How Industrial Rents Tripled… Then Collapsed

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This week on Commercial Real
Estate Secrets, we have Alan

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Buchanan.
Alan is an industrial real

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estate advisor, author, speaker
out of Southern California.

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Thank you for being on the show
today, Alan.

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Aviva, thank you so much.
I tell you, it's been a dream

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come true.
So be sitting here and talking

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to you alive and in person.
So this is awesome.

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Thank you.
Well, Alan, I want to jump into

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it.
You.

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Are a broker out of, I feel like
the Inland Empire.

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You said you work in a portion
of the Inland Empire or all of

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it.
It's like I said, I think the

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Inland Empire is probably a few
times the size of our industrial

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market here in Denver.
It sounds like there's been a

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little bit of a reset and I
would love to hear it from you.

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What in the world is going on
over there in Southern

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California?
Industrial.

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I'd love to, I'd love to share
it with you.

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And, and frankly, it's, it's
happened throughout Southern

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California is vast.
We probably have 3 billion

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square feet of industrial.
The Inland Empire alone has

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about a billion square feet.
If you lump in the port of Los

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Angeles, San Gabriel Valley,
that adds another billion and a

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half.
Orange County is the balance.

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So it's a vast, fast, fast
industrial market.

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So like many markets, when COVID
hit, our rents were hovering and

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I'm going to talk in terms of
prices per square foot, our

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rents were hovering on buildings
above 100,000 feet, probably in

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the 65 to 70 cent per square
foot per month range.

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Once COVID hit and the shock of
folks being at home and and

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ordering off their keyboards,
once that shock hit and

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industrial came roaring back,
those rents in a period of a

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year and a half, Aviva tripled
in many cases.

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So we're talking about $0.65 a
square foot.

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Now all of a sudden we're
talking about $1.95 cents a

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square foot.
And at the same time that was

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happening, there was this, there
was this giant suck of inventory

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out of the market because
e-commerce distributors, third

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party logistics providers,
anyone and everyone that needed

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to provide just in case
inventory was consuming all of

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the available product.
We were at a relatively low

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vacancy at the time anyway.
We're probably less than 5%.

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And when that happened, we went
to 0 awfully quickly.

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That's the same time that was
occurring.

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You had a bunch of developers
add new square footage to the

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market just in time for the
market to start its descent,

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which happened in the middle of
2022.

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So when that occurred, we end up
with this giant imbalance of

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available inventory and demand.
And frankly, we haven't, we

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haven't survived.
We haven't come back from that.

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We're starting to see some
inklings of that coming back.

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But as if, as of this recording,
it's it's not recovered.

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And So what that means is a
tenant in the marketplace these

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days, if they have credit, can
drive an incredible deal.

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We're not quite back to 2019
rent levels, but the concessions

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on a five to seven-year term or
in some cases a year of free

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rent, in some cases three or
four months of beneficial

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occupancy.
Annual increases that are at the

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peak about 4% a year are now
down in the three, three and a

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quarter, 3 1/2% per year.
And once again, the rates have

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not quite gotten back down to
2019, but we're hovering right

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around 85 to $0.90 a foot in the
east and maybe 5-10 cents more

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in the West.
The the the line of vacation

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being the 215 freeway for those
curious about Southern

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California.
So, yeah, that's what's

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happened.
And it's pretty much the case

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throughout Southern California.
The South Bay, which is the port

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area now all of a sudden rents
are very close to where they

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were in 2019.
Same sort of, you know, one of

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your big players in in Denver is
Pearl Lodge as their big player

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nationally, they are doing
anything and everything to drive

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occupancy.
So when will, when will this all

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it all end?
Who knows?

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I'm a big believer that we've
got to get some market drivers

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back into the market, some some
demand drivers.

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And until we see that happen,
until this tariff uncertainty

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sort of settles out, I think
we're just going to count out be

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status quo for the next few
months.

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So how do you help owners cope
with right?

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There's this interesting
psychological thing that happens

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when your rents triple and then
pull back right where the rent's

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triple and it's a heyday.
Everybody thinks, you know,

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we're, we're rich.
This is a steam train and it's

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not stopping.
And then all of a sudden, you

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know, we get slapped in the face
with interest rates, reality,

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tariffs, and suddenly our heyday
is over.

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How do we handle owners who
might not be in the trenches

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with us every single day pulling
comps and data?

