The Real Estate Roundtable with IPRG
IPRG Partners and guests discuss various topics on New York City Real Estate and the broader Real Estate Market.
The Real Estate Roundtable with IPRG
Building Success in Commercial Real Estate with Matt Dittmeier, IPRG Sales Manager
In this episode of The Real Estate Roundtable with IPRG, we sit down with our new Director of Sales, Matt Dittmeier, to explore what it takes to thrive in commercial real estate. Matt shares how to hire the right people, train for performance, and build a team of agents with a passion for real estate and a winning mindset. He also breaks down hands-on training, performance tracking, and mentorship, offering practical insights for both new associates and senior brokers looking to scale their teams and achieve consistent success. Discover why IPRG is more than a workplace—it’s a platform for success.
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www.IPRG.com
We're here at the real estate roundtable with IPRG, and today we're joined by our new director of sales, Matt Ditmeyer. Welcome, Matt. Happy to be here. Fired up. Fired up. And also joined by Donald Flarity and Luke Sproviero. And I'm recording this introduction after we just recorded a conversation. Our our plan was to just uh cut and clip this conversation for um social media posts, but it turned out the conversation is pretty good. So we're gonna post a somewhat raw version of the conversation, and I hope you enjoy. You know, we have Matt as the sales manager looking to build out any kind of recruitment really, but mostly associates and building up the associates, getting them trained, accountability, building out like all the missing pieces throughout the market. And we've had some associates that have come in here that have really been phenomenal and they've thrived. And we've had others like the guy just this past week that we had to let go that just wasn't a fit at all. Um so you know, like what are we looking for in new hires, let's just say at the associate level?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, to me, I think a lot of the best traits are like the intangible things. Um, I think the number one thing that we're looking for, someone that's hungry, that wants to be here, wants to compete um and wants to win. I think a lot of the questions I'm asking like new hires and people that are in the door now is like, why do you actually want to do this, right? Um, making money, like we all want to make money, but when you're in month 14, you think you're gonna go let get a listing, you don't get a listing, right? What's gonna keep you in the seat and drive you to want to win every day? I think that's probably the biggest thing. Um, and then adding on top of that, I think it's grit and mental toughness. I think all these things go hand on hand, like hand in hand. Um, are you willing to like suffer through hard things longer than anyone else? Because we know the first 24 months of this business is hard. Um, so you got to be willing to endure it and just keep going, keep the funny gas, keep the buyers on, and press forward. Well said.
SPEAKER_03:Um let me ask you this. So the the company's core values. Yeah, the the purpose of the company is to create opportunities, but then we have the the four core values, which are winning mindset, um, team player, passion for real estate, and and deal makers. And maybe, maybe just going through these like either one by one or or take them all, winning mindset, team player, passion for real estate, or deal makers. But how do you think, like, do you do you look at new recruits through a lens of like these are the company's core values? And you just mentioned they want to compete and win, but like winning mindset's a big part of that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think I think it's looking through all four of them. Um we we need people that actually want to be here and want to win, want to compete, and people like we're we're one team here. Um, so we want people that fit in, right? And get along in the office and just wanna, every day they come in, they want to win the meeting, they want to win the deal, they want to win the call. Every stage of the the sales cycle, right? They want to win. Um so I think that that's probably the biggest thing for me.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, no, a hundred percent. And um, how do how do you think like passion plays into that?
SPEAKER_01:I think like a good example of this, uh, a new guy in Manhattan, right? He thinks about real estate all the time, right? He doesn't clock out at 6 p.m. I know when he's at home, he's thinking about comps, he's thinking about deals, he's thinking about how he could get better. I think you have to be passionate about this. It's not something that you could do from nine to five, right? You gotta be thinking about it 24-7 if you actually want to do it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. I think there's a certain sense of intensity that comes behind that too. I mean, like you can hear in the way he talks, he's an intense guy. Like, most of the people that are successful in this business, they have some sort of competitiveness and intensity behind this, where that passion for real estate, they love real estate. But it the intensity of just like always be always focusing about it, being obsessed about real estate, thinking about it when you go to bed, right? Thinking about that comp or I just lost that deal, and kicking yourself every single night, being like, Why did I lose that? How did I lose that competitor? I think that is like a real driving factor that not a lot of be people have. It's the it factor that you kind of find out when you start training kids, probably like someone like that, or someone like that, where it's just like this stuff like oozes out of them and you can feel it.
