Commercial Real Estate Career - Beginners Advice

[Chad Vergason]

Hello everyone,

I have recently begun a career in Commercial Real Estate. I graduated college with a degree in Entrepreneurial Management as well as a degree in Finance.

I've moved to a new city (Tampa, FL) and my sphere of influence is small at this point. I'm currently attending local events put on by REIA's, BNI's, Rotary Clubs, and other groups.

I have a "mentor" in my company who was nice enough to involve me in some of his deals but I don't want to be reliant on what he brings to me. I would very much like to start bringing in my own business (I have 2 deals in my personal pipeline in 3 months but that is about as far as it goes given the few connections I have). 

I'm looking for advice or "tricks of the trade" to grow my business other than what I am currently doing. I plan to begin door knocking in my Area of Focus in the coming weeks although I know it may be hard to get in front of a decision maker doing so. I have also created databases of properties and the business entities that own them, which I plan to cold call as well. 

Any Advice is appreciated.

[Taylor Hazard]

Its a cliche but the simplest answer to your question is good ol' fashion hard work. Follow your mentors advice, cold call / door knock like a mad man, set a plan and stick too it. It can be rough starting out and traditionally takes 3 years to build a solid book of business. Get to know the local decision makers for developers, landlords, attorneys, title reps etc. by networking at every opportunity. Join trade associations.

I found if I made a plan for prospecting and stuck to it the results naturally followed. Pick a niche within your product type to concentrate on and become an expert in the field (e.g. office tenants in the tech industry, or industrial occupiers in the food industry).

Are you with a national / global brokerage house? If so work network with your fellow brokers by attending annual conferences, stay in tuned to company news and make a point of introducing yourself to brokers who are in a similar vertical to yours. sometimes building a book of referral partners across the country can be just as lucrative as cold calling local business. 

Is there any way your mentor will do some cold calling with you? If he has the time ask if he will join you door knocking or cold calling too see how a seasoned broker does it.