Brokerage Personality Types
I am a recent college grad working in the insurance industry but I’m looking to break into CRE. I’ve done a lot of reading to learn the basics of real estate and I’m in the process of taking some online courses on real estate financial modeling. While I’m not sure what type of entry level role would be best suited for me, some people in the industry that I’ve spoken with have said that brokerage is a great place to start especially at a small to medium sized firm where you would get to see a wide range of deals.

That said, I wouldn’t consider myself to be the most extroverted person even though I believe that I have good communication skills and could develop working relationships. Do any of you know any successful brokers that are not highly extroverted? Or would you recommend another path for someone in my situation to get started (such as an analyst at a REIT)?

I appreciate any advice or insight!
[{"id": "fabqpk6", "text": "Being extroverted, or social, is a skill that can evolve with time. I wouldn't call myself extremely extroverted... but I don't think that's all it takes. What's more important when getting started in brokerage is having a solid business plan and a strategy to make some money. \n\nDeals, and therefore commissions, take significant time and effort. Unless you have savings to fall back on, that can be daunting and a reason to think twice about jumping right into brokerage. I know of a junior broker at my firm who cold calls more than anyone, grinds extremely hard and only booked about $5,000 in revenue this year.\n\nI've been a broker for about 7 years now, but I started my career in research. I think that an analyst, appraisal or research position is the best way to start for a few reasons:\n\n* You have a salary that can get you by while you learn the business\n* You build your knowledge base of the market\n* You start to make connections\n* You may identify a senior broker who you can get started with when you transition into brokerage\n* You differentiate yourself from the brokers who may be good salesmen but don't understand the product they are selling\n\nObviously everyone has to take a different path, but I've mentored 10-15 brokers and have two currently running for me. I think that you should seriously consider a step in between where you currently and jumping into brokerage full time.", "replies": [{"id": "fabxdlz", "text": "&gt; You differentiate yourself from the brokers who may be good salesmen but don't understand the product they are selling\n\nThis is highly coveted trait amongst sophisticated investors.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fabrwtg", "text": "Fuck all that noise. I\u2019ve met brokers who were quiet as shit, brokers who wouldn\u2019t leave their office, and brokers who would yell at people as they walked into their suite. All three of those guys cleared 7 figures in 2017. Everyone finds their share despite their personality and as stated, it changes with time.", "replies": [{"id": "fabtrpm", "text": "To second this, its all about making your personality work. Yes there are many successful extroverted (sales type) brokers, but there are also several analytical types that are very successful. It's a business all about relationships, but its more about gaining the clients trust.", "replies": [{"id": "fac188v", "text": "Spot on.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "fae5epv", "text": "I agree with this. Coming from the capital markets side of the business (7 yrs at Eastdil Secured), I'd add that relationships and even trust alone aren't sufficient. To scale your business you need to have a system that helps you match-make more efficiently. The most successful people I observed could always identify the right buyer pool for a deal based on its profile -- and they could back that up by actually reaching those people and getting them to engage. To achieve this, they were always talking to their network to stay current on what different groups were targeting, how things were going with their portfolio holdings, and what we (the brokers) were seeing as we worked on our deals.\n\nIt's actually a ton of work when you think about it, and the larger your network gets, the more of this you need to do. You'll be dealing with local operators, regional groups, national investors, and possibly even off-shore capital. Each have specific appetites that shift as market conditions change.\n\nI'm somewhere in between extroverted and analytical. The data-geek side of me wanted a better way to structure and search through my network based on what kinds of deals people are interested in. But I didn't want a full-blown CRM that would require tons of manual effort to keep current (not to mention $$$). So I built a dead-simple networking tool to solve this problem. Each person defines their own targets and decides how much info to share. Then you build your contact list by following other people (or having them follow you). It's searchable by geography, property use, deal size, industry role, risk profile, etc. -- the criteria you actually care about. It's free to use and was designed for mobile devices. Here's my profile so you can see how it can be used: [https://targets.towerhunt.com/contacts/NfxwbSKdNwLnKJUoZiRJSeK3](https://targets.towerhunt.com/contacts/NfxwbSKdNwLnKJUoZiRJSeK3). Feel free to connect with me. The home page has more info.\n\nSorry to digress slightly, but if you're like the OP and considering getting into the business (especially on the capital markets side) it really pays to have a plan for how to capture the data about your network. If you're already in the business, you likely spend a ton of time tracking the players in your market and understand the value of being able to match the right capital with the right deals.\n\nLast, on the subject of trust: a key to this is not wasting people's time. For example, don't exercise people for your own gain. Help them be more efficient by focusing them on deals where they can win. Don't spam your listings to groups that have no interest because you can't filter your list.\n\nGood luck out there!", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fabv9zm", "text": "In my opinion there are two types of brokers. Grinders and Schmoozers. \n\nSchmoozers are your typical sales type, members of the country club, can remember everyone's name, where they went to school and their kids. Schmoozers network and collect contacts like pokemon cards. They are nice, they are friendly, you want to help them out. \n\nGrinders are ax-men. They will hold you accountable. They will follow up on everything. They will remember every deal they have done, every lease they have signed, you can rattle off a list of 20 properties and grinders will tell you who worked the deals, who the tenant was, who the landlord was and what the deal points are. \n\nYou will find successful brokers of all personality types, but not everyone is super extroverted or well connected. It helps to be those things, but not a requirement. \n\nWelcome to the business.", "replies": [{"id": "fabz1sc", "text": "The grinders vs schmoozers thing is so true.\n\nTo add onto this, what is more important than being super extroverted is being super motivated and having no shame. You cant be afraid to pick up the phone and call anyone, or follow up with someone weekly for a year straight until they give you a deal.\n\nOP - assuming you aren't the super connected country club type, I say go for it and be a fucking grinder.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "facg04v", "text": "I wish I could upvote this more than once. I\u2019ll go work for a Grinder over a Schmoozer any day. \ud83d\udc4f", "replies": [{"id": "fadj55e", "text": "Why?", "replies": [{"id": "fae263u", "text": "In my experience, working for a schmoozer means servicing their existing clients, so until they die, they keep that relationship. Working for a grinder means learning a lot about how to get a deal done, a lot of process, which is a transferable job skill. \n\nThese are generalizations, and both skill types are needed. The network of a schmoozer is deep, so being exposed to that network, and not burning any bridges when you split, is key. \n\nI would say schmoozers carry more downside risk as a senior broker, they can really hurt your career if they turn on you.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "fagyvyv", "text": "You\u2019ll learn more from a Grinder", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "fado86q", "text": "The perspective about grinders and schmoozers are damn true! Well said!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fad8qhm", "text": "Glengarry Glen Ross pal", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fb70gi3", "text": "I started off in insurance as well and now do retail brokerage. There are introverts and extroverts that are successful in the business. Everybody has different traits and sells styles. It really doesn\u2019t matter. If you can grind, build relationships, and be honest with other brokers you will do great in the business.", "replies": [{"id": "fcbp57v", "text": "Hey I appreciate the insight, that's great advice. Thank you!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]