her company's branch ofce there. My family combined a vacation to London with
my personal research, and I used CCIM's
MailBridge to seek assistance from CCIMs
who could help me obtain connections
overseas. Debra Stracke Anderson, CCIM,
in Washington, D.C., and Dennis Hoth,
CCIM, in Omaha, Neb., put me in touch
with two commercial real estate managers in London. I quickly learned that while
real estate dealings overseas are diferent in
many ways, space is space and clients' needs
are similar around the world. I used a lot
of what I learned from my connections in
London in the book.
CIRE: Has writing books had a
positive impact on your commercial
real estate business?
Eschliman: It's still a little early to tell how
it will translate into business opportunities,
but the books, which were released in May
The books make for
great conversation
with clients.
and December 2012, make for great conversation with clients. A new client, who had
received the book from a friend, recently
contacted me for help. Advertising and
marketing for the books in my local market
have inspired clients to call with questions
about space, to list properties, and to get a
deal back on track.
CIRE: Do you have advice for other
would-be CCIM authors?
Eschliman: A lot of commercial real estate
agents are either highly extroverted and
action-oriented or very data- and numbersoriented. Ofentimes these types of people
don't think they are particularly good at
writing. I used to think my inclination
toward books, media, and publicity and
my strength in writing didn't serve well for
my professional career. However, I fnally
decided to use my strengths to help me with
my business and my writing hobby. My best
advice is to fgure out what your strengths
are and use them to get clients and business — whether it's through networking or
writing or whatever it may be. Developing
relationships with customers one by one is
still the tried-and-true method for success
in our industry.
Jennifer Norbut is senior editor of Commercial Investment Real Estate. If you have a
story worth sharing in CCIM Q&A;, send it to
jnorbut@ccim.com.
Order Robin Eschliman's books at
www.TheAgentBooks.com.
Master of Real Estate Development Executive Program
a joint degree offered by the College of Architecture, Design and Construction and the College of Business
MAKE PLACES,
not projects.
Curriculum focuses on sustainable and responsible real estate development practices.
New class launches each May with rolling admissions.
For more information visit:
mred.auburn.edu
Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.
CCIM.com
May | June | 2013
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