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How do we deal with that?
Well, and you've written

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extensively about this and I
believe you've been spot on in

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your analysis.
And obviously it's going to vary

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by sub market.
But what we try to do Aviva is,

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is we try to educate, but we try
to, I think I shared with you on

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Twitter or or LinkedIn yesterday
about letting the market be the

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bad guy.
I'm a big believer in that.

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In other words, if I feel you as
a warehouse owner, Aviva, hey,

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the market rents are this.
And you say, well, no, I was at

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a cocktail party last week and
my neighbor owns a warehouse

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building and he says the market
rents are that.

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OK, That's fine.
Your owner owns one warehouse

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building.
I've been doing this for 40

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years.
I get it.

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I have no credibility in your
mind yet, but let's like the

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market be the bad guy.
I don't say those words, but all

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of a sudden if if you're asking
a dollar a square foot and

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offers are trickling in at 7585
cents and there's duplicity in

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that, all of a sudden owners are
going to realize, hey, if we're

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able, we're going to have to
need to market.

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Or if we have the staying power,
maybe we can withstand this sort

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of low period of rental and
eventually get back to where we

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need to be.
But situation by situation, sub

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market by sub market, that comes
into play.

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So what I tell, what I tell
owners these days is, look, if

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you want to transact today,
here's where the deals are

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happening.
And don't take my word for it.

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Take the word of the offers that
we've been receiving.

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And a lot of times I'll get
countered with, yeah, but we've

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got a year and a half built into
our pro forma.

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We can wait until January of
2027 until we're stabilized.

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And I, and I tell them that's
fine, but there's no guarantee

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in January of 2027 we're going
to be in any better shape

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because it's, it's pretty easy.
I, I use AI, use a real easy

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sort of analysis.
I like and say how many new

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buildings are coming on the
market each month and how many

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are leaving.
And if you get the total number

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of buildings on the market and
the total number of buildings

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that have left to September
25th, 2025, which is when we're

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taping this, that provides a
metric.

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And if you've got 100 buildings
available and if you lease 20 in

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a nine month period of time, 10
month period of time, that would

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suggest that you've got X amount
of inventory in terms of months

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or years.
And so until that picks up,

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until that double S or triples
or falls off, that's what we're

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faced with.
So it's pretty easy to say, you

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know, we got a year or two year
supply of inventory.

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Are things going to be better in
2027 January?

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Maybe, maybe not.
Once again, depending on size

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range, depending on submarket.
So data and let the market be

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the bad guy.
That's the way I would answer

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that.
I don't want to turn this more

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into a therapy session, but
yeah, it's, it's, I am, it is

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rough out there just, you know,
in our market and I know you say

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it's specific per submarket and
I agree.

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I also do see a larger trend
when I talk to brokers and

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owners nationally that are in
line with exactly what you're

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saying and feeling in your
market.

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I'm saying and feeling in my
market.

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But it is, you know, and in
Colorado we dealt with a another

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specific heyday prior to
e-commerce, which was the

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recreational legalization of
cannabis where we had that

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massive, massive appreciation of
on the rental rates.

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And all of that to say, it's not
2012 anymore.

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Our green rush is over.
People, businesses are

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struggling.
And unfortunately the real

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estate is generally the well,
what what we're finding today is

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what is suffering in terms of
continuing to grow, we'll say

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rental rates anyway.
I'm, I'm fetching about that on

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the Internet a lot because I'm
dealing with BOV, you know,

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broker opinion of values that
just aren't represented.

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They don't represent today like
you said.

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And it's tough to tell somebody
that their baby isn't worth $10

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million and like somebody told
them it was worth in 2023.

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Correct.
Yeah, it's, it's interesting

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because it this, this factors in
more with with warehouse space

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and logistics spaces than it
does for manufacturing.

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And when you, when you think
about a warehousing provider, it

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really there are two big expense
items.

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First and foremost does rent,
2nd and secondly is labor.

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And those are their, those are
their two benchmarks.

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And for the maybe for the first
time since I've been in the

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business of Eva, we look at that
warehouse comparison of rent and

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labor.
It's very similar to a way a

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retailer looks at their rent
because their rent can only

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support a certain amount of of
gross volume, right?

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In other words, the number of
sales that they do coming

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through their front door.
And so at a point if rents

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continue to rise and labor costs
continue to rise, those aren't

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getting any cheaper.
It's sort of like the at the end

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of the day, the warehouser
throws up their hands and they

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say, we're not going to do this
anymore.

