In CoStar's rankings of the top investment sales firms by volume, there are a lot of familiar (and expected) names at the top. But a stalwart in the top 3 for several years may surprise you: The Besen Group.
How does a firm with less manpower remain that competitive year after year? Besen's chief sales officer, Ron Cohen, tells us the secret is the company's approach to talent acquisition.
"We've been hyperfocused a lot more this year on recruitment, training and development," Ron tells Bisnow. "We have brought eight new investment sales brokers on board in 2016 and our team is now 40 strong."
To welcome the new team, Besen has ramped up its on-boarding protocol with what Ron describes as a "much deeper approach" with a full training manual.
It's developed the "B.E.S.T." (Broker Excellence Standards Training) program, which covers more than 50 brokerage and real estate knowledge topics, complete with ongoing seminars and a comprehensive manual.
Training covers all aspects of the business, from prospecting, origination, execution and investment analysis. Consistency, collaboration and accountability are core values Besen preaches to foster greater success.
Besen's newcomers also attend weekly lunches and classroom-style finance seminars with a visiting NYU Schack professor to hone their craft before becoming vested members of the team.
The extra time spent training may seem counterproductive at first glance, but in reality, it allows the up-and-coming brokers to be more well-rounded and wield more extensive expertise down the line.
"The training helps them to understand the fundamentals and nuances of brokerage and various aspects of the real estate business that other on-boarding programs may overlook," Ron says. "We're investing significant time and resources into developing our new team members. The results have been very positive."
The Besen Group is looking to recruit several more experienced investment sales brokers. To apply in confidence, click here.
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