12 years ago, I started publishing. At first, it was blogs. Then a newsletter. Then a book that addressed conflicts of interest in the real estate industry, and how we go about overcoming them.
I was surprised by the reaction. Both good and bad. Some in my industry even came after me with personal attacks that not only affected me but also my family. It seemed that I had hit a nerve.
One day, a broker I had known since I was a kid asked me, “Why did I write it?”
Instead of explaining to him the value of content marketing, and that when you are the smallest kid on the block, it’s good to pick a fight when you are right, or that all of his clients intuitively knew that a broker’s business interests are conflicted, so why point out the elephant in the room…I simply shared the following story with him.
It was 2007, and the CRE world had come to a screeching halt. A Florida developer asked me to pitch for a very secretive assignment. Publix had tapped them to open the first stores in Charlotte, home of their longtime competitor, Harris-Teeter. They wanted to get 20 sites secured quickly before Harris-Teeter knew what had happened. My competition was every major firm in town, including publicly traded CRE services firms CBRE and JLL. My pitch was simple. I would ask them questions about them and their goals and close by handing them a copy of my book, A Better Way to Broker (Download your own copy here).
That was on a Friday afternoon, and on Monday, I got a call from the firm’s president saying that he read the book on the way back to Ft. Lauderdale and shared it with his leadership team. They loved it and felt that I was the kind of person who would fit into their culture. He asked that I send him 20 copies so that he could share it with the rest of his team.
I had won the business. And while 2007–2010 were the worst years in commercial real estate history for my competitors, they were the best years of my life. We created a great relationship with the developer that resulted in many new stores for Publix.
And the representation agreement resulted in
millions of dollars of fees.
…All because I took the time to think, write and publish.
Do you have a great service that not enough people know about?
We used to have that problem. 15 years ago, I left the Trammell Crow Company and started Cardinal. No longer did I have a franchise to support our business development efforts.
I quickly realized that many of my contacts at Trammell Crow no longer saw me as relevant because I was an entrepreneur. It’s a harsh reality, but you quickly learn just how shallow those relationships can be.
This was surprising to me—at first. From my perspective, I could offer more value than ever before. I was free of the conflicts of interest that I had when I was with a huge real estate services firm. No longer was I pressured to close deals quickly before the next earnings call. I didn’t have brokers in my office representing a landlord and pressuring me for insights into my client’s options. And I had a lot more time to give my handful of clients.
So, I used this new freedom to enroll in the Strategic Coach program. And for ten years I learned from Dan Sullivan how to grow an entrepreneurial enterprise, how to package my services, and the value of sharing your thinking through content marketing. The result was that I published Go For Broker. This was a spicy ebook that pointed out the problems large commercial real estate firms have and served as the manifesto on why we started Cardinal Partners.
We have published three books since then, and in the fall we will have a new one, a revamping of Go For Broker™. Our newsletter, Cardinal Insights, has been published bi-monthly over the last 5 years and has over 3000 subscribers. We are commercial real estate practitioners, not publishers. So if we can do it—and clearly there is value—so can you.
Of course, this is also where many people begin saying things like:
1) I am not a writer.
2) I do not have the time.
3) What would my friends say?
The first two objections I can help you overcome. The last one is up to you.
Through this content marketing journey, I’ve developed a profound admiration for journalists and their craft. The courage required to publish an article, especially under the pressure of looming deadlines, is truly remarkable. Imagine the fortitude it takes to hit “send” on a piece that you know might not be perfect, yet thousands will read and scrutinize.
Like you, we are not writers.
And the little secret in the publishing world is that
writers do not write great books.
That is the work of authors.
Yes, we are authors. The difference is that authors are great at collecting thoughts, sketching out a first draft, and then handing it over to a team that takes it from there.
We start with a little tool we call The Newsletter Sandwich™. It is a 7 question prompt that stimulates thinking and helps us get on paper to the core components of a great newsletter. Email us to get a free copy. From there, either Brian or John will set a timer to 40 minutes and complete the first brain dump. Once that is completed, we send the draft to Joe Cunningham who sends us back an 80% completed newsletter within a couple of days.
During that time, we will do some research for credible third-party sources, fact-check data, etc.
It all goes back to Joe one more time and he quickly sends us the final proof. This goes to our awesome Philippines-based marketing assistant, Princess, who formats the newsletter in HubSpot and schedules it for delivery.
All of this only takes about an hour of the author’s time. And since we are using outsourced help, both in the US and abroad, we can deliver the newsletter quickly and efficiently. And as you know, every crucial interaction in life is shaped by how we communicate. Whether you’re closing a business deal, resolving a personal conflict, or negotiating in high-stress situations, your communication skills determine the outcome.
We’re launching an exciting new business newsletter and
seeking partnerships with accomplished professionals like you.
This is your chance to share impactful stories and insights, leveraging our proven methods for efficient content creation and distribution.
What’s in it for you? A few useful things:
- Elevate your professional profile.
- Strengthen industry relationships.
- Establish thought leadership.
Our streamlined approach ensures the consistent delivery of high-quality, award-worthy content. This collaboration could significantly enhance your industry standing and career trajectory.
Interested in exploring this opportunity?
Contact me and let’s chat. I look forward to working together to create compelling content for our shared audiences.
