The Most Expensive Phone Call in Commercial Real Estate Is the One You Don’t Take
In more than 30 years in commercial real estate, I’ve been on both sides of the recruiting call. I’ve been the broker getting courted, and I’ve been the one picking up the phone to recruit talent.
Here’s what I’ve learned: The brokers who say, “I’m happy where I am, no thanks,” before hearing a word are often the ones who end up leaving money, growth, and options on the table.
I’m not telling you to leave your firm. I’m telling you to take the meeting.
Here’s why.
You Can’t Know Your Market Value If You Never Test It
Commercial real estate is a business built on price discovery. We tell our clients all the time that you don’t know what a property is worth until the market tells you. The same applies to you.
Your split, support package, marketing budget, and access to deal flow all have a market rate.
If you’ve been at the same shop for five or ten years and have never sat across the table from a competitor, you’re pricing yourself on old comps. One conversation can tell you whether you’re being paid fairly—or whether you’ve been leaving 10 or 20 points of split on the table every year.
Loyalty and Curiosity Aren’t Opposites
A lot of brokers feel like taking an interview is a betrayal. It isn’t.
You can be loyal to your team, your managing broker, and your clients while still staying informed about your career.
In fact, the best-run firms want their people to know what’s out there. If your firm can’t hold up to a comparison, that’s worth knowing. If it can, you’ll return more committed than ever because you’ll know you’re in the right place instead of simply assuming it.
You’ll Learn How Other Firms Are Winning
Every recruiting conversation is free market intelligence.
You’ll hear how another firm structures its teams, which technologies it’s investing in, how it generates leads, what it’s doing with AI, how it approaches capital markets, and which property types it’s betting on.
Even if you never make a move, you’ll walk away with ideas. I’ve taken plenty of calls over the years that didn’t lead anywhere but still taught me something I brought back into my own business.
The Business Is Changing Fast
The brokerage model today looks nothing like it did even five years ago.
Platforms, national networks, hybrid splits, referral models, and integrated finance and advisory arms have multiplied the options available to brokers. The firm that was the right fit when you were a junior associate may not be the right fit now that you have a book of business, a team, or a specialty.
If you’re not paying attention to how the industry is evolving, you can’t make an informed decision about where you should be within it.
It Sharpens How You Talk About Yourself
When a recruiter asks, “What does your pipeline look like? What’s your average deal size? Where do you want to be in three years?” you should have answers.
A lot of brokers have never had to articulate their own value proposition out loud.
That exercise alone is worth the hour. The same pitch you refine during an interview is the pitch you’ll use to win listings and land clients.
Relationships Compound, Even When the Timing Is Wrong
Commercial real estate is a relationship business, and that includes relationships with competing firms.
The person recruiting you today might become a co-broker on a deal next year, a referral partner, or the managing broker you call when your situation changes.
Taking the meeting, being professional, and saying, “Not right now, but let’s stay in touch,” builds goodwill. Declining without a conversation closes a door you may want open later.
Leverage Is Real, but Use It With Integrity
Yes, an outside offer can strengthen your position at your current firm. However, I’d caution against interviewing solely to secure a counteroffer.
Everyone in this business talks, and a reputation for shopping offers you never intend to accept will follow you.
Go into the conversation with genuine curiosity. If you learn that you’re underpaid or under-supported, have an honest conversation with your leadership. The best outcomes come from transparency—not games.
How to Take the Interview the Right Way
Be discreet.
Keep the conversation off company email, outside company time, and away from office gossip.
Come prepared.
Know your numbers, including your GCI, deal count, average transaction size, and pipeline.
Ask hard questions.
What is the real split after fees? Who pays for marketing? What does support actually look like day to day? How are leads distributed? What happens to your listings if you leave?
Talk to their agents.
Don’t speak only with the agents they hand-pick. Find people who work there and ask what the experience is really like.
Understand the terms.
Review the non-compete, non-solicitation, and exit provisions at your current firm before committing to anything.
Don’t decide in the room.
Take the information home, sleep on it, and compare your options honestly.
The Bottom Line
The worst career decisions in commercial real estate usually aren’t made by people who explored their options. They’re made by people who never looked—and then woke up five years later wondering what they missed.
Take the call. Listen. Ask good questions. Then make the decision that’s in your best interest, whether that means staying where you are with renewed confidence or making a move that changes your trajectory.
Either way, you win because you’ll be deciding with facts instead of assumptions.
Joe Killinger is a partner at Commercial Brokers International and founder of the CRE Affiliate Network. Follow @JoeKillinger on YouTube, Instagram, and X for more on building a career in commercial real estate.