SPEAKER_04:How how long did it take after I left last night for you to text me about comps and being like, Oh, I can't believe this thing sold for this price? I left ten minutes ago.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's incredible. I think everyone's like that. I mean uh the winners are the ones that want to like be successful that are success successful, that's what they're like.
SPEAKER_03:Um Don, I like what you have to say there. What do you think about um a winning mindset it related to um success on at any point in your career, right? But you know, like for associates coming in mostly, guys that are zero to three years in the business, um, any thoughts on winning mindset there?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I mean, like one to three years. I mean, I I think it starts early, right? Like it starts like when you're growing up. Like obviously I played sports in college. Matt, you played sports as well. You guys all played sports, right? We all did it. Um, I think it starts at a very early age of like competing and winning, right? And I just from sports from my background, that's all I know. So coming into this business, I find it, I compare it to sports like hand in hand. It's the same thing to me. Uh I I tell people all the time it's not a contact sport, you're not gonna see the bruises on you, but mentally you're gonna feel it and you're gonna be tired. Um, so going back to that winning mindset where you're looking at this business, it's like sports, it's like you're playing a different team every single day. If you don't get on that phone and make phone calls and get in touch with those owners, someone else is, and someone else is beating you. So I always look at a minute winning mindset as just beating the next person uh on the field. And that's kind of how I look at it. That's how I've always looked at it.
SPEAKER_03:Um Matt, you uh you played football and you train in the gym consistently. I feel like you're very regimented and consistent. Um are there fundamentals that you picked up from your training in football that relate to real estate investment sales and years one to three?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, 100%. It's like Donald said, it's the same exact thing, right? Um it's being disciplined, being consistent, doing things when you don't want to do them, right? I think a good quote is um I think Mike Tyson said, right, discipline, it's doing things that you hate to do, but do it like you love it. Um so like there are days you don't want to get on the phone, but like if you don't do it, you're not gonna win deals. Like you're saying you want to make money, you want to do deals, right? But your actions aren't really lining up with that. Um, you you gotta just do the the fundamentals consistently over a long enough period of time. Uh, you do that year one through three, you do the meetings, you do the proposals, you're pretty much guaranteed to make it, or at least have a very high probability of being successful.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I mean, uh, how many no's do these kids get? I mean, they get no's all the time. I remember when I first started, it was, I mean, no one knows that better than you two. I mean, I got no's all the time. Nos, no's, no's. And the people that have a sorry, the people that have a winning mindset come out of it on top because they're they can take the nose, they can handle it, and they can move on. They can kind of brush it off their shoulder. They don't have to take it very personally, and they just get up, they work out, they do the same thing over and over, and they get they're right back at the phones and they're like, that's not gonna knock me down. I'm gonna keep on doing the same thing. Repeat and repeat.
SPEAKER_04:I think I think the winning mindset is is honestly the most important thing, or the the mindset of just not caring at all. Yeah. Like we've had a number of athletes in here that it didn't work out, right? Where they got some rejection. A lot of these, a lot of the people that have been in this office that are athletes, like D1 athletes, like a big part of their life, college, high school, like they didn't get a lot of no's, right? Like they were big into sports. I'm sure they you know socially did very well, and then they get on these on this phone and they're calling people about their buildings in New York City, and they're getting rejected, and they take it maybe the wrong way and they can't handle it, and then they get afraid of making the calls. I think so that's why mindset's most important. But there's guys in this office, like being one of them, where I don't think he could hear anything on the phones that's gonna like affect him, where he's not gonna like make another call or book another meeting. And I think you you can't even think about what people are saying or care.
SPEAKER_03:I I think um part of the winning mindset there is like when you hear the word no, it do it doesn't mean the answer is no. It just means like not right now, like not today, not on this phone call, not not right now. It doesn't mean it's like a no forever. It's just like okay, the person's not ready, like let's keep moving and just gotta keep working and digging and going out and finding the people where we're just gonna be closer to a yes. So that's important. Yeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_00:How many times do you get a phone call and then you're just like no? And then it's like the next phone call, you might say yes. Like it's it's just how you're feeling in that particular time. How many times do you go into a shoe store? Some guy's like, Can I help you? And you're like, I don't need help. But that one particular time, the next time you walk in, you might say, I need help. Did be on the time.
