Number 1

Number 2 – And this is probably the most important lesson I’ve learned over my 2 years of blogging, 7 years in the business, and 3 years of bucking the norm and doing things differently.  IT IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!! Hate to be the bearer of bad news for all the new, you’ve got to do this to get more CRE business.  I’ve tried them all, and I’ve even invented a few.  Bottom-line:  It is all about relationships.  Want an example, I’ve got more then I care to count.  But, here is a quick one.  ”Patrick, your new technology is great, and I can really see how it would save me and my executives a ton of time throughout the process.  But, I really just don’t think I could leave my guy….  He’s been here since day one, and I’d feel awful leaving him.”  Now, don’t feel bad for me.  I’ve won my fair share of new assignments this year, and gotten in front of a lot of great prospects.  The key, get in earlier and provide more then just great CRE value to your clients.  See Steve Beecham if you want a better explanation.

Number 3 - Innovation for Commercial Real Estate is coming!!  Be ready, or get left behind.  I’ve seen too much noise behind changing things in CRE for it not to change.  Don’t forget lesson Number 2, but don’t put all of your eggs in that basket.  Generation Y’ers are gaining more and more power in organizations and they aren’t as stuck on Number 2.  Especially if their relationship isn’t not readily available to them.   Heard of Google?  We  grew up with all the information we ever needed at our finger tips.  Change is coming, and who knows, maybe at some level I’ll be part of that change…

Number 4 - Cold Calling isn’t dead, but it should be…  Wake up fellow commercial real estate brokers.  There are better ways to get in front of people then calling them 20 weeks in a row, hoping that if you annoy them enough they’ll meet with you.  See lesson number 2, utilize your existing relationships, and stop wasting your time.

I’ve been asked this question by enough clients, that it is time to put it out on the internet.  So, here is a rough breakdown on the cost per cube to move from one office suite to another.

• $125.00 per cube to break down
• $50.00 per cube to move
• $250.00 per cube to set back up

All in, $425.00 per cube to move from one suite to another.

What’s the literary difference between Job and Profession?

The dictionary definitions for job and profession are actually quite different.  See below.

-          Job –  a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee

-          Profession: a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation

If you have a job, then you go to the job to complete your required tasks, get paid, maybe try to get promoted, and then go home.  You are paid a specific fee for your specific piece of work that takes 40-50 hrs of your week.  You guys know what I am talking about.  It’s a job, maybe a means to an end, maybe you are just satisfied with it, or maybe you are just lazy with it.  Bottom line, it’s a job you are doing to get paid, and you do it because it is your duty and you need money.

Contrary to the definition of a job, a profession is defined by the dictionary in terms of a “calling”.  When most people think of the word “calling”, they think of religious direction from God.  That actually is not a bad parallel to commercial real estate for two reasons:

1. Commission only jobs will make you talk to God more often than you used to

2. The desire to be in commercial real estate must go deep and you must be so certain of it (at least 5 years certain of it), that you are willing to stick with it through thick and thin.

Diving deeper into the definition, a profession also requires specialized knowledge and long, intensive preparation.  This is certainly true of commercial real estate, and it becomes obvious to a young broker like me whose jaw dropped the first time he realized 1 transaction can take on average 6-8 months to complete.  To become good at commercial real estate, it clearly takes specialized knowledge and long learning and preparation.   It takes time to develop a profession.

While there are many more examples than I have time to provide, below are 3 practical examples of how I have learned to treat my career in commercial real estate as a profession.  Each of these is starting to pay off as I get ready to finish my 2^nd year in the business.  Hope they are helpful to you.

1. Time Commitment – This one is fairly obvious, so I figured I would get it out of the way.  Unfortunately for those who are lazy (but heard people in commercial real estate make a lot of money), making money in brokerage actually takes A LOT of time on the front end.  Most people only look at the large check a broker gets paid when a deal is done, and forget that the broker spent 6 months chasing that client, and another 6 months working the deal, only to have it false start, re-start, and then finally close 14 months after getting hired.   If you are not getting into the office early, leaving late most days, researching companies in your free time, etc. it may take even longer for you to chase that deal before getting hired.

