• Before Duke’s debacle in the NCAA tournament (one of the few reasons I will watch TV) a new Staples commercial caught my attention.  In this commercial, everyone in the office, including the President, the receptionist, the IT guy and the marketing team were the same person.  Dave, the redheaded, bearded entrepreneur, was the reflection of many struggling business owners and commercial real estate brokers.

They try to do it all and be all.

In my 25+ years as a broker, owner and manager of local, regional and international brokerage firms I have yet to find a top producing broker who can do it all.  I have however seen thousands of average brokers who try.

It’s either one of 2 scenarios.  Average brokers think that they really know more about prospecting, presenting, closing, marketing, social media, web design, computers, administrative work and answering the phone than anyone else, or they believe they can simply do it cheaper.

In Brokers Who Dominate, the 8 traits of top producers we explored how top performers
attained and maintain these top production levels.  One key trait is top brokers are “Team
Oriented”.

It doesn’t mean you have to go out and hire a team at high fixed costs or give away a nice portion of your commissions to create a team.  What it does mean is that you have to do these important steps to stop being average.

• Take an inventory of everything you are currently doing – and I mean everything.
• Determine how much you are worth –in relation to dollars per hour.
• Create a ‘Not To Do List’ and simply stop doing those things that do not:
• Make you money
• Bring you pleasure in doing

• Find someone else to do things that is better at doing them and cheaper than it is for you to do them!

Sorry to say top performers are smarter than average performers; they have accepted that they cannot do it all.  Take the 4 steps noted above and leave the ranks of average.  Don’t  be a Dave.

They call it “March Madness”, and I was mad as hell on Friday night as I watched my beloved Duke Blue Devils wilt under the pressure of a more prepared, better executing 15^th seed. A 15^th seed! How could this happen, how could such a lowly competitor beat the national beast?

As it turns out, it was fairly simple. As a “coach” myself, I read deeply into the “coach speak”. How coaches prepare their players for competition and how they respond when the contest is complete. Some of the comments resulting from Mike Krzyzewski, the coach of Duke and Dr. Brett Reed, the coach of Lehigh, resonated directly to why many commercial brokers win listing assignments, where others have failed.

Let’s first look at the preparation of the competition. When asked how Lehigh would prepare for Duke, Dr. Reed noted, it was not a matter of looking at Duke and determining where they were most vulnerable, but instead, you must look introspectively at yourself, your team and your support staff and reinforce the skills you possess and the passion you bring every day. You need to trust yourself and your team that you have put yourself in the best possible position to win. Brokers who win the listing, whether they are with a national power firm, or simply a boutique independent, focus on why they should be the only choice to an owner/investor or tenant and position their presentation (game strategy) to best reflect this.

During the contest itself, it was later reflected by coach K, that one of the main reasons they lost the game was xxx the players from Lehigh were “bold”, where as his team was out of synch. How many of you go to a listing presentation with a “bold” approach. Bold, by its very nature, demands confidence and a touch of aggressiveness. Does your listing presentation say
“why us”, or “why not us!”?

After the game was won, Dr. Reed asked his team if they were happy, and every player said “yes”. They had prepared for the competition, executed to perfection and withstood against the continual odds against their success. But Dr. Reed followed up by asking his team if they were satisfied. And this time, to a man, they said “no”. Winning a listing or representation assignment is only the first step. Being “bold” and aggressive in both your pricing and marketing will ultimately reflect if you move forward, or simply inventory your opportunities.

The Massimo Group, the nation’s premier commercial real estate coaching and consulting organization is seeking 1 full-time and 1-part time commercial real estate coach for its growing practice.  The Massimo Group is proud to include every major commercial real estate brokerage firm and/or its individual brokers as clients, along with scores of regional and local firms.

The position will be responsible for delivering the Massimo Group’s proprietary coaching systems, as well as supporting several of the Massimo Group’s consulting assignments.

The position, shall be independent contractor-based.  Licensed candidates are welcomed, however actively performing brokerage functions are prohibited as the Massimo Group does not compete with its brokerage clients.

This is an opportunity for an independent, driven, real estate professional to be part of one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Minimum 10 years of commercial real estate brokerage experience
• Proven track record for success
• A higher industry-related designation, such as an SIOR, CRE, or CCIM is preferred, though not required.
• Brokerage management experience is a major plus.
• Excellent Communication, Presentation and Writing Skills
• Excellent Listening Skills
• MS Office, and ACT CRM Skills, preferred but not required.

Serious inquiries only please.  Submit resumes to info@massimo-group.com, under the subject “CRE Coach Candidate”.

Wherever I travel throughout the country for presentations or workshops, or speak with our coaching prospects, there always the No. 1 question:  What do top producers do to both attain and maintain their dominant positions in the market?  

Having worked with, studied and/or managed literally 1,000’s of brokers during my 25+ year career, I have identified the 8 traits of dominant brokers.  Over the past weeks we have share with you these essential qualities of success.  This week we will explore traits 7 and 8; Team Orientation and Entrepreneurial

Team oriented is your leverage.

It’s amazing how many brokers work in little silos and don’t even try to leverage the skill sets and knowledge of others to maximize their effectiveness. When I talk to some of these brokers, they’re frustrated and often say something like, “I can’t do it all,” but they don’t take the next logical step and investigate the resources they have or can acquire to make their day, and more importantly their effort, much more productive. Here’s the simple exercise we use with clients who want to build a team.

First, identify exactly everything you believe you have to do, from the mundane to the most productive. Put everything in one big list. Don’t leave anything out. Next, go through the list and identify everything you’re good at and everything you like to do. Then we go through that inventory with our clients and we prioritize, we allocate, we figure out what the broker needs to do and then we delegate everything else. Take some time and do the same thing; you should wind up with a list of your most productive activities and a list of everything else to delegate.

Then identify sources, whether external, virtual, or in your office who can handle “everything else.” Now comes the hard part. You have to invest in those resources. That’s a big hurdle for some people, so let me remind you that what you’re really doing is investing in yourself and your career. Don’t forget, your greatest asset is you.

Entrepreneurial approach brings everything together.

Most brokers think and act like an employee, even though the legal fact and practical reality is that most brokers are independent contractors. If you work for a large firm, your firm may have terrific resources and brand, but ultimately your success is measured by how well you leverage those organizational assets. Many of the brokers profiled in this book are aligned with strong regional and national firms, but they act like they’re the CEO of their own firm. They use their brokerage firm as a platform to launch their personal success.