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When I was young my mom forced me to eat peas.  Even today my wife “strongly encourages” me to eat them.  I don’t like peas.  Yes they are nutritious, full of vitamins and essential stuff, but for me far from delicious.  Some peas are simply harder to swallow than others.

When it comes to commercial real estate brokerage, it is also essential that you take your peas, or in our case your “P’s”.  When you look at top performers, you quickly recognize that they implement a daily regimen of P’s.  Here are the top five P’s that every commercial real estate broker should follow if they want to grow up to be big and strong, or more applicably, become a top producer in their respecting market.

1.       Planning - need I say more?  You can’t simply “wing it to win it”.

2.       Prospecting – you cannot “tweet” your way to long term success.

3.       Presence - #2 and #3 complement one another.  They are, not opposites.  There is no greater force for securing new business and for clients to find you than the synergistic meshing of prospecting with presence.

4.       Performance – it’s great to plan (#1), but you won’t produce without performing the tactics and strategies outlined in your plan.

5.       Persistence – There is a fine line between persistence and  a pain in the butt, but very few brokers come close to ever crossing it.  Push the envelope, without becoming the pain.

Practice the 5 aforementioned P’s and you will find you will more easily acquire the most important P of all… production.

It seems contradictory for a professional coach, motivator and mentor to suggest that there is one, overwhelmingly important word a commercial real estate broker must use and use regularly.  But once you appreciate the value of this one word, you will then understand why only a small percentage of all commercial real estate brokers make a vast majority of the commercial real estate commissions.  You will better appreciate what specifically top performers do that the rest of the brokerage community does not. 

The vast majority of commercial real estate brokers get caught in the minutia of details in regards to running personal brokerage business.  We all understand that commercial brokerage requires managing a manifold of responsibilities; however, top performers both command and understand the value of their personal time.  Top performers outsource, delegate and/or delete those activities that do not generate their targeted level of income. 

Probably the best advice I received during my commercial real estate career was to create a “Not To Do List”.  Ironically, the concept was presented to me during a seminar I attended, hosted by Bob Corcoran.  Bob is a residential real estate coach, however, he was presenting to the commercial organization I was affiliated with at the time.  Since then I have had the good fortunate of befriending Bob, and he is one member of my personal board of advisors.

Earlier this week I contacted several associates, potential alliances and promising promotional sources which all had the same basic theme.  The messages were professional and respectful, but more importantly they were decisive.  For all three, the message was “no”.    However, this was very hard to do.  As entrepreneurs we all strive for the positive.  We strive to be everything and anything to our clients.  There is no room for “no”.  It’s YES I CAN!

But here is the secret.  The more you say “no”, the more you can do.  The longer your individual “not to do list” becomes, the more productive your “To Do” list gets.  Go ahead, and give it a try, just make sure you put a “thank you” at the end.

Generating commissions in this market place are seemingly more problematic than ever before.  Velocity is down, market values are vaporizing and liquidity continues to be nothing more than a mystical concept.  Many brokers and agents are looking for alternative approaches, tactics and strategies for manufacturing brokerage fees.

In addition, once an opportunity is found, the process of the transaction itself can be slower and unpredictable as a Tim Wakefield (Boston Redsox pitcher) knuckleball.  For the record I am a fan of the Yankees.

However, sometimes creating commissions is much easier and closer than you think.   Many times we overlook the most fundamental source for income – referrals. 

Yes, it seems like the most obvious of methods, but it is by far the most underutilized approach by commercial real estate brokers.  For reasons unknown to me, commercial brokers simply have a hard time asking for a referral. 

The first thing you need to do schedule the request in advance.  That’s right.  Schedule the request for a referral as soon as you ink the listing or representation agreement.   As soon as we get a new coaching client we set a referral request 3 months from contract date.  We know that period will provide the adequate time for a client to go through our process, complete a series of one-on-one or team coaching sessions and recognize the value of our program.   The same principals hold true for you as a commercial broker.  Whether you are using ACT, ACTCRE, REA, Realhound or Outlook (hopefully not the latter) you should set a task to ask for that referral upfront, so you don’t forget to ask when it is appropriate.

Secondly, “Ask the Questions”.  What are the questions?  Well it is simply one of three. 