SPEAKER_03:Being on the receiving end of calls now, it's almost like a fun game where you can just like say no to people and like see who will actually like keep coming back for more.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I think that's one thing that someone that's been in the business longer can really help a junior agent out with is obviously you start in the business, so you get no, no, no. You're like, oh, I'm not calling John Smith anymore. He like said no and never call me. But we can go ahead and say like that that changes. That can change in the the next week and next two weeks. So it's important.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:I mean, it happens. It happens in every aspect of business. I mean, I had that, I had the example, I had a life insurance guy call me a ton, calls me all the time, and I happened to just find out I'm having a third kid, and I'm like, all right, I'll take this call. So it was a yes after I don't even know how many no's. And that's just one example, but that's a good example.
SPEAKER_03:Um I I have an example from early in my career. There's this guy he owned like he had a nice portfolio of apartment buildings, and I was calling him, whatever, I got his email, I started emailing him. He responds to me in like red all caps, basically like screaming at me through email, like never contact me again. I'm not selling like exclamations like across the board, like like a pretty aggressive email towards me. You know, I I like probably didn't call him for like a month or so, but I kept at it. Fast forward six months. I don't think he remembers that he sent that email. Maybe he was drunk, who knows what was going on. But um the guy ended up selling all the buildings. It was like a$13 million deal, which was a very big deal back in 2009, 2010. Um, it was like seven pretty nice apartment buildings.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And um, no, it just really taught me like they don't mean what they say. Like what they say doesn't isn't true.
SPEAKER_04:You don't know what they're doing either. That guy could have been like weeding in his garden. Like, you don't know.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Or no, he's probably.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, he probably wasn't weeding in his garden at this point.
SPEAKER_04:He could have been screaming at him and he's like, never call him.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, he's probably watching MSNBC or something and he got upset.
SPEAKER_04:His daughter crashed his car, maybe. It's these things, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, a hundred percent. Um no, but it it just really taught me that that nobody really knows. And it's kind of like just a matter of catching them at the right time. There's so many people they don't know that they're gonna sell in a month or in three months or in six months. They're just not there yet. So as the new associates, they really have to like go and plant those seeds and make those relationships early in the process with people that they think might be potential sellers and then just stay on top of them. And when the answer is no, or the answer is, you know, maybe or not yet, like it's just a matter of just building those relationships with people and and harvesting them over time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:We tell a lot of our agents too. It it's not we don't really want to meet people like when we're trying to build a business, we don't want to meet people like the day they're selling, right? Like I had a long talk with Carson um in the beginning of this week. We're just going over how these calls should go and what to do. And my favorite question when I started was do you see yourself owning these buildings in the next three years? And someone might say, I'm not selling, I'm not selling. And it's because they're not selling right now, but are they gonna sell in two years? You might ask that question, like, yeah, in two years, I'm selling. And that is someone that you need to meet so you can start building that relationship and adding value. And you just gotta be focused.
SPEAKER_03:That's a good question that I haven't heard in a while. Because I think about it when you just said that, do you see yourself owning this building in three years? I just thought about it for some buildings that I own. And if someone were to call me and ask me that question on one of my buildings, the answer would probably be, I hope that I don't. Yeah. I hope that I don't own this building in three years. But like right now, I just feel a little bit stuck, right? Like the price isn't there. I I'm not forced to do anything at the present moment. Yep. And I'm just like riding it out. But the truth is, I would like to sell it. I just don't think that the timing is right. But I might be forced to sell it down the road. Yeah. Um, when there's like a refinance type of situation or something. So you know, if some if some good broker were to call me on that property and say, Do you see yourself owning this in three years? And I answer, you know, I hope not. And then they're like, Well, let's meet. And they came to the office and I put a face with a name and like they stayed on it.
SPEAKER_04:Well, that question opened up a window, which is you're gonna start talking.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:But if they're trying to get the business right now, and do you want to sell right now in in August? Like, you're it's no. It's a no. It already got him talking. Look, he's like contemplating his whole life, right? Yeah, no, for sure. It did. But no, for mostly like mom pops in on the building a long time. Like, they may be planning to retire in three years. I mean, how many times do you get the call? Like, oh, my last kid's out of college, we're gonna sell. But they're not selling right now. But that is so if someone's selling in the next three years, like as a new agent, as any agent, you need to get in front of them, meet them, build a relationship, and also help them add value to their building so it's worth more. We all know the things to make buildings worth more in New York. Like, these people need to do that before they're it's time to sell.
