REAL ESTATE NEWS

For all the modeling, spreadsheets and sensitivity analyses that go into a commercial real estate transaction, the deals that actually get done and get repeated tend to come down to people, not pro formas, according to panelists at GlobeSt.'s Women of Influence Conference. The speakers on the "Anatomy of a Deal: Deconstructing CRE Transactions" panel said investors who treat relationships, responsiveness and trust as core parts of their underwriting are the ones building durable pipelines, repeat mandates and off-market opportunities.

Moderated by Jenn Quader, president and CEO of The Smart Agency, the discussion featured Lisa Sauer, relationship manager at Partner Engineering and Science; Val Achtemeier, vice chair at CBRE and Margo McDonnell, president of 1031 CORP., who drew on decades of navigating complex transactions across cycles.

Together, they argued that in a market where capital is selective and risk is under a microscope, the most valuable edge a sponsor or investor can cultivate is a trusted team and a reputation for showing up.

Building Teams That Win Repeat Business

Achtemeier told attendees that no one closes a sophisticated CRE deal alone, especially in today's environment.

"As a woman, you can't do it all yourself," she said, adding that the most effective dealmakers are intentional about assembling teams that create goodwill and synergy through every stage of the process.

For her, that starts with responsiveness. Repeat business, she said, flows to professionals who are consistently available, thoughtful in their advice and able to keep clients informed in real time as underwriting assumptions, lender requirements or market conditions shift.

Achtemeier relies on a trusted inner circle—including a colleague she has known since childhood—to review work, help prioritize competing projects and ensure the team stays accessible from first pitch through closing.

She also emphasized listening before prescribing solutions.

"We go deep from a legal perspective, from a quantitative perspective," Achtemeier said, noting that her group brings multiple viewpoints to each assignment to better align with what clients are actually trying to accomplish.

For investors, that kind of interdisciplinary, responsive team can be the difference between a transaction that limps over the finish line and one that becomes a foundation for future mandates.

Turning Expertise Into A Long-Term Pipeline

McDonnell said the most reliable way she has found to grow and protect a business over more than three decades is to be known as the person who shows up, answers questions and does not disappear after a deal closes. When she entered the 1031 exchange space in 1994, she recalled that the strategy was far less understood than it is today and much of her early work focused on education rather than sales.

"I listened and learned and kept showing up," McDonnell said. By focusing on making herself and her firm a reliable resource, she gradually built a reputation that now drives repeat clients and referrals, even in a more competitive and crowded field.

That approach includes encouraging professionals to reach out with questions if they choose another qualified intermediary, on the theory that providing value still deepens relationships and strengthens the broader ecosystem.

For investors, her experience underscores a point the panelists returned to several times: expertise has the most impact when it is accessible. Consistent, clear communication about complex vehicles such as 1031 exchanges does more than prevent mistakes; it positions a sponsor or intermediary as a long-term partner rather than a one-off counterparty.

In a market defined by uncertainty and regulatory scrutiny, that kind of trusted advisory role can be a crucial differentiator when capital allocators decide where to place their next dollar.

Creating Trust Before The Term Sheet

Sauer said many of her strongest client relationships began before any engagement letter was signed, through informal consulting conversations and brainstorming sessions about how to tackle a problem.

Drawing on her engineering background and Partner Engineering and Science's internal bench, she focuses on understanding each client's specific situation and then coordinating the right mix of expertise to solve it.

Those early, often uncompensated discussions build trust and give both sides a sense of how the other operates under pressure. Sauer noted that thoughtful communication is only part of the equation; empathy also matters when deals become complicated, timelines compress or unexpected issues surface in due diligence.

"It's nice to be able to help the client and be compassionate to where they are," she said.

According to the panelists, that blend of technical depth, candid dialogue and empathy is increasingly important as investors grapple with everything from shifting valuations to environmental and regulatory constraints. Deals that clear those hurdles, they suggested, often do so because sponsors and service providers have already proven they can work through challenges together before major capital is committed.

Across the panel, the message was consistent: while capital structures and underwriting models may evolve, the CRE players who keep winning business are the ones whose teams communicate clearly, respond quickly and invest in relationships long after an individual transaction closes.

For commercial real estate investors, that means treating trust, responsiveness and long-term partnerships as essential components of every deal's risk–return profile—not soft factors that sit outside it.

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Source: GlobeSt/ALM