Strategies for Success in Commercial Real Estate
Whether you’re just starting out or looking for the next prodigy to boost your company’s performance, here’s some inspiration—and advice.
This month’s issue is all about success: creating it, identifying it and benefiting from it.
It’s always inspiring to learn the stories of our Rising Stars. Selected by the judges of CPE’s Influence Awards from a pool of overachievers, they always stand out not just for their accomplishments and the speed at which they attained them but for the creativity and determination that have gotten them where they are today.
The latest crop is no exception. While they didn’t all set out with a real estate career as a goal, each has found their niche and is actively contributing to their company and the commercial real estate business in a variety of ways.
Our two Gold award winners have a self-described innate curiosity in common, with one defining a significant new data benchmark through her study of AI and the other finding success for clients through her focus on problem solving. A Bronze winner whose post-graduation focus was videography and photography pivoted to the real estate capital markets and quickly climbed to the senior director level. In 2024, the year judging was based on, he closed 57 transactions. He told our profile writer, Diana Mosher, that he really enjoys the “puzzle-solving aspect” of his work. And nine years into his career, “I’m still learning every day,” he said.
I encourage you to read their stories and find out more about some future industry leaders. You may also gain some ideas about where to find talent today—and what it looks like in the newer generations.
If you’re looking to raise your own profile (and who isn’t), social media is a good place to turn these days. Easier said than done—it takes a lot of effort and planning to stand out in the field. But for brokers in particular, it can make a big difference. For her story “It’s Personal,” writer Robyn Friedman spoke to one broker who has so many followers across a variety of social platforms, she no longer needs to cold call.
Some companies discourage personal branding, but if yours is one of them, you might want to revisit that policy. Approached in the right way, personal branding can complement the company’s own marketing, resulting in something even stronger. However, you’ll probably want to establish some guidelines to ensure the right balance is achieved. Friedman obtained recommendations from a number of marketing experts that can produce mutual benefits for both brokers and their employers.
This month’s corporate profile offers additional insights into how to find success. Longtime industrial real estate executive Michael Brennan, after building the largest owner in the sector, left the public company to start his own firm with his nephew in 2010. Now that company is the second-largest privately held owner of industrial real estate. He credits the company’s distinct internal culture.
Got other secrets to success? We’d love to hear about them. Please reach out to me at Suzann.Silverman@cpe-mhn.com!
You must be logged in to post a comment.