SPEAKER_00:Yep. And you need to think outside the box. I mean, thinking outside the box is like so important when going into these phone calls. Doing anything where you can ask someone something like what Luke just said, um, just asking different questions, not doing the same. We want the same things over and over, but we don't want the same questions over and over that don't work. Like if one door doesn't open, don't just uh beat down that door. You gotta find another way to get in there. And if you don't have a winnings mindset, you're not gonna think that way.
SPEAKER_03:I th I think um So I just I just read this book, and this might be like a little bit of a tangent, and we'll see if this makes any sense or anything. But um one of the opening lines in this guy's book is he's like, if I've met he's like, if there's seven out of ten brokers that can handle defeat, you know, like obviously you have to be able to handle defeat as a broker. He's like, if seven out of ten can handle defeat, he's like, I've met one out of ten who can handle success in in life and in business, basically saying, like, like that's a different skill set. Like, yeah, like the guys that like the guys that can't handle like the no's, like they're not gonna stick around, they're out. And then the guys that are left are the people that can that can handle defeat, right? Like the seven out of ten are people that stick around, they can handle rejection, handle the no's, they can they can do that. But then the next level is can they handle success? And I just think that's kind of an interesting thing to think about.
SPEAKER_04:When you say that, like when someone starts making money, do they take their foot off the gas or are they in a lot of different things? No, I don't know. Losing the money or over time.
SPEAKER_03:I don't think so much how to invest the money. I think it's more like like psychological, like how can like how are they when they kind of morph from not being successful in life or like maybe maybe too young, like premature, to like growing into like a more mature version where they are successful, and how do they kind of handle that success when you know the money is there, and maybe you know, may maybe people look at the person and like that that person's very successful, and like you know, pe may maybe there's like an ego aspect to it. Um and just like how do people basically guys said one out of ten can handle success. I just thought it was interesting.
SPEAKER_00:Maybe this, you know, doesn't I mean I think it's very true. I mean, it I think that's a really hard thing to do. Um I mean, I don't think of myself as very successful, but I think that's like just my own inner mindset of just like the just tell yourself you're not successful, you're not there, you're not there yet. So you just keep on driving, driving, driving. So you don't like ever I because I'm taking it away of like you reached your peak, and then you're like take your foot off the gas, and then you just crater. Like a lot of times with early brokers, they find success in years one through three, they get it early, they totally take their foot off the pedal, and then they just stop doing what made them successful. A hundred percent. And then they just crater. And they end up the some of some of them end up quitting, unfortunately. Um, and that's kind of how I took that quote. So I've always noticed that. I've seen it with other people that I used to work with that are not in the business anymore. Um, and so that's I kind of came up with this mentality like just like always tell yourself like like you're not like you're not where you need to be, you're not where you need to be, not where you need to be. So to try and avoid that quote.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and it happens at that phase in your career, it happens at other phases in your career too. And you see people uh, you know, maybe they go spending a lot of money on fancy things, or they go doing stuff they shouldn't be doing, and and you know, like the success also like they couldn't handle it, and it creates a lot of like different problems or issues that kind of come up. So anyway, I thought that was interesting um to think about. Um getting back to the uh the sales manager and hiring and training and recruiting. Um like what what are we what are we looking for out of the agents in like the first two years?
SPEAKER_01:I think like everyone in this company has pretty much built their career. Uh like all the senior agents that are doing well that the young guys look up to, um, they all built their career off of high activity levels. So I think that that's like one of the number one things is like you coming in, you want to be coached, we'll give you the tools to to be successful and to like sharpen your skill set. But are you willing to hit do the calls, do the meetings, do the proposals every week, no matter like you're getting meetings, you're not getting meetings, or you think you're gonna get a listing, you don't. Um, does that affect your activity levels? Are you like willing to keep that up at a high rate for a long period of time? Um, because it's very easy to come in on month one and do 400 calls a week, right? We could all do that, we've all done it. Anyone could do something hard for one month, but are they willing to do it over 12 months, 24 months, 36 months? And going back to the earlier thing, it's like it takes year three and four to materialize, right? And a lot of times I think people get through the first two years and they kind of forget what got them to that point. So I think it all comes back to like also, why are you why do you want to do this? Like, what's gonna keep when you get that success, you start to see money coming in, what keeps you driven? Um, I think those are some of the biggest things. I think the high activity levels is is one of the top things we're looking for.