I learned quickly that you have to manage your time extremely well, track your progress, and measure your results.  For those of you who haven’t already hear my rant on the awesomeness of IRUNURUN.COM , check it out.  It truly is the only way I have ever been able to easily define what is most important in my day, measure my progress, and feel confident enough in my work to take a day off when I can and need to.  Without any measurement of your time, you are just shooting into the wind and guessing at the results.  When you measure things, you can confidently make decisions about when you have spent enough time in the office to go play golf, and when you need to stay until midnight.

1. Let it all hang out – This one is a little bit more confusing, so let me explain.  What I mean here is that you cannot be afraid to let it all hang out on a day to day basis, in a way that might make you uncomfortable. Part of being in brokerage is realizing that you are selling yourself as much as you are selling your firm, and that involves creating personal brand that people can relate to.  It was very natural for me to focus on selling our firm, or my boss, or my boss’ relationships early on, but long-term success is built on developing your own relationships with decision makers and having them remember you, not your firm.  So how am I trying to do this?  Several ways:

-          Letting people (friends and family included) know exactly what I do.  This was the hardest thing for me to do early on.  Being a prideful guy at times, it can be intimidating to let everyone know you are in a commission only job, long before you have made it in the industry.

-          Using social media.  This follows closely behind the previous answer, in that in order to use social media to create a personal brand; you have to be active on it in a way that non-commission earning employees may not understand.  They are not incentivized to be active, make relationships with strangers/prospects, and project to the world exactly what they do for a living.  So, when you constantly update your profile, tweet articles, blog regularly, or any number of needed activities to stay relevant in your industry, they may provide a jab or two in your direction.

For example, I have had a friend tell me: “I see your LinkedIn updates all the time….you really like that stuff don’t you?”  This simultaneously freaked me out and got me excited.  I was taken aback because I didn’t realize how many people actually read that stuff, but I was excited to learn that people actually read that stuff. In addition to staying top of mind, Twitter and LinkedIn updates have become a great way for me to show my friends and clients that I take my job seriously and I know what is going on in my industry.  It shows them that my job is something I am committed to on a long term basis, as a profession.

-          Asking for referrals . Lately, I have been getting 3-5 referrals a week directly into a decision maker or influencer at different companies.  This is partly through LinkedIn and partly through typical networking relationships.  Early in my career, I was somewhat hesitant to ask people for their help, and I didn’t know how to do it correctly.  As I have become more confident in the quality of work we provide at SWA, it has gotten increasingly less difficult to be bold and ask someone for a referral.  I have learned that people genuinely want to help you, but you have to keep them informed of your progress and return the favor as soon as you can.  It has to be a cyclical relationship. It is a lot easier to sit on the phone and make cold calls all day to people you don’t know, but the long-term benefits of networking effectively far outweigh the initial anxiety that it creates. If your job is a profession, you can’t be afraid to ask for referrals.

1. 3. Avoid the temptation to focus on small deals or one-off transactions. This is the hardest day in and day out challenge of working in commercial brokerage.  When you are commission only, it is very hard to turn away business and avoid pushing existing deals through just so
   you can get paid.  Smalldealitis, as it has been called by my boss and partner Scotland Wright, is the trap of worrying about making money so much that you allow yourself to take on jobs that will not bring the highest return on your time investment.  One of the most telling things Scotland told me was: “if that 2000sf tenant doubles in size, they will still only be 4000sf.” Unless that small tenant has potential for multiple transactions, it is probably a waste of your time.   Part of making my job a profession has been learning to take the risk of delayed gratification and chasing the quality tenants that are less frequent, but much better to work with.

Anyone have any other ways to treat your job as a profession?  Please comment below.

1. Kill the air. Many offices are kept so cold that the employees are wasting time talking about how cold they are and trying to keep warm. If you do a better job of keeping the office temperature at a comfortable level, your employees will be more productive and you will save money on your bill.

2. Nix meeting rooms. A lot of wasted office time takes place in meeting rooms. Get rid of those and hold standing-room-only meetings by the water cooler or coffee pot. You will be surprised how much more gets done!

