The InSite Difference: Making Markets
The third pillar of the InSite Difference between good and great brokers is “Making Markets.” Commercial Brokers have a straightforward job description: find and facilitate matches between Buyers and Sellers, Landlords and Tenants. Good brokers simply look to make those matches on properties listed For Sale or Lease. Great brokers are market makers. They see opportunity to make matches where others do not, regardless of whether the property is publicly available (i.e. listed). This requires a high level of skill, creativity and knowledge.
Through our daily interactions with a network built up over many years, we strive to be engaged, curious and aggressive brokers who look for market patterns, different perspectives and added-value opportunities to match Buyers and Sellers, Landlords and Tenants. Brokers who make a long-term commitment to developing a network of Property Owners, Business Owners, Lenders, Attorneys, CPAs and Appraisers provide significant knowledge and opportunity to their clients through their broader relationships. After devoting time to understanding your needs, your broker uncovers opportunities and helps you aggressively pursue them. They provide an invaluable service to you.
From Good to Great to Superior
Truly superior brokers will look at a property and visualize a future not yet existing, but one that could in the right person’s hands. By doing so, brokers create openings for their clients to either solve a problem or exploit an opportunity. A recent assignment helps to illustrate this concept:
For 37 years a business had been operating from a 40,000sf industrial building on an acre and a half lot in a highly-taxed urban area, close to a METRA train station. After introducing myself to the family that owned the business and the underlying real estate, I learned their business model had changed in the last four years, shifting from manufacturing, warehousing and distributing locally to drop-shipping from overseas suppliers. While touring the property I noticed they were utilizing less than half of the building. In fact, they asked me to find a tenant for them. This signaled an inefficient and underutilized space, and a financial drain on the business.
I observed that the business could easily operate from a much smaller footprint in a less urban, lower-cost location. I approached the owners with the proposition of selling their property and relocating their business to a building better suited for their current operation and located in an area with lower land costs and taxes. I knew that with the property’s proximity to transportation, and the general character of the area, that a developer might find it highly desirable. Concerned about confidentiality, and the effect an open marketing campaign might have on their workforce and suppliers, we pursued a quiet sale on a confidential basis.
With a clear vision of the business issue I was solving, a customized Confidential Offering Memorandum was distributed to a targeted list of developers specializing in mid-rise, mixed-use projects, single-family homes and townhomes. We were able to attract numerous interested parties, ultimately engaging with the developer we felt had the greatest chance for success, given their track record and experience working with the municipality.
Crafting winning solutions – for the Buyer, the Seller and the Community
A successful and well-conceived project delivers deeper levels of impact and public benefit to the community surrounding the proposed development. Good brokers match two parties, great brokers match the parties and the interests of the surrounding neighborhood. Aligning multiple stakeholders’ interests raises the probability of success for the developer as they navigate a community’s input and a municipality’s approval process.
A winning solution benefits all stakeholders. In this case we were looking to solve the Seller’s business issue, creating an opportunity for the Buyer, elevating the services available to the Neighborhood and increasing the Municipality’s Sales and Payroll Tax base. This assignment is one of many that the InSite team is proud to be part of, an occasion where I had the opportunity to be a superior broker and bring vision to reality.
Wrapping it all up
The ability to make markets and create opportunities is a powerful differentiator among brokers. Demanding more than just a vision for how to maximize a property’s value, it also requires a deep understanding of real estate product types, creativity in solving problems and strong ties within a network and community.
At InSite, we work hard to be GREAT brokers, cultivating a team of creative problem-solvers who have the desire to understand your needs, the curiosity to see what is not yet there, and the ability to visualize and communicate a better future to our clients. Possessing the experience and skill to make markets indicates a broker’s mastery of their craft.
Learn more about Ross Goldstein.
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The InSite Difference consists of four carefully selected points of differentiation, each derived from our belief that there is a GREAT way to represent our clients. We aspire to be GREAT brokers and our client list of business owners, investors and developers recognize and appreciate this commitment. The four pillars of the InSite Difference are:
Maximizing Owner Value
Managing Transactions
Making Markets
Providing Decision Advantage
This article focuses on the third pillar: Making Markets.