SPEAKER_03:What um what parts of training do you think are like the most important parts for people to get good at in terms of uh being able to succeed and in terms of uh getting listings, selling deals?
SPEAKER_01:Uh I think it starts with the phone, right? How to ask the right questions, how to cold call, like what's your interest generator? Do you have like a set of questions you could ask that are just gonna open someone up on the phone who probably is pretty reserved and you're frankly you're bothering them a lot of the time. Um so do you have that ability to ask the right questions to get them to open up to like find a window that you can convert into a meeting? Um, once you get the meeting, are you able to run like a competent first appointment where again you're asking about their plans, you can show that you know the market. Um, and then on top of that, how to like actually present a BOV, show someone what their options are, right? I think that's one of the biggest things is new agents, they don't really know what an owner's options are with their real estate. Um so if you're not able to show them, right, and and you're just a broker that says, like, oh, it's a great time to sell, like you should sell, probably not going to be receptive to that. But if you could show here's your options, you could hold, increase the value, you could refinance, you could do all these things, right? I and actually I don't think you should sell your building, right? Um, you that gets them to see you more as an advisor. And then once someone's actually ready to sell, like, can you actually present like a like a well-presented value representation? Like, why should someone hire you? What can you do that uh they can't do for themselves? What can you do for another that another broker can't do for them? Um, and does your process actually have like a high impact on the price and proceeds?
SPEAKER_03:So, what do you plan to do in terms of training to get the agents to be more competent at these functions within within the business?
SPEAKER_01:So we have a 12-week training program um covers everything from the fundamentals of brokerage all the way to like financing, capital stack. So we have multiple training sessions per week with new agents where we have two to four training sessions depending on what topics we're covering. And on top of that, all agents within the first 12 to 24 months, depending on where you are in the business and your how your skill set's coming along. We have cold call role plays. Um, first, like we role play uh how to pitch value of rep, how to present BOVs. Then we also have a training workshop every week on Wednesdays at five, um, going over more of like the in the trenches type stuff, like what do you learn in the field that's not necessarily in our training manual. Um so I think that's the best way is just to compress, like to compress the timelines, is like it's all reps, right? Um, getting them to practice, role play, shadowing senior agents. I think all these things are necessary to get people up to speed as quickly as possible.
SPEAKER_03:I feel like you're very big on accountability and performance tracking. It kind of strikes me as just like who you are as a person. Sure. Is that true?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, 100%. I mean, what do you don't track? You like what you don't measure, like you can't improve, right? So what is your how many calls are you making? What how many meet how many calls does it take to convert to a first meeting? Like if you're making 350 calls and you're getting zero meetings, then we know we have to improve your your call calling skills, right? Um, if it's just like a volume issue, like it's very easy to pinpoint um where an agent needs to like improve to to actually make it in this business. Um, so if you're not tracking these things, it's just impossible, like you're setting yourself up for failure. Do you do you think you hold yourself to a high standard in life? Yeah, for sure. I'm just I've always been driven. I think it's the athletic background. I just like was always just super hungry. Like when I first started in this job, like there was no other option. Like I was not gonna fail at this, like no matter what. Um, and I think that's what it takes. Like, I try and like with the young guys coming in, I want to create this culture of like they want to be here, they want to win, they want to hold themselves to high standards, right? Um, one of the things I say in training is like, I don't necessarily like goals, I like standards. What's like the minimum you're willing to accept for yourself? Um there's no goals like that. There's just there's no intention behind them, right? I'd like to make more money. It's like, no, I refuse to make less than this amount of money. I refuse to do this like amount of proposals. Like it just totally reframes like the mindset, and I think it's just a game changer and how you tackle.
SPEAKER_04:Goals are meant to be so low, like they have lofty goals. It's just like, oh, then they don't always hit it. Yeah, yeah, they're lofty goals. But if you ask them, like, at what like what number, if you hit don't hit it, are you just gonna be like not okay with your life? That's the better question.