3. Let there be light. Try to make sure that natural light comes into the office. Natural light, especially on a sunny day, can energize your employees and help them be more productive.

4. Ergonomics count. Because you spend so much time each week in the office, it is important that you be comfortable. Invest in ergonomic products that will make you more comfortable, and that will increase efficiency.

5. Go with the flow. Arrange your office so that it is in line with the traffic flow. A couple of minutes saved here and there throughout the day really add up, over the month, and year.

6. Keep kids out. Millions of people work from home offices today, and more of them get started every day! If you work at home, make your home office ‘off limits’ to the kids. The last thing you need is to be tripping over toys or having important work items misplaced or drawn on.

7. Think minimalism. The new thing, these days, is to be a minimalist, which entails getting rid of things you don’t need, and keeping only the bare minimum. This will work in the office environment as well as in other areas of life.

8. Headphone help. Keep an iPod or headset in your desk. Many people find that putting it on when there are distractions is a good way to focus and get more work done.

9. Stand up. Researchers have found that you are more likely to get work done if you are standing up. If this is a possibility for you, give it a try and see what it does for your productivity.

10. Hire an organizer. We all know that organization in the office is important, but most don’t want to take the time to get it done. Invest money in hiring a professional organizer to get it all done for you; then you can take it from there. With the increase in efficiency, it will pay for itself in no time.

11. Get a sign. Every time someone walks into your office to ask a question, it slows down your productivity. If you are busy working on something, hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door until you are finished.

12. Pace yourself. Forget trying to turn everything on its head in one week in the hope of making your office the most efficient one around. Instead, pace yourself and choose one thing to implement at a time. Master that, then move on to the next.

13. Admit differences. If you have employees, it is important to keep in mind that an efficient office is subjective. While you think standing up at a high-bar table is efficient, someone else may feel that it’s annoying and find that it slows them down. Recognize and respect the differences, so long as you are pleased with output.

After the few months of work that it took to discover these inconvenient facts, I quickly learned that the only way I was going to feed myself and be able to take my girlfriend on any dates was accept the truth that what my boss meant when he said “business development” was really “go cold call you’re a$$ off”.  I decided to hit the streets hard, stop relying on just my existing network (it was going to have to get a lot bigger), and somehow get more than just the 5% of companies that don’t have representation.

Flash forward 18 months and that’s where I am now.  Made enough to eat, spent money I didn’t have to go on a couple dates (if you knew the girl you would too), and most importantly, have decided that cold calling alone is not the best way to get business.  More on that topic another time , because the point of this blog is to share what I have learned from cold calling and why I am able to still generate some business the old fashioned way.

Bottom line: there are three reasons I have landed commercial real estate business from cold calling:

1) Serendipitous Timing: It does not take long to learn that timing is 90 percent of everything in life.  I have no idea why I was fortunate enough to walk into several deals, but if you walk into enough offices, annoy enough CEO’s, and sweet talk enough receptionists, you will stumble into a few deals.

Example: Walked into an office to cold call and got shut down by them, but referred to their friend who was looking for space.  3 months later I signed my largest deal to date (12,000+sf)

2) Other Brokers Losing Touch: I hope to God someday that I have enough business to not stay in touch with my clients (although I will stay in touch), because another way I have got business is because some other broker is not telling their client what they need to.

Example: Called enough companies with more than 12 months left on their lease until I found the combo of one who had every reason to renew their lease early and the other broker was not around to tell it to them.  Two months later, renewed them for 5 years.

3) Most Business Owners Were Once Salesmen: Although this is becoming increasing less true in our society, I currently find that 1 out of every 4 or 5 business owners have a strong respect for cold calling if you do it right and have good information to bring them.  Especially those that still focus on the sales cycle themselves.

Example: Cold called a CEO and although they had nothing to do at the moment with their office spaces, he still agreed to listen.  Come to find out he spent 10+ years in sales and still trains his employees himself.  He told me he respects what I’m doing because he used to do it too. Three months later, something came up and hired me for a multi-office requirement.

