Broker Spotlight Darren Fleming

What has been your biggest career win? What did you learn from it?

Building a team of bright young people who care most about serving people first, not just focusing on doing a great transaction. From realizing that approaching our work any other way creates no lasting value to the client.

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What was a pivotal moment in your career? Why was it important for you?

When I realized that as a realtor we could impact our client’s strategies and culture. Up until that point I wasn’t really making a positive impact on the what matters to most business leaders, their people.

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How has the industry changed since you started?

Successful CRE professionals are now more like management consultants and the big firms have realized they bleed clients if they don’t focus on strategy.

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Is there anything you know now that you wish you knew when you started?

That almost all the “truths” shared to me by older brokers turned out not to be true. That I could create a practice that was fun, collaborative, and based on mutual respect and trust.

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Are there any tough technological challenges in the industry you are seeing? If so, what are they?

There are no real standard forms used across CRE. It makes all our transactions seem very slow. Very little if any collaboration occurs within a firm let alone across companies. CRE are tech laggards.

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What are some tactics you’ve used to establish yourself as a trusted CRE professional?

Take the view that people matter. Don’t be afraid to lead the client. They crave it. Build and leverage teams. Dare to be better, always. Never stop learning. Share your knowledge widely.

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