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We're just going to put all our
product in a, you know, in a

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third party logistics provider
and let them worry about rent

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and but don't worry about labor.
We're not going to worry about

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it anymore.
We'll just pay by the pallet, be

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done with it and have the
flexibility to the that a three

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PL. can provide.
I've got another burning

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question to ask you that I ask
people every single day.

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Are we overbuilt right now on a
class product?

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Oh, 1000%, unfortunately, 1000%.
Now the interesting thing that

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we've got going on in our market
is we've got this thing called

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AB 98.
And if you're unfamiliar, AB 98

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and it's simplest form says you
can't build a building in

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Southern California larger than
100,000 square feet within 1000

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square feet of what they call an
accessory dwelling, whether

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that's a school, whether that's
a public building, whether

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that's a park.
And so a lot of developers that

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purchase land in anticipation of
building logistics space are now

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faced with we can't do it.
So now what do we do with the

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land, the iOS site?
Do we try to get it rezoned for

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multifamily?
Do we do some other creative

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use?
So we believe that the supply of

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industrial is somewhat finite
now in Southern California.

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And consequently, once we get
through this rough patch, I

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believe there are greener,
greener pastures ahead.

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But not to use the not to use
the cannabis parlance there too

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deeply.
But once we get through this

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green patch or through this
tough match into the new green

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area, I think we're going to be
better.

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So let's hope that's the case.
It's it's interesting times I

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see.
You know, we primarily deal in C

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Class small Bay and thankfully
it's held up.

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But I, you know, I am hyper
aware of the larger leases that

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get signed locally and even more
hyper aware that they are few

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and far between right now.
So yeah.

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And it's the last thing I'll
mention on this that's become a,

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a real factor in our market is
the preponderance of this is the

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second generation space that's
come back on the market that is

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equally amenities to the Class A
space.

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And these are buildings that
were built in the last rush, you

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know, somewhere between call it
2013 and 2018.

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And many times they have 30 foot
clearance, they've got 180 foot

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truck turning radius, they have
ESFR sprinklers.

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And the benefit is they have
lower operating expenses because

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their tax bases is lower because
they were built 10 years ago.

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And so when those come back on
the market now, they're

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competing with the Class A
inventory that's brand new that

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may have a couple of feet of
clear hide on them.

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But for all intents and
purposes, that's the only

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difference.
So if you have a provider that

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doesn't really need a a 36 foot
clear building, they can

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00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:38,720
survive, just find a 30 clear
building that's a better

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alternative for them.
So we're seeing a lot of a lot

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of activity in second Gen.
space.

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Wow.
Hey, it makes sense.

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I always say price is 95% of the
decision and I actually think

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00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,640
it's more.
I think it's like 98%, but I

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digress.
Alan, I was at a conference last

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00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,920
week and somebody told me your
book, The Sequence was the best

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00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:12,360
commercial real estate brokerage
book out there and I have to

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00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:13,680
read it.
It's on my list.

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00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,520
Tell me about The Sequence.
What is The Sequence and how it

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00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,280
came to be?
Thanks for the question and and

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00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,400
wow, that's that's an amazing
review.

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00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,840
I I wish I knew that was and I'd
I'd send them a box of

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00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,760
chocolates.
The sequence is a double

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00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:38,120
entendre Aviva.
The the first meaning is SEQUENC

247
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,960
are the steps of a real estate
transaction.

248
00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:45,640
So the S stands for sourcing.
The ES evaluate the QS qualify.

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00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,920
EU is under control, the E is
execute, the N is negotiate and

250
00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,160
close, the CE is commissioned or
get paid.

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00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,440
And finally, we expand, which
you're amazing at doing.

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00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,920
You're amazing at expanding your
wins.

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00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,400
The second meaning of the
sequence is it's a sequence of

254
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,480
your career.
Why you choose commercial real

255
00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,160
estate who you choose to love,
where you choose to live, how

256
00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,440
you choose to spend your free
time, how you choose to worship

257
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,280
all of those are factors which
are decisions you make

258
00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:21,440
throughout your career that help
define your career in commercial

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00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,200
real estate.
It came about because I designed

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00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:31,680
a, a seminar on the qualify
piece of the sequence and

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00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,480
qualify as an acronym, as in as
a sequence is an acronym and

262
00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:39,840
qualify stands for a
quantitative need, an urgency,

263
00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:46,960
authority, loyalty, intention or
expectations, fuel and yearning.

