How do you get broker's trust when starting out?

Have been in the industry for a few years and always been wanting to do some small deals on the side. For folks who have gone through similar situations where you have no track record of doing deals on your own, how did you get broker's trust at the very beginning and have them start sending you real off-market deals?

28 Comments
 

Hi Associate 1 in RE - Comm, just because I'm a bot doesn't mean I don't have feelings...I'm hoping these links are helpful. If not, feel free to throw monkey shit at me...

More suggestions...

If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Most Helpful

Unless your broker is a very close buddy, your not going to be getting any love from brokers starting out. If they are established brokers they already have their go-to buyer list, so at the very least you are going to be seeing a deal that's already been passed through by their favorite buyers. From my experience, the following helps to start seeing good deals from them: (i) participate in some of their marketed processes (even if not bidding competitively or to win), (ii) let them see you have a lot of other deal flow and can close other deals (I.e. if your not going to bring me an off market deal, I'm not going to do anything with you), (iii) remain in close contact with them and meeting up at industry conferences/events, (iv) let them know you will protect their fee in any instance and (potentially) let them invest the fee in the deal, and (v) sometimes I would involve them by asking them to call a certain owner/property on my behalf.

So, the best way to start doing your own deals is by identifying them yourself and cold-calling the owners directly. The old-fashioned way

 
bigbob123

If you're a seller then yes its the brokers job to gain your  trust.  If you're a buyer, the broker holds the cards, and its your job to get them to trust you.   

Except this implies that brokers aren't doing right by sellers.  Theoretically, if I am a buyer, any offer I make should be passed on to the client.  So why do I need a broker's trust?  The very concept that a buyer needs something from a broker basically proves that brokers are useless at best and actively pernicious at worst.

I guess one could argue that having a good relationship with a broker means they'll advocate for you... but that's super fucked up when you think about it for five seconds.  A broker's duty should be to help their client sort through real offers from ones that are flimsy and full of contingencies (or the possibility of re-trades).  If they're pushing a seller in a particular direction, they're already abrogating their duty.

Or if you want to look at it from a buyer's perspective, a good relationship might mean you get better or more accurate data or context for whatever the broker is showing as historical expenses/revenues/etc.  But once again, that merely implies that a broker doesn't actually do anything except help conceal the truth, which will inevitably come to light anyway when a real diligence process gets started.

No matter how you look at it, the only way a broker provides any value is by lying to one party or another.  In other words, brokers are to real estate what crypto is to finance: the only real use case for both is for fraud.

 

It's like any other case - some may be that you are best off finding someone you can connect with (similar circles, a meetup/discussion group, networking group, etc) or potentially showing your seriousness/interest - repeated analysis of on-market deals asking for their thoughts, or a cohesive plan/example of how you'd look to other deals and what you may ask of them. I imagine it will take a few discussions with a collection of brokers before finding one that may reciprocate. Broadening your geography/focus may help in targeting brokers so you can have a large enough funnel to settle on what it is in particular you're looking for (maybe you have this but simply hadn't shared). 

Good luck!

 

Backoffice_Boss you are a clown for claiming a "principal side opening" is a be all end all for JLL Investment Sales.  This is not IB v. MF PE, people on the principal side of RE make a living.  They are not ballers with very few exceptions.  I live in a major metro, have worked at two well-respected development shops (one with a built-out fund), and routinely meet younger brokers out earning me by leaps and bounds.  I don't do too poorly either.  They are raking in deep into seven figures, some are not even 30.  They plan on cold calling until they are dead, that is what salespeople do.  Most of them have worse degrees, lower intelligence, and less RE knowledge than you.  Sad!

To the other posters who claim brokers do not add value, they do what acquisitions in REPE/development shops do not want to do.  They vet buyers, they process the paperwork, they prepare marketing materials.  No VP of acquisitions wants to do that.  No one is forcing a fund or development firm to use brokers and pay them a fee.  Everyone on the principal side can readily do the brokers' work if they so choose.  

 

I take back what I said about Backoffice_Boss potentially having more RE knowledge than any broker at CBRE/CW/JLL/Colliers etc.  In July 2022 he wrote, "I am going to graduate in Dec 2022. I am currently interning at a REPE in NYC with a chance of a return offer. I am also actively recruiting for FT and have interviews with shops across the United States. Economically what considerations should I make when it comes to accepting an offer? What major metropolitan area do you get the most bang for your buck? I am lucky enough that my college debt s around 26k but I want to start building capital to start doing small deals as soon as possible. I feel like where and who I decide to work for is going to be a very important first step. Thanks in advance."

You are in for a very rude awakening at what your likely trajectory looks like in this business.  I am assuming you are not rich, since rich parents do not allow their children to take out student loans for undergrad.  Good luck with the small deals, make sure brokers do not know how you feel about them.

 

Ipsum et consectetur vero aspernatur delectus eligendi placeat. Suscipit omnis maiores quasi ut doloribus tenetur dolores maxime. Aspernatur perspiciatis ut nihil voluptatem sit dolor velit voluptas. Repudiandae et dolor dolores quia aut iste praesentium. Non deserunt nostrum voluptatem tempora.

Quos facilis a unde nam. Laboriosam velit nesciunt aperiam. Corrupti dolores unde dolor quidem maxime. Repudiandae neque ut quasi consequuntur odio expedita. Excepturi cumque et aut rerum non qui. Eius incidunt ut unde repellat earum. Doloremque sint atque tenetur in quas corrupti consequatur.

Ullam nisi sunt officiis sit. Et vitae sunt velit eum. Ab quasi iure voluptatem odio.

Nemo quaerat ea asperiores consequatur quo consectetur assumenda. Tempore dolores sit quia dolor aut. Excepturi excepturi deserunt sint dolorem cumque. Magni dolore fugiat autem incidunt totam dolores iste.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”