The commercial real estate services industry is highly competitive. CBRE, the firm featured at the beginning of this chapter, offers a wide variety of services such as industrial and logistical services, real estate consulting, investment properties services, and global corporate services. When clients want to find an office space, they hold their realtor to high standards. After all, the term of a lease contract is a long one, and the stakes are high.
CBRE salespeople understand the magnitude and trend of the commercial real estate market. They know that the customers are anxious to partner with someone who can be trusted to look after their best interests.
When new salespeople join the CBRE sales force, they usually work under a senior broker. The mentor helps these recruits form a professional image that appeals to the type of clientele served by the company. In the end, there is a direct link between the image projected by the salespeople and the success of the company. CBRE also adopts a team-based selling approach to ensure that the client is in good hands as the relationship between CBRE and the client develops. Susana Rosas, an experienced CBRE broker, believes that working under a mentor to learn how to process a deal with a relationship orientation is invaluable. That mentality is part of CBRE’s culture and success. Susana works closely with her team members through several stages of the relationship with CBRE clients, from prospecting to post-sales follow-up. When working with new recruits and her team members, she emphasizes the following points:
• Customers notice even the little details such as the firmness of a handshake or simply the properness of an introduction.
• Salespeople at CBRE must be able to build rapport with a variety of personality types. Some customers are quiet, reserved, and somewhat guarded when expressing their views. Others are more impulsive and express their views openly. Salespeople are encouraged to alter their communication style to increase the comfort level of the customer. Susana believes that it is always important for a salesperson to gauge how his or her communication style impacts the prospect. A positive attitude is another important aspect of the relationship-building process at CBRE.
• Susana is a strong believer that salespeople should find out what customers value. Most of the time, a salesperson must come up with innovative solutions to seemingly irreconcilable needs, such as the need to have a large space to accommodate cyclical ups and downs of the customer’s industry and the need for efficiency. What is the most important aspect of commercial real estate sales? Most customers do not open up and share important information until they trust the salesperson.

Questions 

1. Why should real estate salespeople spend time developing a relationship strategy? What might be some long-term benefits of this strategy?
2. Review the four key groups of people that the relationship strategy should encompass. List the various individuals who would fit in each group.
3. Is it ever appropriate to touch your client other than with a handshake? Explain your answer.
4. How would you behave differently when dealing with a return client versus a new client?
5. What are some precautions to take when preparing for a meeting with a foreign-born prospect?