1.       Where else are you doing business?

2.       How else can we help you with your real estate holdings/lease obligations?

3.       Who else in your personal network would benefit from our services?

There are more aggressive ways to ask and more defined value propositions to integrate to these questions but this is a good start.

Finally, keep your clients up to date on your activity with each referral provided.  This communication will instill the trust level in you and reduce any inhibitions you may have in asking for future referrals or the client providing them.

Statistics overwhelming demonstrate that coaching is one of the mostsuccessful decisions of individuals looking to maximizing results.  Athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs and top performing residential agents all have coaches.  Recently a growing trend in commercial real estate is the hiring of a coach who specialized in the industry. 

The very first question we ask anyone when they contact our company regarding our coaching services is “Why do you feel you need a coach?”  This is followed up with a more telling question “What does a successful coaching relationship look like to you?”  Time and time again the inquirer outlines the main reasons our client’s desire, select and value coaching. 

1)      A coach will work with you in defining what the most important elements to focus on based on your personal vision of success.  Your role in your organization and possibly on your team has a significant impact on what is going to maximize your and/or your teams’ production or commission income. 

2)      Coaching will create clear, and more importantly, relevant metrics to measure your progress and provide the critical feedback during the journey.  Goals and vision are great, especially if they are clear and committed to, but without a metrics, they are meaningless.   More often than not, sales meetings and pipeline meetings are focused on the result or effect and not the metrics that drive the cause.  Without metrics, success is not planned, it is simply accidental.

3)      A coach should work with you in not only monitoring and providing feedback on your behavior, but should also assist in defining the actions to reach specific goals.  The bridge between planning and production is performance.  If you are going to achieve a goal you have not reached before, you must change your behavior.  

4)      The coach will highlight both the positive progression as well as any regression made.  A coach will help identify alternatives if there is an obstacle to performance or behaviors.  Without a consistent review of the aforementioned metrics, action plans and results, the likelihood of achievement on what truly drives income depreciates exponentially. 

5)      Hiring a coach is an investment in your greatest asset – YOU.  A professional commercial real estate coach will be your partner, your motivator, your confidant and your trusted advisor. 

Coaching is certainly not for everyone.  No doubt many less seasoned and less successful commercial real estate brokers look at items such as coaching, training and education as a cost.  With this perspective, coaching would rarely be successful.  Coaching is an investment.  The dividends are real, but they are also earned.  If you are truly committed to success, than hiring a commercial real estate coach may be one of the best investments you can make.

There is an old adage in real estate.  In order enhance the likelihood of closing a deal, you need to ensure you are working with a buyer, seller, user, landlord and/or tenant who is “ready, willing, and able” to consummate the transaction.  Ready, willing and able are great qualifiers when working with prospects and clients.  The ability of qualifying well is a skill procured by commercial real estate brokers after many years in the industry. And yes, it is a skill likely acquired through failure, or in some cases getting burnt by an unscrupulous client.

But if a qualified prospect or client is “ready, willing and able”, what are the 3 analogous characteristics of a truly qualified and successful commercial real estate broker?  The three keys to commercial real estate brokerage success are the individual broker must have 1) The Skill 2) The Will and 3) The Thrill.

Skill is not talent.  Don’t confuse the two.  I have worked with many talented brokers.  They were naturally charismatic, very astute in a particular element of a transaction or a good negotiator.  Many of us are born with certain talents.  No one is born with a skill.  Skills are acquired through hard work, experience (the aforementioned failures), and practice.   Show me a top producing broker and I will show you someone with skill.  Yes, they may have talent, but they definitely have the skill.

 Will is the decision to put in the hours and work on each of the many variables associated with commercial real estate brokerage to truly acquire the skill.  Think about those who are market leaders and they are most likely the hardest working brokers in your office.  If not, they certain put forth the effort early on in their career to create a platform of continued lead generation.  Today there seems to be a belief that the web is going decrease the need for hard work.  The web, if utilized correctly, can be a great source for lead generation but ultimately you must have the will to develop the skills necessary to do something with those leads.

 Thrill is the separator of all true top performers.  They love what they are doing and see every day as both an opportunity and a challenge.  Top performers don’t view the work necessary to acquire the skills as necessary evils.  They view these as personal investments in their growth.  They have the will to acquire the skill and even more so, they are thrilled to do it.