264
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,840
And so I was delivering this
seminar to group of folks in our

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00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,840
Atlanta office and one of the
producers raised his hand and he

266
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:55,800
said, gosh, this is great
content.

267
00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:00,200
Why don't you write a book?
And I've been thinking about how

268
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,680
to do I, do I write a book
that's geared toward commercial

269
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:05,640
real estate agents?
Do I write a book that's geared

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00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,680
toward my ideal customer?
Do I write a book that anyone

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00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:10,880
could, you know, from whom could
benefit?

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00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,440
And as soon as he said that, it
just dawned on me that, boy,

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00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,760
there's the answer right there.
And I had three or four ideas

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00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:22,440
running around in my mind.
And when he said that, it just

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00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,920
magically came to be.
And all of a sudden, the

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00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,880
qualified piece became a piece
of the bigger sequence.

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00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,960
And I thought, this is awesome.
I love double entendre.

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00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,000
And I can see how this could be
a legacy play.

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00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,600
It can be a tactical play.
I can share some of my stories.

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00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,280
And so that's what the book is.
It's filled with my experiences

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00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:45,200
over a 41 year commercial real
estate career, some of the

282
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,080
contrarian decisions I've made.
You know, one of them is to get

283
00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,200
married at age 22 to my very
best friend who I just

284
00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:53,560
celebrated 46 years of marital
bliss.

285
00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,080
I know you're a relative,
newlywed and a new and a new

286
00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,360
mom.
You know, one of them was moving

287
00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,480
to California from the state of
Arkansas.

288
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:06,359
And may I tell you, when we did
that in 1979, that was breaking

289
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,079
heresy.
No one moved to California, that

290
00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,560
land of fruits and nuts.
So, yeah, it's, it's it was a

291
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,480
lot of fun to ride.
It's been a lot of fun to

292
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:19,160
promote and to hear the
outpouring, which really was an

293
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,680
unintended consequence, you
know, for you to say, someone at

294
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,960
the CREI Summit said this is the
best real estate book on the

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00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,560
market right now.
You just have no idea what kind

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00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,280
of an impact that has on me
because I I thought I had

297
00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,240
something to say.
I thought I had a voice.

298
00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:36,720
But so here.
The feedback I've gotten has

299
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:42,320
just been remarkable so well.
It's interesting in this

300
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:47,200
business, you go in and I'm sure
this is in life and anything,

301
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,480
but you go in and you expect one
thing, you try to close the deal

302
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,800
you and, and then on the other
end, you come out with a great

303
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,560
friend or somebody, you know,
something so different than what

304
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,680
you could have ever expected to
be the result.

305
00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,520
And I wouldn't know if that's
the same in other businesses

306
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,560
because I've never done anything
but this.

307
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:12,320
But it's, it's so rewarding.
It's like you said, it's like

308
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,840
this industry.
I, I have really enjoyed

309
00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,400
learning about strategy in this
business.

310
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:23,320
Right when I started a decade
ago, I didn't realize there was

311
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:25,320
a strategy.
I just picked up the phone and

312
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,920
just started run, you know,
knocking on doors and running.

313
00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,000
If I knew what I knew today, how
intense the strategy and

314
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,400
competition, I don't even know
what I would have thought 10

315
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,360
years ago.
But all of that to say, it's

316
00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:39,680
tough.
It's a tough business, it's

317
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,600
tough work.
And to be able to compile that

318
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,680
and then give it to other people
is cool because in this

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00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,120
business, most people don't want
to do that.

320
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,920
And, and I'm sure you know more
than I, given you've been

321
00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,600
working in this industry longer
than I've been alive, that it's

322
00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,360
always been very gate kept.
And so I get really excited to

323
00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:06,480
talk to people like you or just
to talk on the podcast to teach

324
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:11,760
people about this industry that
wouldn't have had that privilege

325
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:16,440
had they not had access to the
Internet like we all do today.

326
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,160
So.
Yeah, and you break up an

327
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,360
interesting point.
And I and I talk about this at

328
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:25,560
link to the book and, and what
you're you're talking about

329
00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,680
making friends and and maybe you
make a friend in a deal.

330
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,360
Maybe you make a friend through
a a social media connection.

331
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:33,760
You know, you and I now know
each other somewhat.

332
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:35,880
Now we'll now we'll be friends
and we'll talk.

