You’ve done your market study. You’re reading your leases. Now it’s time to get to know your most important resource—your tenants. Visit every business in your center. Eat at the restaurants. Chat with the stylists. Shop in the boutiques. Introduce yourself and ask, “How’s business? What do you need? How can I help?” ROCKSTAR TIP: Go on different days and times to get a feel for the traffic patterns. Tuesdays at 10AM look very different than Saturdays at 6PM! Take notes (and let them know you’re not texting your bestie). Ask about sales if they don’t report them. And definitely ask who they think would be a great fit for the center—you’ll be surprised what you learn. Oh—and find The Mayor. Every center has one: the unofficial leader of the tenant crew. Win them over, and life gets easier. (Just know they can be… a handful. Stay charming!) Bonus Rockstar Move: Loop in your property manager. Let them know you’re making rounds, and don’t throw them under the bus—EVER. Collaborate, follow up, and treat them like gold. Property managers hold the keys to the behind-the-scenes stuff you won’t see in a site plan. Plus, they’ve got the scoop. A little

Want to level up faster than your peers? Learn the language of retail real estate—and the best place to start is your own lease files. Most agents fake their way through lease lingo (spoiler alert: not a great long-term plan). A lease isn’t just paperwork—it’s the playbook for every negotiation, every deal, and every dollar. Here’s what I do with my rookies: we set aside one hour a week to read our leases—out loud, together. We break down each sentence:✔️ What does it mean?✔️ Why is it there?✔️ How does it impact the landlord and tenant relationship—or the bottom line? We talk exclusives, prohibitions (huge time-saver), CAM, LOIs, TIs, and more. It’s not sexy, but it’s powerful. Don’t wait for your boss to schedule this—Rockstars take initiative. Do it yourself, and email your questions later if needed. Because the fastest way to gain confidence, avoid rookie mistakes, and negotiate like a pro… is to actually understand the lease you’re selling. Imagine that!

Congrats on finishing your first market study! Now… keep it going. Because guess what? The market already changed while you were reading this. A market study is never “done”—it’s a living, breathing document. Without current intel, you’re not selling… you’re guessing. Want to stay sharp without burning out? Put your study on autopilot: ✅ Subscribe to community papers and local mags (print ads = gold!)✅ Open every Valpak and piece of direct mail—it’s a retail treasure map✅ Set up Google Alerts for your city, centers, tenants, and competitors Watch for hospital expansions, new apartment approvals, construction delays, and incoming or exiting anchors. This is the kind of insight that makes you the go-to leasing expert. Bottom line? Keep up, or fall behind. The market doesn’t wait—and neither do deals.

You’ve done the boots-on-the-ground market recon—now it’s time to organize all that golden intel into a proper market study. And no, scribbles in a notebook don’t count. Start by building a simple Excel file. List your subject property at the top, then add nearby shopping centers in order of most competitive to least. Each column should reflect a key data point you collected: square footage, rent, occupancy, anchors, visibility, etc. And don’t forget a notes column—this is where you drop your side-by-side comparisons. For example: “Great parking, but less visible than subject property.” Here’s the truth: Your first draft won’t be perfect. That’s okay! I go through at least 6 drafts when coaching rookies through their first real market study. You’ll refine and tighten your list as you go. Start broad, then narrow it down with every pass. Market studies are living, breathing documents—and when done right, they’re your secret weapon in leasing negotiations. So organize your info, and let the data make you unstoppable.