Matt Heyn had a vision after graduating college: he didn’t want to sit in an office all day; he wanted to set his own work schedule; and he wanted a job that didn’t limit what he could earn each year. Commercial real estate was a perfect fit. “In college I figured out that whatever I did I needed to be in sales,” said Heyn, 31. “And I have an uncle who once told me ‘If you’re going to sell something make sure you sell something that’s expensive.’” Nearly a decade into his career, Heyn is one of the youngest top producing brokers at CBRE’s North Los Angeles office. He specializes in office and his consideration for 2009 was more than $90 million. Heyn and other young top producers in the Valley, such as Colette Ramirez of Grubb & Ellis and John Cserkuti of NAI Capital, embody the sheer drive that’s needed to succeed in commercial real estate, especially in the current market. “I wanted to get into a job that was competitive,” said Colette Ramirez, 25, who joined Grubb and Ellis two and a half years ago. “With commercial real estate I knew I could wake up every morning and it’s ‘game day.’” Ramirez obtained a degree in business marketing and fashion. She was convinced that she would end up in New York working in the fashion industry, but chose commercial real estate because of the income potential and freedom. She took her first job right as the commercial real estate market in L.A. was taking a turn for the worse. “The good thing is that (the downturn) has really made me learn the fundamentals of selling and developing relationships,” said Ramirez. “I think it’s a great time.” Ramirez: ‘With commercial real estate I knew I could wake up every morning and it’s game day.’ Rookie of the Year George Stavaris of Grubb & Ellis said Ramirez earned a “Rookie of the Year” award, and is one of very few women doing what she does in the greater San Fernando Valley area. He’s confident she can out-broker most in the market. Her first transaction, after completing her runnership at Grubb & Ellis, was the result of a cold call. It started out as a 10,000 square foot deal and ended up as a 60,000 square feet transaction. Ramirez said she grew up in a competitive family, and admits that everything in her life is about trying to make it to the next level. “Learning the commercial real estate business has taken a lot of time and energy,” said Ramirez. “But I’m 25 and those are things that I have.” Heyn’s first job was working with an office team at Cushman & Wakefield. He joined the team in 2001 shortly following the dot com bubble burst. And most of his time was spent cold calling. The team moved to CBRE a couple years later. In the early years, Heyn said he supplemented his negligible income with credit cards. He even moved home for six months to make ends meet. But commercial real estate fit his personality and he was committed to succeeding. “I learned how to do business development in a difficult market,” said Heyn. Building a pipeline “A big barrier to entry in this business is when you go over to 100 percent commission. You have to build an established pipeline.” That pipeline worked to his advantage during the commercial real estate boom. Heyn said now brokers are working harder for less money. He sees some people hang their heads and get depressed about the market. But he keeps deals flowing by coming in every day, staying organized and constantly finding new opportunities. He said the fact that he’s younger than many veteran commercial real estate brokers has never been a stumbling block. “A lot of it has to do with how you carry yourself,” he said. John Cserkuti of NAI Capital, 33, specializes in retail and the Santa Clarita Valley. He’s one of NAI’s top Valley producers and moved upwards of $10 million worth of real estate in 2009. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial and business mindset,” said Cserkuti, who took his first commercial real estate job in 1998. Building a business From a young age, he knew that doing the corporate nine-to-five grind was not for him. He wanted to be out in the world, socializing and building his own business. He went on to study business in college. Cserkuti first worked in administration at CBRE. He was able to see how the business operates, get a sense for commercial real estate culture, and most importantly see broker’s commission checks. In 2000 he took his first brokerage job at Grubb & Ellis and worked with the firm’s Santa Clarita office. He specialized in retail and narrowed his geographic focus to the Santa Clarita Valley. In 2006 he joined NAI Capital. Cserkuti said the secret to his success, especially in this economy, is working 12-hour days, doing a lot of cold calling, and honing in on client’s needs versus wants. He’s also a firm believer in the value of specializing in one geographic area. “I get to know every single property,” he said, adding working in the area was initially tough because people thought he was young and naive. “But then what happens is you show them that you know the market. After spending an hour with a client, I could see their whole look and mindset change.”