333
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,600
So I, I look at that as the
spirit of cooperation, the

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00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,600
spirit of collaboration.
I've never been a, a scarcity

335
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,280
theorist.
I've always been a man of

336
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,640
abundance.
I've always believed in sharing.

337
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,400
My wife says I overshare.
And maybe that's true.

338
00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:59,680
But our company lead associate
was formed with cooperation in

339
00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,680
mind because to your point, it
was gate kept.

340
00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,040
Bill Lee worked for a company
called Grubbin Ellis, which is

341
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:10,840
now Newmark Frank.
And when Bill was at Grubbin

342
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,000
Ellis, he was one of the top
producers.

343
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,640
And if he had a 30,000 square
foot listing and the guy in the

344
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,280
cube next to him had a 30,000
square foot requirement, Bill

345
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,920
wouldn't tell him about the
requirement or tell him about

346
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:27,080
the listing for fear that that
guy would get the deal and then

347
00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,320
Bill would not be the number one
producer.

348
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,280
So he thought, you know, this is
nuts, right?

349
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,400
This is this is not have that
mindset.

350
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:40,600
What we really ought to be
trying to figure out is a way to

351
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,600
cooperate.
And he realized that the way we

352
00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,520
incentivize folks to cooperate
is by sharing the profit.

353
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:54,560
So now I'm incentivized to share
a deal with a former with with

354
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,040
with a fellow colleague in the
cube next to me.

355
00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:02,080
That's why an Ellen Buchanan is
willing to bring Ron Weber or

356
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,320
Aviva Sonnenrich a deal in
Denver, Co.

357
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,240
Because if I bring that to Ron,
I own venture in the Denver

358
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,680
office and all of a sudden,
boom, there's there's some

359
00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,080
synergy there.
If I bring it to you, I know

360
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,240
you're going to broadcast it to
the hilt and that's amazing.

361
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,520
That's going to create that sort
of mindset.

362
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:27,880
So yeah, that's the one thing
that I have throughout my

363
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,720
career, tried to stress with
anyone that'll listen is in many

364
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:37,640
cases a cooperating broker can
be your best source of business

365
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:39,400
and be your best source of
business.

366
00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:40,960
And people gotta go.
That's nuts.

367
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:45,160
They're your competitor.
Well, maybe, but once again, to

368
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:49,240
use the bill, if I've got a
requirement in Denver, Co and

369
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,640
you've got a listing in Denver,
Co, why the heck aren't we

370
00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,880
sharing that information freely?
And so that's the way I that's

371
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:58,680
the way I've done the business
my entire career.

372
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,400
In my opinion, is the only way
to do business to work in the

373
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,480
best interest of our clients,
right?

374
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:11,640
I think people get so
disillusioned by the results and

375
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,200
what success looks like in this
business that they forget why

376
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,600
we're here in the 1st place,
which is just to work in the

377
00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:20,800
best efforts of our clients.
And, and the fact that when you

378
00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,600
do that, the client can tell and
it's a lifelong business

379
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,240
relationship because they might
need to lease the property again

380
00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,440
or sell the property or buy the
next one.

381
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,400
And.
It's a long Amen.

382
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,360
It absolutely is.
It absolutely is in there.

383
00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:41,680
A couple of stories in the book
where I, I highlight that where

384
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,000
I've, I've actually talked
clients out of doing the deal

385
00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,040
and people say, why on earth did
you do that?

386
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:54,080
You, you make a living
transacting and, and the answer

387
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,240
is because it's the right thing
to do, right?

388
00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,040
It's the right thing to do.
It was, it was ill advised for

389
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:01,880
the client to proceed that
direction.

390
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,840
They didn't realize it, but I
have a higher standard of care.

391
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,600
I could see through what they
were trying to do.

392
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:13,560
I could see all of the potential
obstacles and to bring that to

393
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:18,320
light so that it became their
decision not to transact ends up

394
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,840
multiplying that requirement in
years to come.

395
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:26,120
So.
It, it is funny in this business

396
00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:30,280
how the work you put in today
really doesn't come into light

397
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:35,800
and it could be in six months, a
year or six years, but it's

398
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,160
nevertheless a great time and
every day is different.

399
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:49,840
So anyway, Mr. Buchanan, I know
I told you that this is my

400
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:51,800
question.
I will ask you.

401
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,960
We go off the cusp with
everything else.

402
00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:56,280
What is your commercial real
estate secret?

403
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:01,160
Strategic networking.
How would you suggest somebody

404
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,840
just starting in commercial real
estate to strategically network?

