I Know How to Fix a Broken CRE Market: Video

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I remember the first time that a drill instructor tried to describe how I was supposed to make the rack.  It did not go well.  A ‘rack’ is a bed, by the way.  There is a very specific way that this is done.  Nothing short of perfection is acceptable.  There is a 6 inch fold here.  A 45 degree crease there.  The green cover was pulled so tight…

iStockPhoto by alexsi

iStockPhoto by alexsi

The problem I had was drill instructors don’t speak English.  They speak Marine.  And they do it loudly.  What do you do when having a difficult time understanding someone? You watch their mouths.  However, you aren’t allowed to look directly at a DI.  I was not able to quickly process the super fast speech, the unique cadence, the strange words, and the gravely voice.  I mean seriously!  He was explaining to me how to make a bed!

This was the first time I heard the term “Barney-style.”  Barney-style means I’m going to explain something in a super simple way.  I also heard shotgun-style a few times, but “Barney” was the term of choice to describe the recruit who was utterly confused.  That was me on that day.

Commercial Real Estate has a broken and fractured market.  It does not function to serve the best interest of the buyer or seller.  It serves the best interest of the broker.  And brokers tend to be greedy.  I have the solution to this, and I am going to give it to you Barney-style.

The following 3:59 minute animated video is voiced over by my CEO, Kevin Maggiacomo.  This is without a doubt the easiest to understand version of the Sperry Van Ness Difference.  I challenge you to watch it and share with me your thoughts in the comments section.

So what do you think?  Would you be willing to proactively cooperate – engage the most buyers the fastest for you clients best interest?  To do so, you must put aside your own.  What do you say?  Don’t you aagree it’s the right thing to do?

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Categories: Commercial Real Estate, Leadership

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

  • Thankfully the leasing market is not as dysfunctional. Rarely ever do I see a lease transaction without brokers and fees on both sides

    • Leasing is definitely different. Though it isn’t about fees and brokers on both sides. It is about the largest number of buyers/tenants knowing about a deal. This creates competition and demand and drives the price up. It also means the broker will more often split the fee. That is why I think this shift may never become the norm.

  • There is real good sense in full-on info sharing and cooperation for CRE brokers and sellers. Pandora is out of the box and the old school sellers and brokers will not get her back in any time soon. 😀

  • Jim Kobal

    Bo, this should be a wake-up call for the entire industry. Coldwell Banker Commercial adheres to the same commission practices. Additionally, Kevin’s means that we need to provide more information online in ways that meet customers’ Google searches. From a listing perspective, you will be able to get more listings because customers will know that they are easily found on Google. 🙂 Do you know anybody who has been saying this for a while?

    • Jim, does CBC cooperate 100% of the time by policy? How do they enforce this?

      • Jim Kobal

        Bo,

        Thanks for the great question. By culture and encouragement, CBC shares its commissions. There is no written policy as each agent can decide if they want to split the commission. Bank owned assets, to the best of my understanding, do not fall within these guidelines. The bottom line is that CBC believes the same way that SVN does about the value of splitting commissions.
        I hope this answers your question. If it does not, I will obtain more clarification.

        With Much Thanks,

        Jim

        Jim Kobal, M.A. – SMM Commercial Realtor
        Nationally Ranked! –> http://www.AtlantaCommercialRealtors.com
        (Owned by Jim Kobal for Best Use for ATL CRE)
        Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Brokers
        678.320.4800 Office
        678.993.4951 Cell (Direct)
        Follow US on Twitter: wwww.twitter.com/viningscre and ww.twitter.com/cbcmetrobrokers

        • Bo Barron, CCIM

          Thanks for the clarification Jim!

        • Thanks for the clarification Jim – that helps!

          • Jim Kobal

            Bo,

            Just curious about the interest, specifically if I did anything to compromise my firm that I may need to address. I trust your intentions and your word.

            Thanks,

            Jim

            Jim Kobal, M.A. – SMM Commercial Realtor
            Nationally Ranked! –> http://www.AtlantaCommercialRealtors.com
            (Owned by Jim Kobal for Best Use for ATL CRE)
            Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Brokers
            678.320.4800 Office
            678.993.4951 Cell (Direct)
            Follow US on Twitter: wwww.twitter.com/viningscre and ww.twitter.com/cbcmetrobrokers

  • I might be naive, but it’s too bad that simply not knowing what your commission split would be (as a buy-side broker) would stop you from showing a property to your client. For me, the size of my commission is the last thing on my mind. I’m confident that if I create value for my clients and exceed their expectations, I’ll be compensated fairly as a result.

    • Josh – we need more like you. Many aren’t however. I’m coming from the listing side of the equation where I know that if I make it easy for the brokerage community to earn half the fee on my deals, my seller will get to sell for more.