New to Commercial Real Estate, would love some tips/ideas
I recently started in CRE with a small firm that specializes in multi-family properties and am looking to get off to a good start. I want to start marketing myself in the area for those kind of sales, as well as retail and office leases, but do not know where to begin. Much of my office is out during the holidays and I have not been able to sit down and speak with someone who is successful. I would appreciate some marketing/sales ideas and tips that anyone has. Thank you for your time. 
[{"id": "cy8ktl7", "text": "Find a mentor within your office. Try and work with him. It is extremely difficult to start out, learn from someone there who is doing it. ", "replies": [{"id": "cy8m2i6", "text": "Exactly. Be in the office or with your mentor all the time. Go to see properties with him or her. Sit in on phone calls. Get cc'd on emails. You will learn via time and osmosis. The most valuable info you will see is when a deal dies painfully. You will learn why and how to avoid it the next time. Those are the valuable lessons of experience and ones you will not forget. Time will slowly hammer you into a better broker.", "replies": [{"id": "cy9h85l", "text": "I am trying to do that, but most of the work my \"mentor\" does is through existing clients. He has been doing this for a long time and most of his deals are from client to client sales. He has not needed to really farm or prospect in a few years and mainly just keeps up to date with clientele through calls and mailers of new listings. I am wondering where I should find prospect lists, what to send them, and how to approach calls. ", "replies": [{"id": "cy9lnpi", "text": "Tell your mentor that you are not looking for a cut of the commission for his preexisting clients, but if he is on a call with them that he thinks would be beneficial for you to learn from to have you sit in on the call (and not say anything) just to learn how he handles client relationships.\n\nYou are right that one of the biggest challenges in learning from a mentor is that you won't see him spending nearly as much time prospecting new clients as you will have to starting out new. So, even if you copy exactly what he is doing, you will not be that successful, because you need to be allocating your time differently than he is at a later stage in his career. Rest assured he spent a lot more time prospecting when he was starting out too.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cy8ueap", "text": "http://www.massimo-group.com/newtobusiness\nWatch the video. Good info on how you should be spending your time and the 5 different directions any prospect call can take you.", "replies": [{"id": "cy9h537", "text": "I will check that out ASAP. Thanks.", "replies": [{"id": "cy9lk9c", "text": "Did you watch the video ???  You posted 2 hrs ago and the video is only 1 hr 7 min long.  What did you think ?  Did you take notes ?  Do you have any follow up questions ?", "replies": [{"id": "cy9rvwf", "text": "I'll check it out ASAP.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cydrela", "text": "Be different. Avoid doing what the masses do and stand out as a professional in CRE rather than a professional in sales. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cylgvb9", "text": "Not sure what market you are in, but typically multifamily sales professionals do not do office/retail leasing. Many brokers nowadays specialize (which is a better marketing tool for clients).\n\nThe best way to market yourself is to know your market and gather intel. Wear an old pair of dress shoes and start walking neighborhoods in your market. See what businesses are around, what buildings are in poor shape, etc. Use public online sources (city/county websites) to identify property owners if you are looking for sales listings. You will have a very low success rate, but you will secure meetings the more calls you make, and by meeting with these people they may share some market intel that could be useful).\n\nSomeone else had mentioned to find a mentor - that is the most important thing to focus on. IF you are in the process of pitching yourself to a mentor, see what areas they are struggling with (are they struggling to manage their current pipeline, or do they need new business). ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]