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Meet Daniel Reid, Seizing New Opportunities in Toronto North
October 1, 2021 3 Minute Read
As summer ended and businesses refocused on a strong finish to 2021, CBRE hit the ground running with two key additions to the management team in the Greater Toronto Area. Daniel Reid is the new Managing Director in our Toronto North office and Michael Case is teaming up with Jon Ramscar to lead the Toronto Downtown office.
We recently caught up with Dan to hear about real estate opportunities, lessons learned over the years and advice for the next generation of sales professionals.
What are your top priorities as you look to enhance commercial real estate services north of Toronto?
I’m committed to growing the performance focus and enhancing client outcomes while preserving the special culture that’s always existed in our Toronto North office. Our business has always been about individual drive and performance, but if we’re also finding new ways to collaborate, leverage each other’s success and relationships and innovate together, I think we can really raise the bar on service and market share.
What advantage do you have as a seasoned broker who has been with CBRE’s Toronto North office for a decade?
Relationships are critical in everything we do. Knowing the people here as long as I have helps us move forward more quickly and openly. It also helps me to foster synergies for client pursuits – putting our incredible talent together in ways that add even more value for our clients. Trust, experience and familiarity can help to move the needle in so many ways.
Toronto North – what are the big real estate opportunities in your area?
There is plenty of growth here. Quite a few exciting projects are underway as the region grows and redevelops, in Vaughan, along the Highway 404 corridor and elsewhere. With that comes opportunity for new and deeper relationships with investors and owners. Also, the Markham/Richmond Hill area is considered 2nd among Canada’s high-tech hubs after Ottawa, and with tech and life sciences being major drivers of recent activity, we expect some opportunity for growth there as well.
What lesson from your brokerage career would you share with younger sales professionals?
One of my first deals was with a group of engineers who had just left a large national firm to start their own company. I found them 1,300 sq. ft. in a C-class office development, stayed with them, and over the course of my career they grew to occupy over 50,000 sq. ft. in multiple markets. It showed me the growth that a client can experience and the stewardship role you can play - making sure they’re making smart real estate decisions along the way.
What’s the greatest advice you've received working in the real estate industry?
You have to put clients first. It sounds like a cliché, but if you really live by that, never waver on it – even if there’s financial incentive to do so – you gain the most valuable commodity of all – trust. You let that shine through in every interaction, always think about things from their perspective, and they’ll be loyal and open and straightforward with you, as well as shutting out your competition. There is nothing better than to have a long list of loyal clients who would never work with anyone else.
What is one thing your colleagues might be surprised to learn about you?
I sing in a band with some people at the cottage. We all come from different places and careers and backgrounds, but we all love music and take every opportunity to get together and jam. Mostly 60’s and 70’s rock like Wilson Pickett, Bob Seger, Steve Miller Band and the Eagles, but we slip some grunge and Tragically Hip in there, too. I don’t know how good we are, but we have a ton of fun doing it.
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