SPEAKER_03:Because if we can get them to that point, yeah, you're focusing on the low end then.
SPEAKER_04:I know, but they're they're focused on the high end that they're hitting. I mean, that's that's my issue. I mean, this has to be part of this, but that's that's no no, and it probably won't be. I mean, it's a huge it's a huge issue, right? Like with these news, like they we go in and we sit with them, they're like, Oh, I'm gonna do X, and they don't even fucking smell that.
SPEAKER_00:They don't even and they don't even know what it means. Like, that's the thing. Like, it's like they don't put time and attention into it. Now, maybe with this different approach, they they will, but that's always been my idea.
SPEAKER_04:They're like, okay, if you don't hit X, like don't even like don't come in here. That that that whatever. Well, that that's a good point. I like where your hands are. It's a good clip.
SPEAKER_03:So, why do you have like this high, like this high standard? Like, where does this come from in your life? Like the standard that you hold yourself, and how did that play out in terms of like brokerage?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I I think it just it again it ties back to like I I was always played sports growing up. Um, I grew up like a blue-collar background. My dad was in construction. I grew up carrying bricks and lumber and climbing on roofs and stuff, and I did not want to do that anymore. Um so when I started in brokerage, it was like making calls was easy, you know what I mean? Um, and I just wasn't ever gonna fail. Like there was just no option to fail. Um, I come from that football background, like I was very regimented, very disciplined. Um, losing wasn't an option. If I don't hit my goals, I'm pissed. You know what I mean? Like if I don't hit my calls, like it wasn't even like a thought in my mind, you know? Um so that that's really just how I approach business and brokerage, just with the same mindset. I'm gonna attack it, um, compete every day, and just bring like a different type of intensity, intensity to the job, right? I think that's the the biggest thing is like you gotta you gotta want it and you gotta bring like it's a different attitude about how you go about it.
SPEAKER_03:Do you think you uh are seeing that among the associates or or able to bring that out of some of the associates that are here?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think so. I think that everybody has kind of a different, like I know not everyone's gonna be me or like one of us, like everyone has their own like style and attitude, but like you got to be able to turn it up and turn it on and like like some people are more reserved, some people are more maybe introverted. You can still be successful at this job. Um, you just have to find a different way to like bring it out of you, you know what I mean? So I I think just like the culture we'll be we're building with the team, um, with the newer associates, like how we go about our training, like really is just starting to get them to like come in with like intention and to like just attack every single day, um, like there, like there's no tomorrow, right? I think that's like the main thing is how we bring out that intensity, you know.
SPEAKER_00:I I think with people that get to the next level, yeah, I think it's one of our uh what is it core? One of our core values is that passion for real estate. I think if you do not have a I firmly believe this if you do not have a passion for real estate, if you don't love this job coming into every day to work and being like, I love what I do, it's not even working to me, that's how you get to the next level, in my opinion. That's how you uh that's how you're able to turn it on when you really love this job, you love real estate, everything about it, you love it. And you want to invest in it, you want to buy it, you want to own it, like you're obsessed about it. I think that's how you get to the next level.
SPEAKER_03:So it's a fun it's a fun game. If you can turn it into a game where the calls are a game, the proposals are a game, the listings, the closings, the the making money, the building the business, the branding, the whole thing is like a game that you're like working to improve on day in and day out, and then obviously you make the commission, you you know the market, you're you're looking to make investments. The whole thing is like a fun game. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:We were talking we were talking about it yesterday. I mean, like that in-between stage of this brokerage business of just like when you're waiting around, you're like, is it gonna happen? Is it not gonna happen? It's like so much fun. But when it happens, you're like, oh, it's all right, it's done, we're moving on. And like that's kind of just like the best part is the stressful part almost.
SPEAKER_03:When you look at when you take a step back and you look at the business, like I've been doing this in sales for like 20 years, and you look at like what you enjoyed the most, you're you're right. It's like the in-between where you think you have a deal and it looks like it's going in the right direction, and you're like really waiting and hopeful that it's gonna sign, and there's no reason why it's not. You're getting all green lights, but it's not signed yet. So excited, like a little nervous, and like those are cool feelings.
