SVN Specialty Awards: Firm of the Year – SVN | Northco

Posted on May 20, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

If you read my recent blog post about the SVN Annual Conference highlights, you know that the SVN Specialty Awards recognize members of the SVN community who have distinguished themselves in 2015 by making significant impacts on the commercial real estate industry and beyond. The awards – which included Team Player of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Collaborator of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Prospector of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Firm of the Year – looked beyond production results and instead focused on culture. The winners of this year’s SVN Specialty Awards each embody traits that the SVN culture values immensely: practicing collaboration, cooperation and conscious capitalism while excelling in commercial real estate.

SVN Firm of the Year 2015 – SVN | Northco

Firm of the Year is not the same as Top Producing Firm, although it can be. But when we look at nominees for Firm of the Year, we look for firms that are using the SVN tools, systems, resources and other offices to grow their presence. From the day SVN | Northco joined the SVN organization they went to our Jumpstart training events, used the SVN Live℠ Open Sales Calls to market properties, and embodied SVN’s collaborative culture. If you’ve ever called them for help on a golf or resort proposal, you’ve experienced it. They’re big, they’re productive, they cover many different parts of their market, and they’re a great bunch of men and women. And, this year, they are our Firm of the Year.

Led by Executive Directors Frank Jermusek and Walt Van Heest along with Managing Director Cameron Peterson, Northco became a member of the SVN organization in 2014. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, SVN Northco Real Estate Services is a full service commercial real estate firm that has been a leader in the Twin Cities market since 1975.

The SVN blog will be featuring one SVN Specialty Award winner every week for the next few weeks. Subscribe to the SVN blog on the right-hand column of the blog homepage to stay up to date with SVN and CRE industry news.

SVN Specialty Awards: Innovator of the Year – Al Stepan

Posted on May 6, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Innovator of the Year 2015 – Al Stepan

When it comes to treating an SVN franchise like a business, no one is more of an innovator than Al Stepan. He has led the organization in investing in bringing in outside specialists to support recruiting, which has allowed him to scale his teams. He was also a driving force behind the consolidation of our Denver and Fort Collins offices, positioning them to be a regional powerhouse. These are just a couple of the examples of thinking big and applying best business practices to the operation of an SVN franchise. And it’s an innovation that we can all learn from.

Al Stepan is a principal of SVN | Chicago Commercial and serves as a Managing Director along with Michael Thanasouras and Scott Maesel in Chicago, IL.

The SVN blog will be featuring one SVN Specialty Award winner every week for the next few weeks. Stay up to date with SVN and CRE industry news.

SVN Specialty Awards: Prospector of the Year – Jamie Renzenbrink

Posted on April 22, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Prospector of the Year 2015 – Jamie Renzenbrink

How does one make it to the SVN Partners Circle? Some make it because they have years of contacts built up or they have a couple of deals that have been in the works for years that finally come through. But there is another way: specialization, focus, and an unparalleled work ethic of making the calls and getting it done. Jamie Renzenbrink, who specializes with Gene Levental on Affordable Housing, did the work and landed one of the biggest deals in SVN history. Her prospecting was an integral part of the overall success of our #1 firm this year, so she is our Prospector of the Year. Jamie Renzenbrink is a Senior Advisor at SVN | Affordable | Levental Realty in Cincinnati, OH.

SVN Specialty Awards: Humanitarian of the Year – Brent & Amy Miller

Posted on April 15, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Humanitarian of the Year 2015 – Brent & Amy Miller

If there was ever an office that makes community building a priority in our Shared Value Network it’s SVN | Miller. Led by Brent and Amy Miller, the group’s hard work to better their Salisbury, MD community is why we are giving them this year’s SVN Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Millers take doing well by doing good to heart and it is something that is reflected through every member of their team. We could say more, but I think that their SVN Difference video says it all. The SVN | Miller team picked up another honor at the conference, as this video won the “Best Documentary” category of our first annual SVN video awards. Check out the video below.

Brent Miller, CCIM, CPM, serves as Managing Director and Senior Advisor for SVN | Miller Commercial Real Estate with offices in Salisbury, Annapolis, Bethesda, Maryland; and Rehoboth/Lewes, Seaford, and Wilmington, Delaware. Miller specializes in the sale, leasing, and management of retail, office, and industrial property. With more than 27 years of commercial real estate experience, Miller has closed more than 750 transactions, resulting in a career brokerage volume in excess of $250 million.

