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Would you hire a commercial real estate broker who also competes with you?

It's a question I wrestled with throughout my career.

Like many brokers, I dreamed of owning and developing shopping centers. In fact, I probably would have made more money if I had.

But I kept asking myself one question...

If my client and I both wanted the same property...who should get it?

Today, many brokerage firms are also developers, investors, and capital raisers. That experience can make them exceptional advisors—but does it also create competing incentives?

There's no right or wrong answer.

Just an important conversation that every investor, developer, landlord, tenant, and broker should have.

In my latest CRE Professor blog, I explore the pros, the cons, and the one question every client should ask before hiring a commercial real estate broker.

👇 I'd love to hear your opinion.

Would you hire a broker who is also your competitor?

Should Your Broker Be Your Competitor? The Hidden Question Every Commercial Real Estate Client Should Ask For as long as I can remember, I've believed that every commercial real estate broker has the same dream. It usually starts sometime after surviving years of cold calls, rejected proposals, commission droughts, and enough coffee to q

🎬 Now Available: Operating Movie Theater in Atoka, TN

79 Atoka Munford Road — a rare opportunity to acquire an active 16-screen cinema (Atoka 16 / Phoenix Theatres) on 7.67 acres with prime Highway 51 visibility and access.

✅ Currently operating theater and/or land for sale
✅ Building and land available together or separately
✅ Excellent highway frontage & access
✅ 7.67 acres

Whether the plan is to continue theater operations or explore redevelopment, this site offers flexibility and a location that's hard to replicate.

📍 79 Atoka Munford Road, Atoka, TN
📩 Reach out for more details.

Shawn Massey – (901) 461-7070 | [email protected]
Sidney Seale – (901) 598-4442 | [email protected]

Commercial real estate has taught me a lot over the past 40+ years.

How to analyze investments.

How to negotiate.

How to survive market cycles.

But one lesson stands above all the others...

Persistence beats talent more often than talent beats persistence.

My 15-year-old son plays competitive lacrosse, and lately our conversations have been less about winning games and more about something far more important.

Keep showing up.

After a bad game...

After missing the goal...

After making a mistake...

Practice again.

Funny enough, those same conversations perfectly describe commercial real estate brokerage.

Here's an uncomfortable truth:

📊 Industry estimates suggest that 80-90% of new commercial real estate brokers leave the business within their first two years.

Not because they aren't smart.

Not because they lack talent.

Because they mistake slow progress for no progress.

Commercial brokerage is a business of delayed gratification.

The listing you earn next year may have started with a phone call today.

The investor who finally hires you may have been receiving your market updates for three years.

The "overnight success" everyone notices usually took hundreds of invisible conversations to create.

One of my favorite business analogies is the Stonecutter's Creed:

"The rock doesn't split because of the hundredth swing. It splits because of the ninety-nine swings that came before it."

Commercial real estate works exactly the same way.

Every call.

Every follow-up.

Every market tour.

Every article you share.

Every relationship you build.

They're all another swing of the hammer.

You rarely know which one will split the rock.

If you're early in your CRE career—or simply going through one of those inevitable slow seasons—don't confuse invisible progress with failure.

Keep showing up.

Your hundredth swing may be closer than you think.

➡️ My newest CRE Professor blog explores why persistence may be the single greatest competitive advantage in commercial real estate.

Question for my CRE friends:

What's one deal you almost gave up on that eventually became one of your best?

The Persistence Advantage: Why the Best Commercial Brokers Just Keep Showing Up I spend a lot of time these days talking to my 15-year-old son about lacrosse. No.

🚧 PRIME DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY IN MEMPHIS 🚧

Parcels now available FOR SALE OR LEASE at 3785 Forest Hill Irene Rd in one of Memphis’ fastest-growing retail corridors.

✅ Lots from ±0.83–0.86 Acres
✅ Excellent visibility & access
✅ Positioned near major national retailers, restaurants & dense residential growth
✅ Ideal for retail, medical, office, or service users

📍3785 Forest Hill Irene Rd | Memphis, TN 38125

For leasing or sales information:
📞 Shawn Massey | 901.461.7070
📞 Sidney Seale | 901.598.4442