A recent conversation caused me to reflect on something I hadn’t considered before.
Over more than four decades in commercial real estate, I’ve represented companies through expansions, contractions, acquisitions, renewals, relocations and the occasional crisis. Some clients have come and gone. Others have remained for decades.
It made me wonder what separates a transaction from a relationship.
Early in my career, I believed clients hired me because I understood industrial real estate. I knew market rents, vacancy rates, lease language and negotiation strategies. Those things certainly mattered. But they weren’t why clients kept calling.
Over time, I realized something far more important was taking place.
The longer a relationship lasts, the less it has to do with real estate.
Careers evolve. Companies change ownership. Executives retire. New leaders emerge. Families grow. Priorities shift. Markets rise and fall. Through all of it, one thing remains remarkably consistent. People want someone they trust to help them make important decisions.
Trust isn’t built over lunch.
It isn’t built on the golf course.
It certainly isn’t built during a listing presentation. Trust is accumulated slowly. It comes from returning phone calls, delivering difficult news honestly, admitting when you don’t know an answer and placing the client’s interests ahead of your own. It comes from showing up consistently, year after year, regardless of whether a commission is on the horizon.
One of the greatest misconceptions about commercial real estate is that we’re in the transaction business.
We’re not. We’re in the relationship business. Transactions are simply milestones along the way.
Looking back, the deals I remember most aren’t necessarily the largest or most profitable. They’re the ones that became something much bigger than a signed lease or a closed escrow. They marked the beginning of relationships that have weathered changing markets, changing leadership and changing circumstances.
I’ve discovered that successful careers aren’t measured solely by square footage leased, buildings sold or commissions earned.
They’re measured by the number of people who continue to call long after the ink has dried because they value your judgment as much as your ability to negotiate.
Buildings eventually change hands.
Relationships, if they’re cared for properly, can last a lifetime.
Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104.