 To succeed in this market and to be a leader in any market, you must have all three.  There is no doubt a wide range of SKILL among the brokerage community.  I assume all of you are WILLING to do this, or you would not be doing so.  Lastly, but most importantly, you must have the THRILL.  Are you passionate about your business?  Do you see each and every day as a challenge and an opportunity?

 Possess all three of these keys and you will greatly enhance your probability of success.

A few weeks ago my good friend of mine, Jim Tucker, CCIM ask me WHY I decided to form a commercial real estate brokerage coaching and consulting organization.  I immediately proceeded to share with him all the general reasons.   I, like many of you who decided to pursue a commercial real estate brokerage practice, love building an organization, working for myself and creating an environment where my personal income is only limited by my efforts and creativity.  I love working with diverse clientele and knowing every day will be different and bring both challenges and opportunities.  Sound familiar?

Jim then asked me to consider reading Simon Sinek’s Starting with Why.   The essence of Mr. Sinek’s message is simple, and yet profound.  He suggests most of us focus (and sell) the “what” and the “how” of our services and products and not necessarily the “why”.  Mr. Sinek continues on to reinforce that people don’t buy WHAT you are selling; they buy WHY you are selling it.

So, if people are buying on the why, these general reasons for being a commercial real estate broker actually hold you back from creating value for your prospects and clients.  These general reasons, if they are truly WHY you pursue a career in commercial real estate brokerage, will actually hold you back.

So after much thought and design, I emailed my friend Jim and outlined WHY I created the Massimo Group:

“We believe all brokers are inherently capable of unlimited income potential.  Exceptional business growth and performance are possible no matter one’s current level of success or experience. By providing a fresh foundation of strategic positioning our clients flourish and the results are extraordinary and lasting.”  

This is why we do what we do.  How about you? 

What are the real reasons you chose commercial real estate brokerage?  For if it is simply the independence, being your own boss and working with high net worth clients, you could have chosen a myriad of other career paths.  You could have chosen to be an insurance broker, a financial advisor, an artist or a personal trainer for example.  But WHY did you choose commercial real estate brokerage and why did your clients select you as their representative?

Watch a few of Mr. Sinek’s YOU TUBE videos and you will get picture.  Truly understand WHY you are a commercial broker and you will then understand why you are or soon will be successful.

Back in November 2009 we offered a 30 day “RAMP UP for 2010 Broker Challenge”. The Challenge consists of 30 daily, 15 minute exercises to get commercial real estate brokers of any level of experience off to a fast start in 2010.  Our R.A.M.P. structure provides participants the opportunity to both understand and develop the key success drivers to their personal brokerage business.  We believe so much in our approach, that we actually guaranteed the results.

Based on the downloading and completion of the deliverables (excel worksheets, audio casts, videos, workbooks and daily motivational material), combined with the low registration fee and the aforementioned guarantee, hundreds of commercial brokers from four countries enrolled in the Challenge.  Over 40% of the participants were broker/owners, while the rest were independent contractors/agents.  50% of the participants had over 10 years of commercial real estate brokerage experience while 20% had less than 2 years of experience.

At the end of the 30 day Challenge a vast majority of the participants successfully completed the Challenge and the feedback was beyond our wildest expectations.  Subsequently many participants have forwarded to us copies of their completed workbooks so we may assist them in the implementation of the action plan and metrics which they created for themselves during the process.

These action plans will certainly maximize their commercial brokerage income in 2010.  The Challenge was capped off with a 60 minute live webinar where many of the participants shared their specific strategies they will be implementing in 2010 to ensure success.

The most telling success metric for us was the number of participants who requested a refund.  Zero.  That’s right.  Out of the 100’s of commercial real estate brokers and agents who took the challenge, not one felt it did not meet their needs or was not worth their investment.  Not a single participant felt the program was not as advertised.

Based on the success of this Challenge, we have decided to offer the RAMP UP for 2010 Broker Challenge one more time, starting January 13^th.  The registration deadline is January 12^th.

Are you up for the Challenge?  We guarantee you are!

Last year I wrote a white paper titled “Today’s Market Strategies for Tomorrow’s Market Leaders” that received a good amount of attention and distribution around the country.  As I look toward 2010, it is only natural to review last year’s document to see what, if anything has changed.

