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DAVID BLOCK
Senior Vice President CBRE, Inc.
BRIAN
CARCATERRA
Senior Vice President
CBRE, Inc.
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business in a consultative manner.” In fact, that’s
a
t
S
r
t
o
often a precursor to advising clients against finalizing
a lease or doing a deal, he notes.
“They realize that I don’t just care about closing
a
a deal; I want a long-term relationship. I want to
a
advise them on their real estate correctly. As a result,
they keep coming back,” says Block, who is based in
Stamford, Connecticut.
However, the luxury of repeat business doesn’t
m
mean Block routinely snags eight hours of uninter-
rupted sleep. “Do I think about this stuff all the time?
D
Do I wake up in the middle of the night and think
a
about transactions I’m working on? Unfortunately,
y
yes, I do,” he admits. “Maybe closing the deal is
the only way we get paid, but if it’s only about that,
y
you’re probably not going to do business with that
i
n
ndividual and their company over and over again.” Despite his track record, though, sometimes his considerable efforts have “led to nothing whatsoever,” says Block. “In those instances, it’s easy for [those cli- ents] to talk to friends or associates, which usually becomes
a much easier way to gain more business.”
No matter which way a deal goes, Block believes his
attitude stems from the fact that he doesn’t consider him- self “your typical salesperson. Again, it’s not just about scoring the win. I truly care about the people I work with.” Along those lines, Block says he tries to work with those he likes personally, which he thinks has helped him trailblaze a successful career.
Now, it’s not that turning down a potentially lucrative deal just because he doesn’t feel an unmistakable connec- tion with a potential client wouldn’t be difficult for Block. “I don’t need every client to be my best friend; I’m not looking for this match or chemistry. [I just don’t want to work with] someone I don’t want to work with. I care a lot more about quality of life and looking in the mirror and liking what I see.”
Try day-trading that. Especially these days.
them. I think I approach the process with different people differently every single time. My goal is to learn as much about them as possible.”
And you wouldn’t believe some of the nuggets he picks up. “You find out everything—about their jobs, early suc- cesses or failures, strengths and weaknesses, what people are passionate about, how to judge what kind of person they are in terms of their demeanor. It’s just a matter of getting them to speak freely.”
Freely enough, he says, that “sometimes I’m completely thrown off guard when they tell me what they like to do in their free time.”
“I’ve had conservative, buttoned-down, sophisticated business people that do things on their weekends like rock climbing or white water rafting, people I’d have never
i
“I don't need
every client to be
my best friend.”
It doesn’t matter what his portfolio says. And forget about whether he has a sense of humor or works like no one’s business. David Block insists his most important asset is his reputation.
Try day-trading that.
“I’ve been doing this for almost twenty years and I think what I’ve learned over that time is that the only asset that I really have is my reputation,” says Block, senior vice president at CBRE, Inc. “It’s really never about the deal; it’s never about the transaction. It’s about approaching the
“Half the battle is to get a read on people and under- stand how com- municative they
want to be.”
People pique Brian Carcaterra’s curiosity.“I’m generally curious about them and what makes them tick. I get a kick out of meeting new people,” says Carcaterra, senior vice president with CBRE, Inc. “I like to learn about them; it tends to be fascinating.”
Now, that doesn’t mean he’ll probe every client’s every quirk and nuance to the point of making them uncomfortable. “Half the battle is to get a read on people and to understand how communicative they want to be,” says the Stamford, Connecticut-based Carcaterra. “You have to understand that not everyone is going to tell you their life story the first five minutes after you meet
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Q1 2013