What Makes a Successful Commercial Broker?

Nevada Business Magazine posed the question, “What makes a successful commercial broker?” and it got me thinking. It begs a wildly objective answer, clearly – success in general can be defined and measured in several ways, and the same applies in attempting to define the success of a commercial broker. Is success based on tenure? Earnings? Awards or professional designations? A broader view would define success as the value a commercial broker brings to his or her client.

Granted, the term “value to your client” is about as vague as “success,” so let’s elaborate. A successful broker brings value to the client when he or she does the following as a matter of course: listen, advise and act. Listening to clients goes beyond just being quiet and letting them talk. It involves putting their dialogue into perspective and really getting to the heart of the client’s needs. It involves appropriate and relevant questions that are based on the broker’s experience in meeting the expressed needs and goals of the client. The active interaction of listening and asking questions should result in a clear understanding of the client’s needs – both on the broker’s part and the client’s part.

The next step in bringing value to the transaction would be the “advice and options” phase. A broker’s experience should bring significant advice into play for the client. This valuable advice should lead to options for the client that they were either unaware of or didn’t think were available. This phase of the conversation commonly leads to an adjustment to the client’s needs and goals to some degree, resulting in an informed client that has carefully considered his or her broker’s advice and options.

At this point, both broker and client can move forward with a very clear and accurate set of client needs and goals. With a clear direction, the broker can take the next step, which will vary extensively based on the client’s timing and exact goal.

Ultimately, the critical aspect that drives any successful commercial broker’s every action is, simply, am I working in my client’s best interest? While “best interests” is yet another vague term, it can be easily defined as this: If the broker was the client, would he or she be doing the exact same thing to serve him or herself as is being done for the client? If so, then the broker has completed the role as proving exceptional service and value to the client. In other words, he or she can certainly be considered a successful commercial broker.

If you’re looking for a commercial broker and you share this definition of successful, I welcome the opportunity to speak with you.