I am continually surprised by Commercial Real Estate brokers who lack a specialty. All top performers in CRE have a specialty. Yet, those mired in mediocrity refuse to hone in on what they can be awesome at doing. In fact, business owners of all kinds often have this problem.
I had a call last week with one of our advisors on the East Coast. He was traditionally a specialist in hospitality. Because of some changes in his life, he needed to shift his specialty to something he could practice locally. His question was what should he specialize in. What would you tell him?
Many of my coaching clients face this question as well. It doesn’t matter if you are new to the business or you are mid-career. Making this decision correctly will have a profound impact on your career. Not only can it determine the amount of income you can make, but it can determine if you will like going to work every morning.
A CRE broker, or any business owner or salesperson, can find his/her sweet spot by answering 3 questions.
Three Questions to Find Your Specialty/Sweet Spot
1. What do you like?
You should always start here. What product type do you like? What would you own if you could? For me, I love multi-family. I love to broker these deals. I own this property type. I understand it. I don’t like industrial properties. They don’t fit my eye. I don’t enjoy being in industrial parks. It just isn’t my thing.
You need to answer for yourself – what are my favorite 3 product types? Write them down.
2. What are you good at?
This is completely different than what you like. Consider what you are good at. Do you enjoy intense underwriting and analysis? If so, multi-family might be your thing? Do you enjoy fast paced prospecting and deal making? If so, then maybe Single Tenant Net Lease (STNL) is your thing? Maybe you love evaluating how the business aspect of hospitality properties and convenient stores impact value?
Again, list what product types fit your skill set. Write them down.
3. Where is the market velocity?
I did this exercise in 2009. The market had dried up everywhere. My business was suffering. I looked around and saw that Dollar Stores were still trading at a rapid rate. That was the only market velocity I saw anywhere in Kentucky.
Now I already told you that I love multi-family and it fits my skill set. But no apartments were selling. If I would have chosen apartments as the object of my prospecting campaign, I would have failed. Instead, I began focusing on Dollar Stores. It was a great move, and I learned to love that product type.
Look around your market. Where is the transactional velocity? Write those down as well.
Now look at your lists. Where the answers to the three questions overlap is where you should specialize. This is your sweet spot.
Now I want you to do two things:
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Regardless of what industry you are in, what benefits would you realize by finding your sweet spot and being known as the expert in your specialty?
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You have a friend that needs to find their sweet spot. I challenge you to email this post to them so they can do this simple exercise. It could change the trajectory of their career.
