Brokerage

Finding business: the tables

Prospecting lives at the top of the Pipeline tab. Each way of finding business is a table with its own game. You bet actions: a table that costs more has fewer misses and bigger prizes.

A cold call is a scratch-off ticket: scratch the three windows, and three of a kind is a prize. The prizes run from a plain lead up to a strong lead, a premium lead, two leads at once, an off-market tip, a whale (a very large client) and, at the bigger tables, a bidding war. The game decides the result first; the ticket, wheel or slot machine only shows it.

You don't have to spend every action yourself. Actions you leave unused when the month ends are played for you at the table you choose (calls, lunch or gala), with anything left over going to cold calls.

Streaks and district stars

You prospect in one district at a time. Hits in a row build a streak there: Warming Up, then On Fire, Phone Blazingand finally Unstoppable, where every lead is premium. A miss breaks the streak.

Each district also has a reputation shown as up to five stars. Every call there builds it, and closing deals builds it faster. More stars mean fewer misses and better leads, and at four and five stars a chance of a whale. Your rank and your skills cut the misses too.

Buyer clients

A buyer lead is someone with money to spend. Take the client, then Find them a building: the search costs an action and shows the buildings they'll consider, best fit first. Make an offer and the seller decides. A standard offer goes in at 90% of asking, and some clients allow other kinds, like an all-cash or hard-money offer, which you'll find in their client file.

If nothing fits, Search wider adds another district you've unlocked. Clients don't wait forever: each one shows how long until they sign with someone else. A buyer-side commission starts at 3% of the price.

Listings

A listing pitch is a seller who wants a broker to sell their building. Pitch them and, if you win, the listing is yours. Pitch styles open with rank: a basic pitch at the standard 5% commission, a discount pitch at 4%, "Buy the Listing" from Associate, which costs cash up front and lists the building higher, and an elite pitch from Director at 6%.

A won listing asks for a marketing plan. Better plans draw more and stronger offers and cost money every month the building sits. At first only the free listing service is open; stronger plans come with promotions.

Offers then arrive on the Pipeline tab. For each one you can Accept, Counter at asking, or Pass. The card shows the odds the buyer takes your counter and what happens if they don't. A buyer you don't answer walks at the end of the month.

Escrow

An accepted offer goes into escrow (the period between a signed deal and the closing) and usually closes within a few months. Your commission is paid when it closes, as a cheque you hold to deposit.

Escrow can go wrong. A trouble card lands on the Desk with choices, odds and costs. The problems include:

• an inspection that finds something,
• an appraisal that comes in low,
• a title or tenant issue,
• a lender getting cold feet,
• a closing delay,
• a buyer trying to retrade, which means renegotiating the price after signing.

You have a limited time to answer. Leave it, and the problem gets settled without you, usually at the cost of part of your commission. Every few months a quiet deal also asks for a call: Rush the closing (a fee, and it closes a month sooner) orSecure the deal (one fewer thing can go wrong).

Marketing campaigns

Campaigns bring leads in every month without a call. They cost a setup fee plus a monthly spend, and run until you stop them in You, then Marketing. The kinds:

• Direct Mailers. Targeted mailers to commercial property owners considering a sale.
• Digital Ads. Targeted online ads reaching active commercial real estate investors.
• Billboard & Signage. High-visibility signage and billboards in a target submarket.
• Social Media Presence. LinkedIn thought leadership, market updates, and deal highlights.