405
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:13,160
Don't think in terms of a B to B
sale, AB to B contact.

406
00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,240
Think in terms of an indirect
contact.

407
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:17,880
Let me give you a couple of
examples.

408
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,760
So Jake Crandall and I did one
of these yesterday.

409
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,360
And Jake, as you know, is a, is
ACPA.

410
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:30,160
And Jake produces amazing
content targeted toward

411
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,040
commercial real estate agents.
And I picked up the phone one

412
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,400
day and I called him and I said
you were just killing it.

413
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,080
You were doing it exactly the
right way and good for you.

414
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,560
I feel the same way about what
you are doing.

415
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:46,720
You're creating amazing content
targeted at the person with whom

416
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,200
you want to do business.
That's great.

417
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,600
Here's another idea.
There are so many people that

418
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,840
touch our ideal clients that if
we take a step back and as

419
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:03,160
opposed to trying to get in
touch with the owner or occupant

420
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,320
of a building, how about we
approach their CPA?

421
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,160
How about we approach their
business attorney?

422
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,240
How about we approach their
business banker?

423
00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,280
How about we approach their
commercial insurance agent?

424
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,680
What about the what about the
group that helped them acquire

425
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,800
their competitor?
And if you think in terms of, of

426
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:25,600
the direct approach in that
regard, you're going to find

427
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:29,880
that rather than call 30
occupants, if you're, if you

428
00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,280
know 30 Cpas who all know 30
occupants, you can see how that

429
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,680
multiplies itself.
When I figured this out in 2009,

430
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:45,480
it was an absolute game changer
for me because about the same

431
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,360
time I was doing the strategic
networking, I started doing

432
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:52,680
social media marketing.
And those two things have

433
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,000
propelled my career to the place
that it is today.

434
00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:00,600
Without those, I probably would
be, who knows, but I, I

435
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:02,800
definitely would not have
achieved the success I've

436
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,160
achieved in the last 15 years
because of that.

437
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,600
So, yeah, new folks in the
business, frankly and, and

438
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:15,440
frankly, even folks that aren't
so new tend to want to gosh,

439
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,160
it's, it's about how many calls
I make to the person that's

440
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,880
going to lease or buy a
building.

441
00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,520
It's about how many calls I make
to a person that's going to sell

442
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,800
or hire me to lease a building.
Yeah, there needs to be a

443
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:30,240
certain amount of that, but
temper that with a a brilliant

444
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:32,400
network and you're going to
separate yourself from the

445
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:33,680
masses.
Wow.

446
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,000
Well, have you heard that
before?

447
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,480
Have you heard that before?
No, that was a good one.

448
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:44,440
That's a really good I Yeah, I
wrote it down and circled it.

449
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,680
Awesome.
So, yeah, hey, somebody who asks

450
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,560
people what the secret is, it's
a new one.

451
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,320
And I'm you've got me thinking.
So that's cool.

452
00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:00,960
Thank you, Mr. Buchanan, for the
listeners.

453
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,840
Where can they First off, buy
the book, The Sequence, find

454
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,800
you, follow you, contact you for
all of their Southern California

455
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,840
industrial real estate needs?
There you go.

456
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,760
I the book is called The
Sequence.

457
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,200
It's available on Amazon.
All you got to do is Google it

458
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,680
and hopefully you'll put a link
in the bio in terms of finding

459
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,320
me.
Ellen Buchanan, 714-624-3896 is

460
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,160
my mobile.
A Buchanan,

461
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:34,440
leehyphenassociates.com e-mail
Allen C Buchanan Twitter Allen C

462
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,640
Buchanan Instagram Allen
Buchanan LinkedIn.

463
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,320
Yeah, I'm everywhere.
Like he said one time.

464
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,800
I'm nationwide.
Allen, thank you so much for

465
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:46,760
being on the show today.
It's great to finally connect

466
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:51,440
with you in real life, as real
as being on a podcast is that

467
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,720
isn't actually physically
together and go everybody

468
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,360
listening, go grab the sequence
and we'll see you next week.

469
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,640
That's a wrap for this week on
commercial real estate secrets.

470
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,240
If you found value, do us a
favor and subscribe, leave a

471
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,880
review and share it with a
fellow commercial real estate

472
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,440
lover.
For brokerage services or to

473
00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:18,840
connect, visit
warehousehotline.com.

474
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,560
I'm Aviva.
We'll see you next week.