knows that your multipage brochure still isn't going to win you the deal when if you are competing on marketing materials with a big firm (it won't btw).  You cold call for at least 5 years until you know your market and have a pipeline full of business and people who will give you a crack at their deals.  The second you stop hustling though another guy like me is going to come along and take that business from you with better hustle.  Relationships are good but if you don't have the skills, drive and resources to back it up they will be the best friends you have that don't do business with you.", "replies": [{"id": "e2ofn56", "text": "Agreed. It seems like what most people are saying is that the only merit to being at these big firms is that basically have all the bragging rights about the house you\u2019re in to sell to your cold call network. Is that *really* why you always see \u201cfor lease\u201d signs by the same few companies? ", "replies": [{"id": "e2oj20e", "text": "It's because we are the best at what we do.  Sometimes people get through that are not, but typically if you have any longevity in one of those spots there is a reason.  And it's not just because you can answer the phone and get an easy listing.", "replies": [{"id": "e2ojjhs", "text": "This is precisely why moving into a bigger house is important to me. I have oceans of respect for my boss, but he isn\u2019t the best in the field. That is what I crave and to do so I need to surround myself with like minded and like educated people ", "replies": [{"id": "e2orx1c", "text": "Those firms hire people who hustle above anything else.  They want someone who lives and breathes the business.  Sure.. someone like Colliers will hire random people with money and family and then they do a little business in their circle of people, but they really want the people who are driven and knowledgeable and capable of earning a real share in the market.  It is absolutely not waiting for a call snd/or expecting business to walk in your front door because you are at the right shop.  If you think that way it will be obvious and they won't be interested.", "replies": [{"id": "e2otg0e", "text": "That\u2019s what I like to hear. Did you have any practical suggestions, as someone in said environment? Calling the managing director down the line in that fashion as mentioned above sounds like it could get my foot in the door. ", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2nzn4d", "text": "&gt;After 25 years in the field, he is still cold calling and building his own pipeline (this could be untrue, but it\u2019s just from what I can see). This isn\u2019t a negative thing, he\u2019s still hustling, but at his age, running my own CRE business, I would hope to have a large enough client base/transaction amount to have referral work be my main source of deal flow. Please tell me if I am incorrect in assuming this. Another note: the largest transactions we have closed, I have brought to the table via family business investments or my own grind.\n\nHave you seen the RE market contract yet? This guy has. He is calling to always keep his business consistent. Having portfolio clients are your bread and butter until they are no longer your client. Things happen, and clients get acquired, go bankrupt, change brokers, etc. He's smart for always trying to generate business.  \n\nLargest transactions in the history of his time working there? Or largest transactions since you've been working there? My wife and I went fishing once, and I am way better at fly fishing. She won the biggest trout for the day. Catch my drift?\n\n&gt;We disagree on things that I find paramount to success. He believes cold-calling/networking/hustling is the be-all end-all. While I can\u2019t disagree, he overlooks very important characteristics that may hinder future dealflow. For example, he does not believe in investing in top-of-the-line marketing material. We have no in house marketing person, but I would gladly spend half a day perfecting a multi-page brochure for a retail ground lease opportunity while he would rather create a one-page flyer in Google Slides. He does not invest in demographic/analytics platforms like ESRI, and does not use CoStar (instead uses Prospect Now). Attaining top of the line platforms, in my mind, are nothing more than very practical expenses of a CRE business. Yeah, it\u2019s sucks it\u2019s so expensive, but it has to be done.\n\nI think you're both right. At the end of the day, it's a relationship business, but it doesn't hurt to give your brand credibility. I'm at a small shop like you, and we outsource our marketing material (hired a freelance guy for marketing templates) and pay for things like costar and esri. It helps us stay comparable to the competition. However, very rarely do I find those issues being my client's need when I'm calling. None of them are typically awake at night because they are struggling to find data. \n\n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2pdn4t", "text": "Man, pretty crazy you're complaining. I work for a small firm, they have me a 60/40 split first 100k. Been with them 3.5 months, the main leasing broker is so busy he has me working with him on all his good clients and I'm doing my own business. I have 1.5million on my own I'm contract right now, and have closed $750k so far. He and I worked hard our 1st month on the job to land a regional credit big box tenant and are about to submit a $1.2million loi, along with 5 more by the end of the year.  I made $65k salary at my previous job working in development.  I scheduled to make $130k in 8months thanks to this small firm. We dont hsve costar, we dont have a marketing person, we dont have an assistant. I'll be at 70/30 split after 100k commission,  it should be in September.  You have no idea how lucky you are. I also own 7 multi family rentals that I typically spend 8am-noon at 3 days a week at and they dont care because I'm helping them so much. I'd been fired by a big broker already, grass isnt greener on the other side.", "replies": [{"id": "e2peiud", "text": "Thanks for the response. It isn\u2019t as much a matter of compensation as it is changing my environment to reflect the growth I want within this field. I am closing on a 3.5M ground lease within the next week, but even with that payday looming, I would still rather take a lower split and earn a notch in my belt amongst the ranks of top tier industry professionals. Because I know the effort I put into my work, and I feel that effort would pay higher dividends down the line at a bigger house. I do admit, thought that this is perhaps the wrong attitude, and am open to having my mind changed", "replies": [{"id": "e2pzgbq", "text": "Well the broker in my office is considered one of the top brokers in the city. It sounds like you care more about the trophy than the money...seems really really odd. Like you need your ego stroked? Broker in my office pays himself 100% on all his deals, because I pretty much pay the bills with my deals. He's 46 and could retire next week and has been asked countless time to lead the big offices, but in those big office's you are specialized into something. Either Multi-family, retail leasing, industrial leasing. etc. I do everything it's amazing. Congrats on the ground lease. I'm in the midwest so $3.5million ground leases don't exist haha.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "e2q2nh1", "text": "How long you been in the industry?", "replies": [{"id": "e2q6ezu", "text": "Got my license last year, but only 2 years. Did small shop leasing as an employee, but have bought and sold my own rental property for over 5 years.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]