What I Know Now: Rich Enderlin, Chief Operating Officer
In this months’ “What I Know Now” (WIKN) Q & A, we feature Rich Enderlin, Chief Operating Officer at Sperry Commercial Global Affiliates and Chief Operating Officer for BRC Advisors where he has been Broker of Record on more than $5 billion dollars of commercial real estate transactions and oversees BRC Advisors 100+ Brokers. Today, he brings that same dynamic to SperrryCGA’s network of 37 offices in 16 different states and more than 250 brokers nationwide.
We are excited to launch WIKN with Rich Enderlin. Enjoy!
Q: What was the biggest risk you’ve taken that has paid off?
A: Transitioning from a salaried $60,000 a year job in property management to a 100% commission as a CRE Broker with a very young daughter, wife, mortgage and no savings. After 14 months, my total earnings were $4,350. Ten months later I finished my 2nd year with a very healthy 6-figure income and made more money every year thereafter and never looked back.
Q: What is the best advice that you’ve ever taken and the best advice you’ve ever given?
A: One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from the great Zig Ziglar who had a mantra that he repeated in all his coaching tapes: “If you give enough people what they want, you will eventually get what you want”. When giving advice to a young Broker I add “Always put your client’s needs ahead of your own”.
Q: What’s your proudest accomplishment or most memorable deal and why?
A: Forget the number of deals or the dollar volume in sales, I am most proud of my client list which reads like a veritable “Who’s Who” of the United Nations. I have done business with nearly every race, creed, color and religion imaginable and found that there are two universal languages in CRE: 1. Integrity and 2. Credibility
Q: What lessons from your parents have you carried through the years?
A: When I was about 12-13 years old, my father asked my older brother and I to mow the lawn. My brother told me to mow the front yard right away and he would mow the backyard when he got home from his friend’s house. That night my father summoned us both to the living room and asked why the backyard had not been mowed. My brother fessed up and said he forgot and my father grounded him for two weeks. Being the wiseass little brother I was (and still am) I laughed at him for getting in trouble. My father said words that I will never forget: “I don’t know what you’re laughing at a young man but you are grounded for a week. I did not ask you to mow half the lawn”. No amount of “But Dad’s!!!” prevailed and I’m quite certain my father knew I may not have understood the lesson then but sure did when I became a CRE broker.
Q: What have you learned that you would want to pass on to an aspiring broker who is new to the industry?
A: Every great client I ever had was at one point a total stranger. That said, every deal I ever did started with a cold call.