I know that in my line of business, this might not be a popular answer with some tenants.  I am suppose to get my clients the best deal possible, and the right way to get the best deal is to leverage the office market by creating competition for my client’s tendency amongst building owners.  However, I do feel that if someone helped you out while you were down, then you should not be so quick to forget it.  This doesn’t hold true if a company shouldn’t have been in the building in the first place (meaning that the building rent is too high for a company’s existing revenue stream), then I understand the company’s eagerness to move out.

So, another question is yet to have been asked, and I truly am interested to see what the answer will be here in the Atlanta Office Market.  Will Tenants’ that received rent relief from their Landlords just expect a fair market deal from their current Landlord when their lease is up?  Or, will these Tenants treat their lease expiration as they normally would, and seek the lowest possible deal terms from their owner and their owner’s competitors? ]]> http://www.mosatlanta.com/blog/2010/12/whats-a-tenants-obligation-to-a-landlord-that-has-given-tenant-relieve/feed/ 0 http://www.mosatlanta.com/blog/2010/12/a-new-trend-for-commercial-real-estate-brokers-in-atlanta/ http://www.mosatlanta.com/blog/2010/12/a-new-trend-for-commercial-real-estate-brokers-in-atlanta/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:13:10 +0000 Patrick Braswell http://www.mosatlanta.com/blog/?p=1910 It may be premature, but I believe that I may be part of a new trend for commercial real estate here in Atlanta.  What’s the trend you might ask.  Well, recently I left a large commercial real estate firm here in Atlanta to be part owner of a smaller firm.  Or put into different terms, I left a global firm for a boutique firm.  FYI, I hate the term boutique.  Anyway, apparently I wasn’t the only one to do so in the last couple of months.  Two other quality brokers left larger firms for smaller ones.  Both brokers are part of “my generation”, and I believe both have an ownership position in their new firms.

So does three examples make up a trend?  Probably not.  But, it will be very interesting to see if more brokers from “my generation” decide to leave the mother ship for smaller firms.  The next question is why.  Why leave all of those perceived resources for a smaller company?

Well, I don’t know about the other two, but I believe that with today’s technology a smaller firm can better serve its clients.  In my current situation, I believe that we can provide the same level of service, if not better then larger firms, with the same bells and whistles, and use technology to do it a tenth of the cost.  I’ve got several real life examples of this, but I won’t get into them.  For Scotland Wright Associates,  it is our company’s goal to take those savings and invest in innovation to better serve our clients.  There’s a better process for serving companies with their office space needs, and we’re going to invest our savings in those areas.

So the question remains….  How does a CRE Firm separate itself for the competition?  If it is not through niche markets, marketing, or the process then there has to be another way.  Right?

Sadly for our industry, I don’t know if many companies or individuals do a good job of separating themselves.  But, I’ll leave that up to the companies who use or services to decide.  In my opinion, there are two ways to differentiate yourself from the competition.  One, relationships and Two, innovation through technology.

Bottom-line:  Commercial Real Estate is a business based on relationships.  Therefore, a company or individual needs to, not only, do a great job of understanding their client’s business and provide them with great service for office space needs, but also connect them to other individuals who they would benefit from meeting.  That is how you differentiate yourself in the relationship side of the business.

The other Bottom-line:  Commercial Real Estate doesn’t do a good enough job of utilizing the available technologies for our clients.  Period.  There is great stuff out there that our clients can benefit from, but many of us don’t use it.  I can promise you that Scotland Wright Associates, as a company, will be exploring this side of the business in great detail.  We want to improve our industry for our clients through technology, and I hope others will follow.

Would love to hear your feedback.  I recently did this for a client, and they loved it.

Our goal is to truly focus on our clients with their office space requirements, and look for innovative ways to better serve their needs during the process.  All of which, I’d welcome the opportunity to share with any of the readers on the MOSatlanta.com blog, at the appropriate time.  This is a very exciting time for me personal, and I wanted to share it with the readers directly.

Please look for more updates now that things have settled down a little over here, and please feel free to check out the Scotland Wright Associates website to find out more about our company.