Strategies for success in commercial real estate.

According to Janet D. Neman, senior managing director of investment sales for Charles Dunn Company, success in the commercial real estate industry isn't a gender issue. Success is based on performance, which follows dedication and perseverance. She should know. Based in Charles Dunn's West Los Angeles office, Neman has spent the past 15 years representing private and institutional investors in the purchase of portfolios of historic multi-family properties. Ranked as one of Charles Dunn's top 10 producers for the past five years, she has negotiated the sale of more than 3,500 multi-family units and sold over one million SF of office buildings as well as numerous retail centers.

Neman's sales values, which total more than $180 million, haven't gone unnoticed. She's been named one of the most powerful women in Southern California real estate by Real Estate Southern California magazine two years in a row, and is often quoted as a market expert in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and Daily Variety.

She shared some of her success strategies in a recent interview.

Join a successful company

"Select a company with management that understands and supports your goals," says Neman. " A company that strives to build the careers of its brokers, provides support, advice and direction to all employees and takes pride in the success of each broker will ultimately lead to success. Make sure the company has the same values, goals, ethics and dedication to the brokerage business as you do," she emphasizes.

Perfecting your performance

"Its performance, not gender that counts," she stressed. "If you love your profession, the industry, and you have a strong work ethic that's backed by the strength of integrity, you'll be successful. Commercial real estate is based on numbers, not emotions. "That means a dedication to performance, backed up by a solid plan that includes building contacts, relationships and an in-depth knowledge of your area. "Be dedicated. Be assured and self-confident. Yes, it's a male dominated industry, but it isn't gender that builds success. It's performance."

What doesn't work? According to Neman, lilting voices that border on wining, meek gestures and lack of confidence will lead to failure. "Be confident in your decisions, opinions and suggestions," she says. "Be focused, persistent, tolerant, patient and above all, put your clients first," says Neman. No one said it was going to be easy, but it can be challenging, rewarding and fun.

Know your market

A working mom with two small children, Neman may work from 9:00 to 3:00, but she makes sure her clients know she's available to them on a 24/7 basis. "Learn to make your work at the office 'quality' time," she says. "Know your market, know its history, and concentrate on building strong relationships," she states.

"Then, do your homework. Then, do it again," she says. "Learn every single building, along with the details. What are the recent trends in the area and the market overall? Who are the owners and developers? Keep in touch with them. To be the expert, you need to know who's buying and where the money is coming from - is it institutions, private investors or mom and pop investors?"

Concentrate on building relationships

While some brokers are known as 'deal junkies,' Neman stresses the long-term aspect of building a clientele. "Remember, you'll be doing cold calls, warm calls and hot calls," she said. "The goal is to cultivate long term communications with every contact. Over the years, that circle of contacts will gradually become a larger circle of relationships. This building relationships has worked well for me. I've had clients call and simply hand me a listing with no proposal. That's success for me."

Long term gain vs. short term profit

"Making it in this industry is a long term commitment," she emphasizes. "For every situation, it is important to provide value beyond today, which means having your pulse on the market; knowing your client's needs today -- as well as in the future, because no deal is the same."

According to Neman, that means looking outside the box, with imaginative solutions. "It's developing a sixth sense about which investor matches with which transaction," she says. "When an investor is interested, it's the potential for the property that entices them. It's my job to match the right investor with the right property. Which one offers what they're looking for? That's the excitement for me."

Information for this article was provided by Charles Dunn Company, one of the largest full service brokerage and property management firms on the West Coast. For more information, visit www.charlesdunn.com.