8 Tips For CRE Brokers From Top Entrepreneurs
Many people look to successful entrepreneurs to inspire them and give sage wisdom to help them one day be at the top of their game. At its core, commercial real estate brokerage is truly an entrepreneurial business. While you might be working at a large, established company, it's still up to you to win new business, successfully manage client relationships and in many cases, run a high-performing team. Ultimately, your success is in your own hands, which presents you with a huge opportunity.
To help inspire CRE brokers, VTS interviewed four leading entrepreneurs (including VTS CEO Nick Romito) to get their best advice for real estate brokers.
Here are the top eight entrepreneur tips for commercial real estate brokers.
1. Learn from and apply client feedback
The saying “the customer’s always right” applies as much to commercial real estate as any industry. As you’re preparing for the new year, think about your clients’ experiences working with you. What seemed to go well? What questions or scenarios did you feel unprepared to address?
Ed Robinson, President and Co-Founder at Stash, shares his insight into the value of customer feedback. “Customers (aka your tenants and landlords) are key. You need to set time in your schedule to speak to them and listen to what they are saying about the service you’re providing. Track the feedback and make adjustments accordingly to achieve your business goals.”
2. Define your niche and become an expert
Finding your niche within a larger commercial ecosystem may not always be easy — but it’s recommended. Commercial real estate is a broad category with thousands of different specialties. All have their own unique requirements and intricate inner workings. It’s best to choose a niche that you’re passionate about and feel confident in. Once you’ve chosen your path, learn everything there is to know so you can become a recognized expert.
3. Decide on specific key performance indicators (KPIs)
It’s vital to continuously evaluate how your business is performing and see what needs to change. Being an entrepreneur at heart (even when you’re part of a team) requires setting measurable metrics.
Ed Robinson suggests you “decide on the three to five core KPIs of the business — for a real estate brokerage business, these might be the number of cold outreach phone calls or proposals you need to make each month. Then, communicate these goals clearly to your team, understand the drivers, and remain laser-focused on achieving them.”
4. Go outside your comfort zone and experiment with new business sales tactics
Don’t be afraid of trying something new. For commercial real estate brokers, this might look like exploring new pitching angles and digital initiatives to attract new clients. Did the new pitch work? If so, how can you take your learnings and apply them to future pitches? Ed adds, “Constant testing and performance tracking is the key to improving your service and metrics across the board.”
5. Stay on top of technology trends and use them to boost your business
Use the latest technology to organize your business. This can be beneficial to help review and track performance, especially if you manage a team. VTS CEO Nick Romito says that technology is powerful when setting up OKRs (objectives and key results) for the team.
Billie Whitehouse, CEO at Wearable X, also shares, “Don't let the limitations of technology infringe upon your imagination. You have to be able to live in the future and the present at the same time, and eventually, the technology catches up. This thinking isn't limited to tech — it can just as easily be applied to commercial real estate brokers looking to break the traditional mold and build a successful business.”
6. Stay consistent and persevere
If you love what you do, stick with it and persevere. Billie Whitehouse encourages thinking outside the box and creating your own path to entrepreneurial success.
“For years before we started designing Nadi X (Whitehouse's latest creation of vibrating leggings that give the wearer real-time feedback on yoga poses), I was told that it would be impossible to execute, the technology simply didn't exist. But here we are, so if you love what you do, and you're good at what you do, you'll make it happen.”
What tenants want is constantly changing. Staying ahead of trends in office space takes an agile and determined mindset, but if you’re committed to what you’re doing, you’ll be able to navigate tenants’ wants and needs with a little creativity and ingenuity.
7. Consistently over-deliver and stand out from the crowd
Competition in the commercial real estate market has never been more fierce but you can’t let that negatively impact your approach to winning more business. As Grady Laird, President & Co-Founder at Grady’s Cold Brew states: “You have to put on the blinders sometimes. You obviously need to be aware of your competition, but you also have to be careful about their ability to distract and throw you off course.”
As an entrepreneurial broker or head of a large firm, you need to make sure you’re going above and beyond for your clients. Going out of the way for your clients — like buying lunch, sending personalized thank you notes, or giving transparency into the process — won’t go unnoticed. You’re sure to be recognized by your client and stand out from the crowd, which leads to long-term relationships and referrals.
8. Network with more experienced brokers
Attend conferences, meetups, and office space open houses to connect with other, more experienced brokers. In an entrepreneurial-based environment, most of your leads will come from people you know. Learn all you can from your interactions and better yet, ask one of them to become a mentor.
We know today’s environment can make networking more challenging but in a way, it’s now more important than ever! “Brokers should try to jump back into in-person opportunities for networking as much as they can and feel comfortable doing so!” says VTS CEO Nick Romito.
