When I found out it was my turn to write for the blog it was the day before my taxes were due. I was brainstorming as to what would be appropriate for the season. Perhaps something funny and tax related, but decided that I wouldn’t write anything having to do with IRS after just writing a check to them. I thought about the spring and new opportunities, but that would be cheesy to say the least. So I put it off for a few days in the hope that something would present itself.
In the last few months I have been working on the biggest commercial real estate deal of my career to date. A large commercial purchase that I won’t discuss here, but big! The deal has gotten very complicated with the parties involved and I have been bouncing things continuously off a more experienced broker to make sure I am making the correct decisions.
During a recent conversation I mentioned to him that I have become overly cautious as to what I am doing and have begun second guessing myself. His advice, “nothing wrong with that from time to time, but don’t lose your style.”
As brokers, we are constantly trying to improve our abilities; whether it’s cold calling techniques, phone conversation skills, negotiating, taking the hits and moving on, and much more. But with all this learning and ever advancing ability we must also cultivate our own style and trust in it. I got in the door with this prospect over every other broker because of my personality style. There are a lot of capable commercial real estate brokers in this business, but what separates the best from the rest is that they are unique individuals with their own way of thinking, acting, and working which comes out of them intuitively.
So in addition to your continuous education make sure you spend some time thinking about your commercial real estate broker style. How do you want to be perceived? What makes you personally different from other brokers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and does the prospect know this about you? Does it come out naturally? Once you have this identified don’t forget it in the heat of battle. I began second guessing myself which put into question the personality traits that got me in the door of the decision maker in the first place. I was losing my style. Every morning when you wake up look in the mirror and sell yourself on yourself first! Then remind yourself why your clients chose you.
Brendan Smith is a Market Director for Southern Tarrant County. Great Southwest Office, 2006 N. Highway 360, Grand Prairie, TX 75050, Ph: 972.337.9326
April 22, 2014
