A growing trend reported by ClientLook® subscribers is the use of commercial real estate coaches and consultants. The services offered by these companies are diverse and include things like personal development, new broker training, technology consulting and more. They seem to provide something for everyone.
We are frequently asked for referrals to the best commercial real estate coaches and consultants. I think they’re all great. For the benefit of ClientLook® subscribers and the CRE industry in general, I figured I create a list. I hear about the companies below all the time, but some of these may be new to you.
These coaches and consultants aren’t self-help gurus. They are highly skilled professionals who specialize in the unique business challenges of our industry. They help individuals and companies move to the next level. I’ve seen it happen, and the transformations are amazing. The bottom line that is anyone can improve at any stage in a career. You always have an opportunity to be your best.
Below is an alphabetical list of the consultants that have been mentioned to us here at ClientLook®. As much as possible I’ve related my personal experience with each one. I’m sure I’ve missed somebody, so please let me know about any omissions so we can update a future list. I urge you find a way to connect with these people. They offer a shortcut to your goals.
Jim Gillespie
Commercial real estate brokerage was my first job out of college. I moved from Michigan to Los Angeles with the intention of taking over the world. In my early days struggling as a new broker I remember hearing Jim Gillespie’s name. He worked the same general market area as me, and was obviously tearing it up.
Jim turned his real estate brokerage success into a thriving consultancy. Along the way he learned some powerful training and mastery techniques taught by the likes of Tony Robbins. Jim can not only help you improve your business, but he can help you reprogram your brain. Cool stuff.
One of things I always found compelling about Jim’s business is his interviews. It seemed like he was doing these long before the concept of podcasts became a big deal. These interviews are insightful conversations with leading commercial real estate professionals about all kinds of topics. They demonstrate Jim’s mastery of our business and ability to uncover the strategies and habits that make people successful. They’re available on his website, and are really fun to listen to.
From Jim’s website:
Jim Gillespie has been coaching commercial real estate agents full-time now since the 1990s, after having spent 20 years as a commercial agent himself. He’s coached some of the highest-producing agents in the world, and he focuses on prospecting, scripting for prospecting, focus, accountability, marketing, getting more listings, presentation skills, overcoming objections, and designing and implementing a great system of commercial real estate brokerage. In addition to doing one-on-one coaching and group telecoaching, he’s recorded more than 140 interviews with top commercial brokers, and he’s got more than 60 free training videos for commercial brokers to see on his website.
Website: http://commercialrealestatecoach.com
Follow on: LinkedIn
The Massimo Group
I first met Massimo Group founder Rod Santomassimo when he was a part of the executive leadership team at SVN. I remember thinking that he was an amazingly driven guy who espoused a very practical attitude towards our business. It turns out that his attitude is something other people want to adopt themselves, and it’s no surprise to see that Rod’s grown such a tremendous business in such a short time.
One of the many services offered by The Massimo Group is a New Broker training program. ClientLook® has been providing our CRM service to trainees in this program for the last couple of years. This relationship was instrumental in prompting us to develop our own “New To The Business” subscription plan that provides free ClientLook® service for six months to any broker who is new to our industry. It’s a huge success.
The Massimo Group consists of a team of really great people like our pal Bo Barron who provided invaluable feedback during the early ClientLook® days. The team is dedicated to helping commercial real estate agents learn the business strategies and relationship-building techniques necessary to excel in the industry. They offer personalized coaching services to new agents, experienced individuals, and professionals in a group setting.
From The Massimo Group website:
Commercial Real Estate professionals often focus on chasing transactions, but tend to struggle with the systems and processes necessary to build a sustainable, individual business that grows over time. The Massimo Group, the world’s leading CRE coaching organization, has over 20 professional CRE coaches who offer both individual and group coaching to dedicated CRE professionals of all levels of success and experience. Utilizing our proprietary Massimo Methods, delivered through video and mobile technology, combined with focused, personal implementation sessions with our coaches, our Massimo Members consistently out-earn their CRE peers by 7X.
Website: www.massimo-group.com
Follow on: Twitter, LinkedIn
Mike Lipsey
I had the good fortune of meeting Mike within the first year of my CRE technology career. He was the first commercial real estate consultant I ever knew, and someone I consider a pioneer for a variety of reasons. Mike is as much a showman as a consultant. He amazed me with his on-stage professionalism, wit and ability to bring out the best in people.
Mike gave me my first on-stage experience during a joint nationwide training program we provided for BOMA some years ago. I taught the contact management portion of his much broader program. I had a blast, and learned more about public speaking and stage presence from Mike than anyone else. I still get a kick out of watching him in action during events like keynote presentations at conferences today.
I imagine that there are few business challenges that Mike hasn’t seen before. He’s traversed more business cycles and guided more companies to success than just about anyone. He has a way of breaking down even the loftiest goals into actionable tasks, and has a knack for simplifying tough ideas into simple terms. I still use some of his techniques myself. He’s even created his own commercial real estate designation MiCP® that’s awarded through the Lipsey School of Real Estate.
From Mike’s website:
Mike Lipsey is responsible for developing more top-selling commercial real estate professionals than just about anyone else. Mike and the Lipsey Company specialize in helping commercial real estate brokers from across the globe learn how to overcome common problems and challenges in the industry. They have developed nearly 150 training courses that teach inspiring CRE professionals everything from sales strategies to the psychology of negotiating in real estate.
