Building strong teams for better business

Justin Fenn and Dan Jozwiak are commercial real estate brokers at Marcus & Millichap, a premier real estate investment firm. Having worked together successfully for the past few years, the pair have joined forces to discuss the most important elements of building a high-performing team.

3 signs of the great group

Whether you’re starting a new business or looking to strengthen an existing department, prioritizing teamwork is important. According to Fenn and Jozwiak, successful teamwork comes down to three things: trust, clear communication, and shared goals.

“Align yourself with a teammate where you both have the end goal in mind,” says Jozwiak. “Once you do that, everything takes care of itself.”

For Fenn and Jozwiak, the end goal is all about serving the client better—an approach largely responsible for their success over the years. Second is to ensure that goals are not only shared but also measurable.

“You need to have measurable guidelines and goals, not just something you can define,” Fenn shared.

Peaceful Disagreement.

Conflict and disagreements are natural to any team or partnership. The key to winning: Loyalty.

“Justin and I aren’t afraid to have honest conversations,” says Jozwik, adding that they both recognize when best efforts aren’t wasted. From there, they take the time to independently come up with solutions, and return to the table to determine which idea is the best.

“It’s more effective to let people come to their own conclusions than to pass judgment on someone,” Fenn explains.

Another important note: Embracing diversity can be incredibly important to a team’s success.

While both have experience as real estate brokers, Fenn and Jozwiak come from two different backgrounds: office and retail. Rather than seeing this as a disadvantage, the couple took advantage of their differences by carefully examining their combined strengths and opportunities for improvement.

“If you have the ability to anticipate where things are going, where you’re underserved, and where you can provide more value to customers, you’ll have an advantage over guys who don’t,” Fenn explains.

The best negotiation advice for real estate brokers

When it comes to successful real estate negotiations, the first conversation brokers have with their clients is very important. As an agent or broker, this interaction has the potential to show your customer how much you support them in the field.

“One of the most important negotiations when negotiating a commission is with the client,” shared Yozwik. “They really set the standard for what you should be when you work for your client.”

During the discussion commission, the couple recommends a simple strategy. Be as specific (and confident) as possible about your commission percentage. Then say nothing and wait for a response.

Jozwiak continued, “Say what you want and don’t say too much because the more you say, the more things you don’t mean will come out.

When we assume that a peer’s silence means they are somehow dissatisfied, we keep talking until we believe the right thing has been said. This approach, while natural, is antithetical to successful negotiations.

In fact, we can’t be sure what someone else is thinking when they are silent. For this reason, it is better to remain silent until you can clearly express what is on your mind.

This links directly from the pain to another key negotiation tip: meet in person whenever possible.

“Whether you’re talking to a partnership deal or you want to be in front of someone who’s going to buy your product when you offer that item, you want to be in front of them so you can see their reaction,” Fenn shared.

Face-to-face interaction gives negotiators the advantage of reading non-verbal cues. When you make an offer, it’s easier to tell how your counterpart is responding. These signs may inform your response.

Finally, both Fenn and Jozwick advise listeners not to give something up without getting something in return. This is critical advice for people in real estate as it is common for people to negotiate for more or less time and money.

Advice for a new partnership

For those joining a new team or starting a new business partnership, Fenn and Jozwick have some tips:

“Be willing to have a hard conversation about what you want from a partnership,” they shared. If you’re willing to have those conversations when you’re starting out—you’re setting yourself up for a more comfortable, happy, and loyal partnership for many years to come.

Follow Justin Fenn and Dan Yozwiak on LinkedIn. Click here to listen to the whole thing.