Posts tagged Relationship Brokerage
Transition Brokerage: Thinking in Threes
Nov 30th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
The Transition broker’s assistant is working at a 9-to-5 job. The broker has no expectation of his assistant working before- or after-hours because the assistant is working a “job” for a set compensation. But the Transition broker himself is not working at a job. He is establishing a career in a profession which far exceeds the demands of a 9-to-5 job.
Transition Brokerage: Five Objectives
Nov 9th
By Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
There are five prioritized objectives for Relationship brokers which must be accomplished in this specific order.
- Focus on a four-cornered territory
- Know and be known by every contact in the territory
- Know every transaction before it happens
- Have a finger in every transaction
- Make money
Since we have already discussed each of these objectives in previous chapters (see here and here), it is worth spending time discussing what brokers might assume is the first objective, but which is in fact the last objective of commercial real estate brokerage: make money. More >
Transition Brokerage: The Rule of 500
Nov 2nd
By Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
I contend that every successful broker has to establish personal relationships with 500 decision makers with whom the broker will do business directly, or from whom he will generate referrals. Those 500 contacts form the backbone of the broker’s business and distinguish the Transition broker from the Haystack broker. More >
Transition Brokerage: Introduction
Oct 26th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
We can all picture in our minds Wile E. Coyote, the Looney Tunes cartoon varmint whose hapless life is a never-ending pursuit of The Road Runner. Wile E. has a lot of arguably desirable traits, including his creatively single-minded commitment to realizing his goal of having The Road Runner for dinner (as an entree, not as a guest). But the poor canine always seems to over-pursue his objective. We all laugh as Wile E. chases The Road Runner down the desert trail, runs off the cliff, realizes that he is in mid-air with his legs wheeling at terminal speed, then falls haplessly to the valley floor far below. More >
Haystack Brokerage: Polar Opposites
Oct 18th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
The end of last week’s blog mentioned that Haystack brokerage is the polar opposite of Relationship brokerage. Therein lies the problem: Haystack brokers are as far away as they can get from Relationship brokers who maximize the effect of their labors by establishing relationships with their contacts and generating referrals from their friends and colleagues of their contacts. More >
Haystack Brokerage: Too Many Zeroes
Oct 4th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
The Haystack broker is prone to desperation because he is betting the farm (or at least his next mortgage payment) on closing whatever deal is on the horizon. His pipeline is not dependable and he has to do whatever it takes to close every potential deal, regardless of whether they are beneficial to his principals. Such desperation leads to a lack of flexibility in negotiating commissions with clients as well as in mediating commission disputes with fellow brokers. More >
Haystack Brokerage: Frustration is Avoidable
Sep 28th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
For the past five weekly blogs we have been discussing Haystack brokerage. In case you could use a refresher, Haystack brokerage is a common mistake made by many brokers new to commercial real estate. In an effort to find prospects for transactions, they resort to cold calling in the mistaken assumption that they will uncover the needle in the haystack, the buyer or seller, tenant or landlord who will lead them to their next deal.
Haystack Brokerage: Top Twenty Percent
Sep 20th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
In a prior blog we discussed what successful brokers knew, and what they did to become successful. I often ponder what separates this group of exceptional professionals from other brokers in commercial real estate. How did they discover the secret of success when most other brokers failed to get the message? I think I have found the answer.
Haystack Brokerage: Mirage or Epiphany
Sep 13th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
I mentioned in an earlier blog that most brokers are typically trained as Haystack brokers from their first days in the field. Their training focused on cold-calling because the new broker had a different objective in those first years. His purpose was to learn the ropes and become proficient by uncovering, working on and blowing potential deals, to find out how not to blow deals after the training period. More >
Haystack Brokerage: The Best Defense
Sep 7th
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
The Best Defense
Even though most brokers are Haystack brokers pursuing business randomly without the goal of establishing relationships, that does not mean that they do not present a risk to the Relationship broker. Every broker must defend against the Last-Broker-In, the Haystack broker whose intention is primarily to subvert and derail the transactions of other brokers’ clients. More >
Haystack Brokerage: The Last-Broker-In
Aug 3rd
by Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
This is not a scriptural treatise, but there is a quote in the Gospel of Matthew which has particular reference to the real-world practice of commercial real estate brokerage and I would like to share it with you. More >
Relationship Brokerage: Achieving Success
Jul 20th
By Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
This article is a continuation of a prior Blog posting which is located here.
Concentration
Relationship is the predicate of community and each relationship involves give and take between two individuals. The broker is the pivot point for every relationship in his community since it is he who has individual relationships with all of the 500 contacts who make up his brokerage community. If the broker is to be successful in building, maintaining and deepening his 500 relationships, then he must tend to each one with focus and concentration. More >
Relationship Brokerage: Assessing Relationships
Jul 1st
By Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
The concepts we have been discussing these past weeks are the foundations of a successful brokerage career: loyalty, commitment and trust. Most brokers think that all their clients are loyal, committed and trusting. But is that true? How might a broker assess his effectiveness as a service provider? How might a broker determine whether he is as well regarded by his clients as he thinks he is? More >
Relationship Brokerage: Service Well Rendered
Jun 22nd
By Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
Service well rendered should be a minimum level of expectation, but regrettably in many industries it has become the exception. There are standards of excellence to which all service providers aspire. While it is true that only a small percentage of professionals achieve a level of excellence within their fields, it can seem that the median practitioner is falling further and further below expected standards of excellence.
Relationship Brokerage: Trust as Differentiator
Jun 15th
By Bob Scullin, CEO, SIOR
Trust is the differentiator which inoculates a broker from competition and complements loyalty and commitment as the three-legged stool necessary for success in a brokerage career. Without personal trust, as a service provider there is no way to generate loyalty or commitment. More >