Article
How This Broker’s Mindset and Approach Have Changed Since COVID-19
May 20, 2020 2 Minute Read
We’ve all heard about the importance of communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. But one broker is taking the concept to a whole new level.
Last month, CBRE’s Kevin Nelson put out an open call to his fellow brokers – he wanted anyone who was struggling with the “new normal” to reach out. Within hours, he received dozens of calls from across the country.
Kevin has worked in Vancouver commercial real estate for well over a decade and has built a reputation as a broker with unmatched market knowledge. Now, he’s approaching his work differently, by building relationships across Canada. Here’s how he’s doing it.
On Communication
“I’ve been reaching out to new faces across the CBRE platform, asking how people are doing and how they’re approaching their work in this time.
It helps to know you’re not in it alone. It’s a great time to make new friends and get to know the CBRE network.
I’m always asking myself, what can I learn from this person? What insights can I gain from their market, and what’s happening there?”
On Building Motivation
“I’ve found that I’ve had to create reasons for my alarm clock to go off earlier now that I’m not heading into the office.
I’m setting up calls across the country, especially in our eastern markets, building my morning so that it’s full of conversations.”
On Setting New Goals
“I had to sit myself down and divorce myself of my old goals.
We’re in an unprecedented situation, and we have to let ourselves off the hook a little bit.
Now I’m asking myself, what am I tackling today? What can accomplish today?
That mental shift, and freeing myself from past expectations, has been huge.”
On Adjusting to the New Normal
“I think what a lot of us have found is that it’s a chance to reconnect and spend time with family.
Even simple adventures, like doing an activity outside together, are so much more satisfying than they might have been a few weeks ago.”
On Client Conversations
“For the first few weeks of working from home, client conversations were all about our shared experiences, just connecting and commiserating.
These days, we’ve started to discuss what going back to work could look like. CBRE wants to be a leader in reopening the workplace, so it’s interesting to discuss different ideas and concepts with clients.”
On Connection
“I turned 50 this month, and I thought it was going to be a total bust.
In the end, I owed about 90 people thank-yous. Instead of getting texts and emails, I was talking to people for hours on Zoom. It ended up being a really meaningful experience.
On Finding Balance
“I’m a person who likes to break a sweat five times a week, so I’ve maintained that by going out for regular runs and bike rides, or hitting the trails with my family.”
On New Habits that Work
“I think I will definitely keep up my new level of connection even when the worst of this has passed.
I thought I was connected before, because I knew a few people in every market. But during this time, I’ve widened out those networks, deepened my relationships and I’ve really seen the benefit of that.”
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