Appropriate to ask developer their viewpoint on the side as a broker?
Hey guys,
Background I (with other brokers in my office) sent this developer a large vacant building that they passed on. I've been a broker for two years out of undergrad and am always looking to learn more. I wanted to underwrite this property, see what assumptions I thought made sense and then reach out to the Partner (2nd in command to CEO and only two on email chain).
I've personally (including this deal) sent them 10+ deals. This is the first I wanted to do this for - to learn more about how he saw the deal being a very experienced developer, share what I thought about it and see if he agreed/what I maybe missed.
I plan on making it clear this is not in a official capacity and purely to learn. I'm on the fence if this is appropriate/unprofessional and he might see it as a waste of time. It's purely to learn more about a developers viewpoint and to hopefully build a better connection discussing deals in more detail. Thoughts and can this backfire?
Don’t send him all of this in an email. Email him to grab coffee/breakfast/lunch saying that you would like to pick his brain on investment ideas while learning more about him and the firm. You’re young, the guy will get it.
When the time is right during your meeting bring it up and explain that you’re trying to understand why they passed for your personal knowledge.
Definitely this. Make it into a networking experience where you can actually interface with him beyond the question. Then just bring it up while you're chatting and run him through the high level metrics and your thought process and ask him about how he looked at the deal.
Just my 0.02 as a developer where brokers ask me this all the time. You could suggest coffee but a phone chat might be better and more convenient for the developer. You should really stress that this is really for your learning purposes and you’re not trying to sell/convince him on it. A lot of brokers send me shitty deals and after I pass on them they start arguing with me about why it’s such a great project and use assumptions that are waaay too optimistic. It bugs the hell out of me. I have no issues explaining my thought process and teaching someone trying to learn, but no one likes being sold to, esp from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about and just trying to get their paycheck
I don't really see much "harm" unless you are a jerk or being a best. I totally agree this is better for informal chat/call, not via email (I wouldn't respond, in part, I'd think it was a sales gimmick).
Just something to keep in mind, they may have spent little time analyzing it or thinking about it. Something just triggered the "no thanks" response (too busy, don't like that area, whatever). So, don't just assume they have some grand thesis as to why they passed, may not get much more of a shoulder shrug. So, be sure you have questions or something ask to make a good conversation. I'd have at least one (better more) of their projects they actually did on your mind, developers will talk forever about the projects they are doing/done, not the ones they didnt do!
Got it, great response thank you. I would give you a helpful banana if I could lol.
Agree with all of the above great comments, definitely not trying to sell him and will stress that. I won't put the whole thing into email. Maybe just want to discuss his thoughts on this deal further and pick his brain on investment/other projects they've worked on as a learning experience for me. Candidly a lot of the deals we have sent have been overpriced, this one a little bit and they're more looking for distressed sellers which this wasn't but it was a soon to be massive vacant building w/ below market rents so value add component was there.
We've done this, tell them you just want more insight into what they are looking for so you can better help THEM. Their incentive is that if you know what they want then you're more likely to find it for them.
In our case they came in to our office and we went over examples of what they want, and they gave us assumptions to use for underwriting. But it could've been done via a short phone convo.
This is extremely common. But don’t do it via email.
ask them what specifically they’re looking for, so you know what type of product to show them rather than wasting their time on non starters
Out of the various brokers I deal with, the ones I really like are the ones who seek feedback on why I’m passing on an opportunity rather than trying to continue to push how great it is when I’ve said no. I have a lot of time for brokers who want to understand why it wasn’t a fit for us, these are the ones I’ve built up relationships with as they ask to grab a coffee / lunch after we pass to understand our position rather than getting pissy and passively aggressively saying we don’t know what we’re doing (I get a good laugh out of the irony of this). I also give my sale mandates to these brokers as I know they’re not clowns and will market the opportunity appropriately.
You’re there to sell shit, they’re there to buy shit, being in regular casual contact is beneficial to both parties so they know what you’re selling and you know what they’re looking for. It’s that simple.
Est aut sint explicabo. Labore corporis nobis reiciendis dolores est molestiae. Aspernatur modi sed ipsam aut natus. Ut dolor corporis fugiat alias error facere.
Aperiam saepe modi dolorem fugit aut nostrum voluptatem rerum. Ut omnis tenetur amet. Ut ducimus nostrum minus nobis aliquid pariatur molestiae iusto. Harum sapiente accusamus et. Tenetur ipsam quas unde molestias autem et et.
Tempora sint minima laudantium fuga quasi. Praesentium quas ut maxime nihil quaerat et. Repellendus molestiae voluptatem magnam delectus excepturi sunt voluptates. Placeat impedit et quam.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...