Amy Miller, CPM, serves as Managing Director for SVN | Miller Commercial Real Estate & Property Management, Inc. in Salisbury, Maryland, where she acts as director of property management and chief financial officer. Miller has over 20 years of commercial real estate management experience.

SVN Specialty Awards: Trainer of the Year – Tomi Jo Lynch

Posted on April 8, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Trainer of the Year 2015 – Tomi Jo Lynch

Tomi Jo Lynch grew her office the old-fashioned way. She went out and spoke to people with skills who needed help to grow their businesses. She brought them in and led them to SVN’s Broker Boot Camp (now known as SVN | Jumpstart), and she built an in-office schedule of training sessions and roleplays, taking advantage of the SVN System for Growth™. She executed and, because of that, she has built a much larger and more productive office. And it all started with training.

Tomi Jo is a Senior Advisor with SVN® | Gold Dust Commercial Associates, in Reno, NV, specializing in industrial properties with a focus on landlord representation. Her responsibilities are varied and include not only brokerage services but business development as well as overseeing and managing the brokerage team. Lynch serves on the NAIOP Board of Directors and assists the Programs committee with events and recruiting.

SVN Specialty Awards: Collaborator of the Year – Tony Yousif

Posted on April 1, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Collaborator of the Year 2015 – Tony Yousif

Just being with SVN means you are a collaborator. And one could say that when you specialize in national accounts, you would naturally be a good collaborator. However, when you run your national accounts in a manner where nearly half the company writes in to nominate you, it means that you are the company’s best collaborator. As we are a company founded on collaboration both internally and externally, it’s with great pride that we present this award to Tony Yousif.

Tony Yousif serves as Senior Director of National Accounts for SVN | Asset Advisory Group specializing in the management and sale of investment properties.

SVN Specialty Awards: Ambassador of the Year – Alex Ruggieri

Posted on March 25, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Ambassador of the Year 2015 – Alex Ruggieri

What can we say about Alex Ruggieri? Not only does he dress the part of an impeccable Ambassador – he is out there online and in person representing SVN on his radio show, at CCIM conferences and with clients around the country. Recently he’s been working with David Wilk on some leading-edge corporate service projects as well. He’s been a Partners Circle winner for four years in a row – from 2012 through this year. This is his second time winning the prestigious Ambassador of the Year award, as he also received this honor in 2013.

Alex Ruggieri serves as a Senior Advisor for SVN | Ramshaw Real Estate, Inc., specializing in the sale of investment properties and corporate relocations in Champaign- Urbana and Central Illinois. With more than 30 years of commercial real estate industry experience, he has built an array of valuable business, real estate, and banking community contacts that benefit his clients. He has secured a transaction career sales volume in excess of $500 million.

SVN Specialty Awards: Team Player – Steve Kawulok

Posted on March 18, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Team Player of the Year 2015 – Steve Kawulok

Steve Kawulok, Managing Director of SVN | Denver Commercial has been with SVN since 2007 and under his direction, the Fort Collins office has been a top performing office for as long as we can remember. However, the fact that there were a number of nominations for Steve that came from around the country is a testament to his ability to be a true SVN Team Player. This year, Steve took it to another level when he was instrumental in building the SVN presence in Denver. To a quote one of the nominations that came in:

“His unique strong – yet soft-spoken – style made him the perfect candidate to blend the multiple Colorado offices and work together with the leaders from the Chicago SVN office to establish a regional presence in the Denver metro area. He is a real team player.”

The SVN blog will be featuring one SVN Specialty Award winner every week for the next few weeks. Stay up to date with SVN and CRE industry news.

Have Five Real Conversations a Day for CRE Success

Posted on March 16, 2016 by SVN

Conversations Drive Commercial Real Estate Sales

Last night, I had to turn on my electric snow melting mats. Again. In March. So you’ll understand why I’m spending a lot of time this morning thinking about our Annual Conference in San Diego.

