For the past week and a half, I’ve been curled up on my couch like an Olympics addict. I’ve even been watching the biographies NBC puts together for American athletes. These segments show the athletes training, past victories, their families and a final huge factor: their coaches. There’s no denying that the coaches are one of the most important people and an ever-present part of the most important meet of their careers.
I brought this thought with me to work and to the debate of whether or not a tenant needs a tenant rep broker in a transaction. Athletes don’t make their way up to the podium all by themselves now, do they? Much like coaches, tenant rep brokers provide the experience and guidance and negotiate on the tenant’s behalf.
Athletes look for coaches with experience:
Athletes don’t always make it to multiple Olympics, but coaches are often a familiar face. American track and field star Allyson Felix won her long-awaited gold medal yesterday under the coaching of Bob Kersee. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he also coached legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Coincidence? I think not.
That’s not to say there are no newcomer coaches, but no one’s going at it alone. A tenant rep broker provides the experience and expertise in the commercial real estate industry that a business owner is just less likely to have. They know how to “coach” their tenants to the best spaces because they’ve done it before.
Coaches fight for bad calls for their athletes:
These Olympics seemed to be the Games of the inquiries. When fencer German Britta Heidemann pounced a decisive hit against South Korean Shin A. Lam’s during a clock malfunction, Heidermann was declared the winner and Lam’s coach immediately filed an appeal. Unfortunately for Lam, she lost her appeal.
Over at the O2 arena, gymnasts Alexandra Raisman (U.S.) and Kohei Uchimura (Japan) found themselves/their teams in 4th place. Immediately, their coaches filed appeals complaining that they did not get enough credit in their technical scores. Both gymnasts subsequently won the appeal and made it to the podium, but one noticeable thing is that the athlete keeps their distance. Their job is to perform. Their coaches’ is to fight for them.
When tenants hire a tenant rep broker, they are hiring someone to be on their side. The listing broker is looking out for his or her client, so why not have someone look out for you? The tenant rep broker will negotiate the price, terms of the lease and other contractual items. They’ll fight the battles so tenants don’t have to get their hands dirty. The tenant can focus on what they do best: running their business.
Coaches provide guidance and analyze the competition:
During women’s diving semifinals, coach Vince Panzano was seen giving American Katie Bell coaching and a pep talk. After gymnast Jordyn Wieber’s (U.S.) low beam score in team preliminaries, she was seen talking to her coach across the arena boundary. NBC speculated he was talking to her about what she needed to do to qualify for the all-around competition above her teammates.
It’s the coach’s job to guide the athletes, tell them what needs to be done and to analyze the competition- brokers are no different. Tenant rep brokers hear things in the “biz.” They often have an idea of which spaces are currently highly sought after, which neighborhoods are best and how various property owners may work.
At the end of the day, the tenant rep broker works for the tenant. The space the tenant chooses is up to them. No one became the best in the world without a coach and a tenant rep broker will help the tenant find their best space and deal too.