SPEAKER_00:You're negotiating, like you're working on a term sheet, it's like you're all green lights, but then like you have to negotiate the commission at the very last second, and it's like you're a half a point apart. I mean, literally just about to do this right after this. So wait, the commission wasn't ironed out up front, it was, and now it's changed. Like every single deal, like every single deal, but like this is the exciting stuff the the fight almost, the fight. And then when it's all done, it's all done. You're like, all right, moving on.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and one of our agents in here yesterday was saying it just won a won a listing, like a$10 million listing against a competitor. And he was fired up, yeah. He he said this was the best feeling he's had in in brokerage. Winning that listing, he knows it's a paycheck, it's money in the bank. They fought hard, they won the deal. And he's he said he met them a year ago when they weren't ready to sell.
SPEAKER_00:Yep. That's what he does. And he's held events and they've showed up, yeah, and he's met them multiple times. I mean, I think it's an addicting feeling. Like once you get it, you just want it over and over and over. Yeah, it's winning.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. It's the feeling of winning. There you go. People love to win, people are addicted to winning.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
unknown:For sure.
SPEAKER_02:Some people are, some people aren't. But yeah. Well, that's why we need the winners. Exactly. We don't want losers. Exactly.
SPEAKER_04:So we're we're clipping this, right? Yeah, we're gonna clip it. All right, so what I have to do. No, for sure. We we have amazing clips. What what else do we do? I'm about to hit on it, and then we'll be done, okay? What do you want to do? One second. Do you want to talk about like how we keep people and all that shit?
SPEAKER_03:I do, but I'm kind of know where I'm going, right? Present moment. What? We definitely should. We should hit some. So we will. We'll talk about culture, we'll talk about office environment. But um, what I want to talk about is coming from a football background and a lacrosse background, you guys were on teams. You played on teams, and being a team player is one of the core values of this company, and we have a team-based approach to brokerage. And like obviously, we hold ourselves to high standards, we expect a lot from ourselves on an individual level in terms of the calls, the proposals, very high expectations. But um how how do you think being on a team or being a team player plays into success at IPRG?
SPEAKER_01:I think it's everything. Um, I think you know, it it's I'm trying like we really want to well, we have the call. And we're trying to continue to build it where like people come in and like they're amped up, they're hype for like seeing other people win in this office. You're getting a hype for your teammates' success. Um, maybe someone has a bad call, a bad meeting, they lose a deal, you have their back, right? Um, I think it's just integral to like actually having a place where you want to come in and work. Um, is like having that strong camaraderie with people out like in the open in the office.
SPEAKER_03:I think it's huge. Any thoughts on team structure, team player?
SPEAKER_00:I I mean I love it. Uh obviously I love the team atmosphere. I think it's a perfect system for you to be your best type of broker. I mean, how many times do I come and talk to you two? Like a sounding board. Like it's just you get like anytime you doubt yourself, or anytime you're like, what should I do here? And it's like you get your response from your teammates. You rely on them. And it doesn't necessarily have to be about the deal. It it could be much bigger than that. Just like those little tiny things to push that deal forward, like yesterday, like just setting up an all hands conference call, just like things like that, where it's like you might be so entrenched in the deal that you don't see it, where your teammates pick you back up and they're like, This is how we get this done. So it's little things like that that are just you don't really see it in the X's and O's, but it it's it's vital. It's vital. So I think the team structure is amazing. Um, not only that, like if you're like feeling down on yourself, you have a teammate pick you back up, like saying, Let's go, get it, like get get your head out of your ass, like come on, let's get let's get it because you're relying on your teammates to make money. And you're you're relying on you want to make money, you want your teammates to make money. So it's like it the team structure only works when everyone is rowing in the same direction, wanting to make money, and wanting to do like coming back to that winning mindset when everyone wants to win, and that's when it really flourishes.
SPEAKER_03:Um it's fun, and it's fun, it's fun winning with your friends, it's fun, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, you get to joke around and you get to hang out. Yeah, yeah. You're very quiet, but you love it. No, I love it, yeah. And uh of course I love it.
SPEAKER_03:No, and you can pick each other up, right? You fire each other up, even if not not saying someone's down, but like you just walk in and someone else is like on a roll and you're like, let's go. Yeah, like love that.
SPEAKER_04:And the camera and the camera in here, I think, is bar none. I mean, it's it's very good. I mean, we're we're all very close. You rag on each other, people are friends in and outside of the office. Yeah. I mean, it's a very obviously we're here to do deals and and do business, but it's a very fun place to be, I think.
