Amir Syed and Tommy Choi

Communication, Social Grace And Team Work

By Megan Oster

When it comes to building and strengthening relationships with your circle of affiliates like lenders and attorneys, being an expert networker pays great dividends.

It is no accident that Tommy Choi, co-founder and managing partner at Weinberg Choi Realty, and PERL  Mortgage private mortgage banker Amir Syed, team up on the vast majority of their real estate transactions. The two men have worked hard at developing and maintaining both a business bond and a personal bond since they first met at a Women’s Council of Realtors networking event last year.

“Consistent social, as well as business, interaction laid the foundation for the relationship following that very first event,” Syed says. “We were able to connect on a personal level immediately. But we also took measures, like meeting socially and maintaining open lines of communication, to nurture and develop that initial connection in order to forge a strong bond and sense of trust. That ultimately translated into a longstanding business relationship.”

In a way, casual face-to-face time plays an even more important role than business meetings for keeping relationships with affiliates strong. Syed and Choi make it a priority to get together socially every month, but on the business front, the two men connect to review all existing and impending clients every Monday.

“The trust level must be reinforced and constantly strengthened,” Choi says. “Amir sponsors the YPN events that I host, but we also review all of our existing and future clients weekly. That aspect of communication is important. Constant communication assures me that my affiliates will be reliable during transactions.”

During a real estate transaction, Syed says that no matter what happens during the deal, it is imperative that all involved parties stay calm and work towards a solution. Cultivating a friendship, a high level of respect and chemistry with affiliates will go a long way in achieving this mindset. This is a matter of establishing a level of trust with your affiliates that will inspire faith in your abilities.

“When you share the same mindset for the success of the homebuyer, it makes all the difference in the outcome of the transaction,” Syed says.

In fact, working as a cohesive team was one of the practices both men cited as crucial for successful transactions. Syed is a big advocate of building a powerhouse team in order to best serve the client, explaining that the client will feed off synergy among team members. Most importantly, communication between all parties must remain a focus, and all parties must conduct it with the team’s best interest in mind, because any kind of mistrust will expose itself to the client.

Choi cites two practices as essential for driving effective team work – consistent communication and showing gratitude. In Choi’s experience, the more communication you encourage, the higher the likelihood that your affiliates will come through.

An attitude of gratitude goes a long way, as well. He recommends expressing gratitude whenever a transaction goes well – in his case, without Syed, some of his clients may not have been able to buy without Syed’s finance products knowledge. Acknowledge it whenever your lender affiliates play a role in helping you to achieve your clients’ goals.

Avoiding certain behaviors and tactics can make an equally powerful impact on affiliate relationships.

“Never undermine your business partner to your client,” Syed says. “Never expose problems that may arise to the client prior to having a conversation with an affiliate and figuring out a solution. Never, ever make a comparison or a reference to the ability of another affiliate you may have outside of that specific team involved with that client. Never lose your temper or your cool.”

Along with sidestepping the temptation to partner with an affiliate because of their experience and the promises they make, Choi discourages ruling out the possibility of working with an affiliate just because they are new to the industry, as everyone was new to the industry at one point. This does not necessarily mean they will not provide value to a partnership.

Expanding Your Affiliate Network

When learning about a potential new affiliate, Choi does consider how good they are at what they do – but he also always takes into account whether or not their ethics and morals are in line with his own, as he considers his affiliates an extension of his business. Having a conversation with current or potential affiliates about how a partnership could benefit your clients will help you determine if the match is a good one.

Syed realizes how important this extension is for facilitating successful transactions on behalf of clients. Both an agent and a lender can literally make or break a deal for the other party, as one missing link can weaken the entire foundation of a deal. The way an agent represents Syed and communicates with him is immensely important.

“It is up to the agent to provide me with all of the necessary details so that I can accurately figure out the buyer’s pre-approval,” he says. “If the agent fails to fill me in and my calculations are incorrect, it can significantly impair the transaction. The way my agent represents me really helps me in this process.”

That said, how can an agent “break up” with an affiliate without breeding animosity? These conversations should be conducted with honesty, diplomacy and good timing. Syed advises that the conversation must take place quickly if the partnership is not working, because the focus should always be on the success of the client. If a lack of compatibility is hindering the process, you must discuss the areas you need to change, and if areas do not improve in a timely manner, that may be the time to part ways.

“You must maintain your reputation at all times, as this is very important within the industry, and handling situations in a tactful manner will go a long way towards helping you do so,” Syed says.

Choi varies his approach according to his level of involvement with each affiliate. “In cases where I feel that an affiliate I have worked with on multiple occasions has dropped the ball, I am very straightforward, open and honest with them about why I feel this way,” Choi says. “For example, I will tell them that if we work together again in the future, ‘A’ or ‘B’ is a situation that I do not want to encounter again. If it is an affiliate with whom I have only worked with once, that conversation really is not necessary because we have not developed a relationship. We part ways in a professional manner, and both sides move on.”