Website: https://lipseyco.com/
Follow on: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
Ralph Spencer
Ralph is a consultant who definitely walks the walk. As a former successful commercial real estate broker, he’s got the practical experience to know what works. He’s used that expertise to develop some exciting training programs among other things.
I’m pretty sure my first contact with Ralph was back in his brokerage days. I sold my previous CRM solution called ARES for ACT! to his company. They were the dominant player in their market and I got to know many of the team.
Years later I was reconnected with Ralph through his work at Coldwell Banker Commercial. He was in charge of their Emerging Broker Training program, which made him responsible for training CBC’s newest recruits. Ralph brought ClientLook® into that program, and it’s now provided as part of the curriculum to every student. He probably doesn’t realize it, but he’s taught me some valuable negotiating lessons along with inspiring me to think bigger.
From Ralph’s website:
Ralph Spencer is the founder of the Real Estate Academy, a group of experts who train commercial real estate agents how to be successful in a changing market. The Academy provides hands-on workshops, electronic courses, and conferences that are designed to improve the technical, non-technical, and managerial qualities in all agents. Ralph brings a unique blend of brokerage experience, management, technology and training that he leverages to help clients get to the next level.
Website: www.ralphspencer.com
Follow on: LinkedIn
Top Dogs Commercial Real Estate Training
When I was still a broker I remember people recommending the Top Dogs training programs. As a new guy I was looking for all the help I could get. Then I heard about companies who were able to actually hire the guy who wrote the Top Dog program. I thought this was pretty special.
A few years later I was at a conference and sat in on one of Top Dogs founder Robert McComb’s sessions. It was great. It didn’t seem like “training”. It was fun, and I left thinking that I wanted to figure out how Bob pulls it off. To this day I still haven’t been able to do so.
We hear about lots of ClientLook® users who have had experience with Top Dogs training. Everyone seems primed for success and excited about using technology. That suggests to me that Bob’s programs are working. And with such a variety of training programs available, there’s something for everyone at any level.
From the Top Dogs website:
Top Dogs is a company that helps commercial real estate agents learn how to develop the proper managerial and networking skills to succeed in the industry. They work with agents who are new to the industry, as well as veterans looking for a competitive edge to set them apart from their competitors.
Bob only works with experienced brokers and begins with an evaluation process that most find illuminating and insightful. He then establishes key results areas to increase the broker’s production. He uses the same approach when coaching brokerage owners and managers, who have discovered that the skills that make them great brokers may not have prepared them to operate a human capital business effectively. Bob offers complimentary initial consultations on his website to help people find out if customized coaching is for them.
Website: www.tdogs.com
Follow on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook
Rick Peltz
I met Rick during the early ClientLook® days when he was in charge of technology at Marcus & Millichap. We went to lunch and I remember discussing the merits of CRM along with his perspective on the challenges of technology adoption in our industry. It seemed like Rick had really seen it all. He certainly had brokers pegged.
Fast forward to today and Rick is running a sort of outsourced CIO department. Now it appears that any firm can benefit from his years of experience. I like this approach. Presumably it allows Rick to get exposed to a variety of business challenges and solutions. He’s then able to develop a much broader level of expertise and become even more valuable to you.
From Rick’s website:
Industrial Science Renaissance, led by Rick Peltz, the former CIO of Marcus & Millichap, has extensive experience working with executives and management in strategic planning, development and implementation of cutting edge information technology solutions while supporting core business objectives and opportunities. The firm has broad industry background in commercial real estate and financial services. IndSR’s focus is to service your needs with a team approach. They listen, research issues, collaborate, propose options and solutions, plan and communicate the change and potential impacts, then test, implement, train and, most importantly, see the solution through to the end. Their ownership of projects gives their clients the desired results.
Website: www.indsr.com
Follow on: LinkedIn
Todd Kuhlmann
My first recollection of Todd is as the champion of the CCIM property initiative REDEX. That was an ambitious project designed to empower CCIMs with a shared property and transaction platform. In fact REDEX was one of the first ClientLook® integrations we ever created. We certainly benefitted from Todd’s guidance, who really seemed to have a vision for the way everything should work. He understood technology and realized how impactful integration could be within our industry.
Today we work with Todd on a couple of levels. He’s the developer of a widely used suite of financial tools called TheAnalystPro. Last year we integrated Todd’s tools into ClientLook® to allow our subscribers instant access to amazing analytics. We just released the second phase of our integration designed to capture leads from TheAnalystPro into ClientLook®. The feedback has been tremendous.
Todd is also involved with Coldwell Banker Commercial and their training programs. He’s furthered ClientLook®’s involvement with CBC’s new brokers and continues to find ways to develop further synergy between us. He’s an adept technologist with skills that include consulting, training and software development. He’s created some amazing mobile apps for companies too.
From Todd’s website:
Todd Kuhlmann, CCIM, founder of CRE Tech®, is an experienced real estate instructor and technology developer for commercial real estate practitioners and principals. An active investor of Real Estate, Todd is a frequent international speaker on commercial real estate technology, marketing, GIS demographic analysis and financial analysis.
Website: http://cretm.com
Follow on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