And what I’m thinking about is the challenge that our CEO, Kevin Maggiacomo, issued to everyone in the room: Have five real conversations a day, every day.

Many of you are reading this and thinking that this isn’t a challenge. After all, you talk to 10, 20, 30 people every day, right? As I write this, it isn’t even 7:30 am, I’ve already spoken to 3 people, and I’m not even in a direct sales position anymore!

Let’s look at what Kevin said one more time… “Have five REAL conversations a day, every day.” That one word – real – makes a big difference. A real conversation is one that you have with a person who is truly in a position to sign a listing, lease, or purchase agreement. Real landlords, real owners, real tenants or truly real buyers. To be clear, I define a real buyer as someone who already owns or leases commercial real estate.

And here’s another kicker… If you’re already doing a deal with someone and you have to talk to them anyways, they don’t count.

Now that we’ve narrowed down “real,” THOSE conversations are usually a bit more few and far between. So, if you aren’t talking to five of those people a day, starting to do that will revolutionize your business. And if you can talk to more than five (when I brokered, my goal was 10 and my average was 8!), you’ll do even better.

How to Have Five Real Conversations a Day

If you aren’t having five real conversations a day, you probably have two questions at this point:

How do I find these real people?
What do I talk about when I get them on the phone or in front of me?

First question… The real people are in your database. Anyone that you aren’t working with today is someone that you need to talk to today. And if you don’t have a database, there’s no time like now to get started (take a look at the first couple of lessons in the SVN System for Growth course on “Encyclopedic Market Knowledge” for help getting started). We can give you all kinds of strategies for how to strategically segment your database and build smart call lists. But for now, here’s a simple three-step rule:

Find someone in your database that you haven’t spoken to in a while.
Call him or her.
Repeat until you’ve spoken to five different people.

Second question… What do you talk about? Dr. Dotzour nailed it at the conference… Owners and landlords care about two things – will my building stay full and will my value go up. Anything that can impact values (or net operating incomes) or occupancy is fair game, and a great way to start a conversation. It’s that simple.

To learn more about how SVN can boost your brokerage skills and business, click here.

[bctt tweet=”Have five real conversations a day, every day. #CRE”]

How to Make Sure You Are Always Making More Money at SVN

Posted on October 21, 2015 by SVN

The following blog post is intended for Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Advisors® and Managing Directors. It aims to highlight the multiple internal resources available to those within the Sperry Van Ness System that can be utilized to help grow income.

In the Sperry Van Ness Business of Making More Money

You have two routes to make more money:

You can do more productive work, since more input equals more output.
You can get better at what you do and earn more by doing the same amount of work.

We talk a lot about doing more, and it is an extremely effective way to grow your income. It’s also something that we can all be doing…

…but it isn’t the only way.

Make More Money by Investing in Yourself

Investing in skills improvement pays real dividends. Learning how to negotiate fees more effectively increases your earnings on every deal without much more work. 10% more up front (by getting 5% instead of 4.5%) and another 5% saved on the back-end by holding firm at the closing table is like doing 7 deals a year instead of 6. (By the way… There’s a video to help you do this – go to the Dashboard, click the S4G button, click “Brokerage Best Practices” and look for “Defending Your Fee.”)

Increasing your hit rates on listings from 50 to 60% adds another deal for every five you do. Need help doing that? Find the videos on “Stuck Listing Analysis” and “Is Your Seller Motivated.” You can also review “The Perfect Proposal” in S4G (since good proposals turn into good packages). And you can come to Boot Camp in San Diego where we have a new session on “Marketing with SVN” to show you a more effective way to get your listings sold.

[bctt tweet=”Investing in skills improvement pays real dividends.”]

Not sure about your negotiating skills? Getting to Yes is still a classic – and still very worth reading. It was a seed change in how everyone thought about negotiations and can help you find true win-win solutions through principled negotiation instead of positional negotiation. We have a video on “Negotiating From Your Best Position,” too.

These are a few examples, but there are many ways in which each of us can sharpen our saws and get better at what we do. If you can’t make it to Boot Camp in San Diego in December, or can’t wait to get to the Annual Conference in San Diego in February, might as well get started now!

Interested in learning how you can access exclusive CRE tools and training to take your business to the next level? Contact us today.