SPEAKER_03:We're here to win.
SPEAKER_04:For sure.
SPEAKER_03:And when you're winning as a team, it's a lot of fun. For sure.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I heard this quote was like, uh, winning is more fun than fun is fun, right? So like it all comes back to like again with the team, it all comes back to competing and winning, like it's the iron sharpens iron. Um, and when you have a bunch of people that are winning out in the bullpen and like the open land of the office, um, you see people like just crushing, ripping calls, like getting on pitches. We have clients coming in, it fires everyone up, fires everyone up to do deals. And like on adding on top of that, like we have the open layout, and young brokers get to hear you guys out in the office doing deals and kind of learn by osmosis where other people, other companies don't really have that. But I think that's a huge like value add to agents coming in. Is like I get to hear Donald and Luke and Derek, like some of the top brokers in New York City negotiating deals and like hearing how they actually talk to clients and handle objections and and pitch these like sort of deals, how they speak to buyers. I think it's huge.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's extreme coming people love it. It's huge. The the guys that sit near us, they really love how we hearing us negotiate the inner workings of skills.
SPEAKER_04:I don't know another brokerage that is like at our level that has senior people like in the bullpen like that. You just you just don't have it. They all want private offices, and you just don't get what we're giving. You just don't. I mean the fact exposure. I mean, the there is not a call that we take, unless obviously we go to go to an office and have a private call, but people are the exposure people are getting to the conversations we're having, and anyone's having is is huge. It's it's a big, it's it's one of our biggest pieces of training. We we don't even realize we're doing it, but it's a training that you get at IPRG that you're not gonna get somewhere else because of that.
SPEAKER_00:And you you see all you see the whole spectrum, right? Like you could see, for example, like Derek being very successful in doing any deal, and then you could see like the opposite side. It's not all like rainbows and butterflies, right? You could see like a young kid can see, like, wow, like he gets maybe chewed out, or he gets a no, just like I get a no. So it's like we're all in it together. And I think that's the number one thing. Like everyone, everyone's sitting in their desk, we're all doing the same thing, we're all in it together.
SPEAKER_03:And um, you guys mentioned camaraderie or culture, like what is and I think IPRG has a great culture and great camaraderie, but what is so great about our culture and camaraderie here?
SPEAKER_04:So I think the best thing about our culture is the people that work here, right? Like you walk around, like you walk into this place, it's a bunch of young people, a lot of athletes, a lot of everyone's very social, right? And I think that's I think that's big. I think there's a lot of people making money and and being successful, but I think our retention here is one of our one of our biggest strengths, right? Like brokerage is is widely known as a revolving door business. And for us, the amount of people we still have here that we've always had, I mean, it's it's it's crazy, and we're very happy about that. And I think people want people want to be here. Obviously, we're here to make money, but people want to walk into our office. I think I pride ourselves on our office and think we have one of the nicest offices in the business, and people want to be here and work here.
SPEAKER_03:And that's all I got. What about for like um what about for like a more senior type of broker that might be looking to come over to IPRG but isn't quite sure? Um, like what do you what do you think the benefits for a senior guy would potentially be to come work here and build out a team where we don't currently have a presence?
SPEAKER_01:I think the number one thing is like if they're trying to grow their team, like we can handle that support in terms of training, right? If they want to get new agents in the door, we're gonna handle all that, get them trained up, uh, get them from zero to one as quickly as possible, and give them the skill set um that they need to succeed so that this more senior broker can actually focus on doing deals and revenue-producing activities. On top of that, we have a great marketing team and support and financial analysts and stuff that will handle things like putting books together, handling things like the comps and sending those things out. So that way a more senior broker could actually focus on doing as many deals as possible while also building people up on the team that's surrounded.
SPEAKER_04:Just and also, real quick to add to that exactly, like obviously we can't get into it too much, but for the right person in the right position, like we're because of the positions that we're in and how we own this company, we were able to offer unique opportunities that another broker can't for someone that's in a senior position, someone that leads a team, especially in a division that we're we're just not in. And we've we've proven that, you know, a few times already. So if anyone is looking to do something like that and f fill a piece that we just don't have, it's definitely worth you know reaching out and and discussing with us.