Originally I made a bold prediction that 40% of the commercial real estate brokers would leave the industry by December 2011.  With the low velocity outlook for the foreseeable future, I stand by this prediction.  This is actually good news to those that are committed to their craft.  But what strategies should you put in place to ensure you are part of the remaining 60%?

During the aforementioned white paper I outlined several fundamental approaches to capture, if not maintain, market share in 2009.  Over the past several weeks I had the pleasure of interviewing and surveying scores of top CRE professionals around the country.  It is quite apparent that those who found, maintained or created success attribute it to a refocus on fundamentals.  Yes, this may not seem cutting edge, but it amazes me how so many brokers focus on the transaction and not the business behind the finding, winning and fulfilling of the transaction.

So what are the strategies for success in 2010?  Thankfully, more brokers are recognizing that, like the thousand fitness gimmicks we seem to see on TV during the turn of the year, there is no such thing as a “quick fix” in commercial real estate.  The difference between “Top Performers” and everyone else is simple – they PERFORM these strategies and tactics more consistently regardless of market conditions.

Brokers have little choice but to adapt or join the 40% of their peers that will leave the industry.  Adaption is the transformation of living deal to deal to the creation of a foundation of success.    Craft a plan to address the opportunities of the market place.   Stop spending 100% of your time working IN your business, and spend at least 10% of everyday working ON your business.

Fundamentals will continue to be the foundation of CRE’s top performers.  However fundamentals can’t be applied only when convenient or seemingly necessary.  There is a reason that top performers have a “Fundamentally Sound Business” and are not simply a broker who closed some deals.

Yep, there goes another one.  Can you hear it?  The attrition in the commercial real estate brokerage industry is rising higher than the Mississippi River in rainy season.  The Jack Welshian theorist would suggest brokerage attrition is a good thing.  Too many of them, too few deals to go around.  The deer hunters, which admittedly I am not, would say it’s only humane to parse the herd.

Depending on whom you believe, commercial brokers numbered close to 130,000 in 2006.  Think about that, 130,000!  According to Real Capital Analytics there were over 16,000 commercial real estate transactions in 2006.  Now RCA numbers at that time only reflected deals over $5 million (they now reflect deals over $2.5 million),   However a vast majority of CRE transactions are less than $5million, so let’s assume there were 3x the number of transactions less than $5M, that would be a total of 64,000 transactions - yes I know this number is too high, but bear with me.  That would be there was far less than 1 transaction completed per broker. 

Now, here is the scary part.  According to Real Capital Analytics, only 2,500 transactions closed through October 2009!  2,500!  No wonder it seems like there is a run on deer hunting licenses down at Town Hall.    Also consider that it was estimated that less than 20% of all commission dollars were earned by 80% of the brokers.  This means the established brokers continue to gain market share.

But, here is the good news.  The market does not control the number of brokers serving it.  The individual broker controls their positioning in the market.  It is the individual broker who ultimately decides, as an independent contractor, if they are going to run their career like a business owner and separate themselves from the pack or simply run after deals.  If the decision is the later, heed this warning.  It’s is deer season and the hunters are gathering.  Run Forest Run!

Fortunately Warren also shared with his audience that the summer months were a bad time to sell, as everyone is focusing on vacations and of course, Mondays are a bad time to call because everyone is focusing on the new week.  Oh, yeah Friday’s are bad too because prospects are focusing on the weekend.  Warren did identify a certain Wednesday afternoon in May that was probably the ideal time to prospect.  Thank you Warren!  I have that afternoon marked on my calendar for 2010, and I can’t wait to start calling!

The clarity in Warren’s sarcasm is blinding.  It amazes me how so many commercial real estate brokers approach these final weeks of December, as if no deals are going to happen.  It’s not about closing a deal before the year end, but about educating your prospects in regards to opportunities ahead.  The only time I find the brokerage velocity slower is during the month of August when it seems everyone is on vacation.  However, when you look at the deal velocity in September through November, it is obvious that someone was working in August and laying the seeds for earning greater commissions.

The vocation of commercial real estate is obviously not decided on a Wednesday afternoon in May.  The opportunities are out there for the taking.  It is up to you to educate your prospects and share with them why you are the ideal advisor to trust in today’s market place. 

I wish everyone the safest and happiest of holidays.  Just don’t celebrate for an entire month.