Most of us are silently saying no to prospects before we’ve asked them a single question. “They won’t be interested.” “They’re too small.” “They can’t afford our rates.” These thoughts show up automatically, and we listen to them without even realizing it. I think this comes from how we’re raised. As kids we hear no constantly, and we’re taught to just accept it. So as adults, we do everything we can to avoid hearing it again. One way we do that is by saying no on someone’s behalf before we ever give them the chance to answer for themselves. The flip side is just as damaging. When we do hear no from a prospect, some of us swing the other way and refuse to accept it, pushing and pressuring until it feels like a hard sell. Neither reaction serves you. Both come from the same place, an old discomfort with the word no that has nothing to do with your business today. The fix is simple, even if it takes practice. Ask the question you’re avoiding. Let the prospect answer for themselves. If they say no, thank them and move on. If they say yes, you just found a deal

Early in my career, a man called about my vacant 6,000 square foot end cap in Lake Worth. He said he wanted to open a video store as a prototype before franchising it. I laughed, told him the space was built for a restaurant, and filed his info a year out. I even wrote “Video Store, Ha!” on the sheet. That man was Wayne Huizenga. One year later his video store had 40 locations. It became Blockbuster. I didn’t lose that deal because of the space. I lost it because I never asked one simple question. From now on, ask every prospect these two questions before you do anything else. What do you do now? What made you call on my center today? These two questions tell you in thirty seconds whether you’re talking to a time waster or your next anchor tenant. Don’t skip them just because a prospect sounds unusual or too small to matter. Rockstar Tip: Never assume you already know how a call is going to go. Ask, then listen.

My first day in commercial real estate, my boss left me alone in the office with a pile of onboarding papers and zero training. I didn’t know a rent roll from a hole in the ground. I just knew I was supposed to prospect. So I called the only company I could think of with more than one location, a print shop I’d passed on my drive in that morning. I asked if they were looking to expand. They said yes. We signed them for their new corporate headquarters, and I went from rookie to Leasing Agent within weeks. I got that deal because I asked the question and stayed quiet long enough to hear the answer. I didn’t decide for that prospect that they weren’t interested. Most agents lose deals before they ever pick up the phone. They see an established business and assume the owner is happy. They see a struggling business and assume it can’t afford to expand. They see a national brand and assume it already has a broker. Every time, they’ve said no for a prospect who never got asked. Your job is to ask, not predict. Every business on your route is a lead

If you bought a shopping center with a short-term loan—bridge, mezzanine, or hard money—you probably have one mission: increase NOI fast so you can refinance. When that clock is ticking, your leasing strategy needs to change. The first mistake I see owners make is misreading the market. If the market rent is $15 but you’re holding out for $20 because an online report told you that number, you’re wasting precious months. When you have a deadline, you must know the real market—by walking properties, talking to leasing agents, and confirming vacancy levels yourself. If the market is soft or vacancy is high, sometimes the smartest move is to get aggressive early. For example, you might offer a discounted first-year rate that steps up over time—$8 in year one, $12 in year two, and market rent by year three. This helps you fill space quickly and grow NOI, which is what your lender cares about. You can also create urgency with your leasing team. Instead of the standard commission, offer short-term “bounty” bonuses for specific spaces that must be leased by a certain date. Large REITs use this tactic all the time to move stubborn vacancies. Finally, remember that timing matters.