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Solomon Poretsky's Summer CRE Road Trip

Hitting the Road in the Name of CRE

Inside the Ultimate Commercial Real Estate Road Trip

CRE road tripHere’s something you may not know about SVNIC’s Executive Vice President of Organizational Development: Solomon Poretsky loves road trips. He likes them so much that he decided to spend most of July touring nine different cities on what we’re calling a “CRE road trip” – and he’s bringing his whole family along for the ride. From Solomon’s hometown in Minnesota to Pittsburgh to Memphis and more, SVN’s CRE training expert will be driving through nine U.S. states with the intention of hitting as many SVN offices as he can.

Making the Most out of SVN Office Visits

So what will Solomon be doing on these office visits? The answer depends on the office itself. Overall, the goal of these visits is for Solomon to support the individual offices by spending face-to-face time with Managing Directors and Advisors. Just like Advisors are more effective when they are face-to-face with clients, as a CRE coach Solomon is more effective when face-to-face with Advisors. Seeing offices in person makes it easier for him to identify individual strengths. For example, an office might be very strong in one product type and not realize how to leverage this strength. Visiting in person can make it crystal-clear which opportunities Advisors are missing and where they need to direct their focus. Even seeing the physical property signs throughout the neighborhood is an indication of how the business is doing.

Solomon Poretsky's CRE Road TripAnother benefit of the face-to-face aspect of these visits is that Solomon is able to survey the physical setup of the workspace. Helping the Managing Directors make the best use of their office space is important, because smart setups can be conducive to creating more positive and collaborative workspaces. By fitting more Advisors in a limited office space, for example, Advisors can work more closely, making collaboration and cohesion easier. The point is to create a community, including Advisors in a way that makes them want to be there, which can inspire more productivity than if an Advisor worked in an isolated cubicle.

Though Solomon will be spending one-on-one time helping Managing Directors solve specific individual problems, he will also devote time to meeting with Advisors. Some of this face time with Advisors will cover sales skills, such as how to get the person you actually want to talk to on the phone. Additionally, with Solomon’s lead, Advisors will discuss challenges they are facing in the market, and then Solomon will collaboratively help them find solutions to those challenges. Some of the questions that may be addressed are: How do you deal with owners that are not in the area? How do you explain the impact of new developments? How do you learn what a client really needs, understanding the client so you can really help them? No matter the level of experience, all Advisors have questions. Luckily, Solomon has the answers.

Follow the chronicles of Solomon’s CRE road trip right here on the SVN Blog or on Twitter @SVNIC

[bctt tweet=”All Advisors have questions. Luckily, Solomon has the answers #CRE #CREroadtrip” username=”svnic”]

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

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

Trainer of the Year 2015 - Tomi Jo LynchIf 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 Trainer of the Year 2015 – Tomi Jo Lynch

Trainer of the Year 2015 Tomi Jo LynchTomi 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.


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.

Solomon Poretsky Promoted to Executive Vice President

Key SVNIC Corporate Staff Earns Executive Vice President Promotion 

Sperry Van Ness International Corporation is pleased to announce the promotion of Solomon Poretsky to Executive Vice President of Organizational Development. Formerly the Vice President of Organizational Development, Solomon has been serving in the capacity as a member of the SVNIC executive team. In his role as Executive Vice President of Organizational Development, Solomon is responsible for helping to grow businesses at both the franchise and individual Advisor level. He develops and delivers commercial real estate training and provides strategic planning and consulting for both SVNIC and its affiliates. He also develops and implements SVN’s System for Growth online training system for Advisors and Managing Directors. In between traveling across the country to visit and train SVN franchises, Solomon is also a popular contributor to the SVN blog, where he shares his wealth of CRE industry knowledge.

SVNIC Executive Team
The SVNIC Executive Team (from left): George Slusser, Chief Growth Officer; Diane Danielson, Chief Operating Officer; Kevin Maggiacomo, Chief Executive Officer & President; Solomon Poretsky, Executive Vice President of Organizational Development

“Solomon has delivered an industry leading edge online and in person training system for Advisors and Managing Directors that is an essential part of our recent national and international growth and recognition,” says SVN President & CEO Kevin Maggiacomo. “He is also a key member of our executive management team that sets the course for strategic growth of the brand.”

Before joining SVNIC, Solomon was a partner at Custom Skills Development, a commercial real estate consulting firm that provided coaching, development, and training services to agents and commercial real estate brokerages across North America. He began his CRE career at Marcus and Millichap, where he was involved in over $1.2 billion of listings, sales, and closings as both an agent and as a regional manager. While at that firm, he also received their prestigious National Faculty Member designation.

In addition, Solomon worked on the instructional design of one of the world’s first online master’s degree programs. He graduated cum laude from Columbia University in the City of New York with a bachelor’s degree and earned a second BA, with honors, from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

[bctt tweet=””Solomon has delivered an industry leading edge online and in person training system for Advisors and Managing Directors that is an essential part of our recent national and international growth and recognition,” says SVN President & CEO Kevin Maggiacomo.”]