40 Years in CRE: What Brokers STILL Get Wrong | with Allen Buchanan, SIOR

What does 40 years in commercial real estate teach you?

In this episode, we sit down with Allen Buchanan — one of the most respected veterans in brokerage — to talk about the habits, mistakes, and mindset that make or break a CRE career.

We dig into:

🔹 The #1 mistake brokers still make today

🔹 Why talking yourself out of the deal beats short-term wins

🔹 The ingredients of an elite broker

🔹 The secret to networking

🔹 His advice for the next generation of brokers

Whether you’re just starting out or leading a team, Allen’s insights will help you sharpen your game and avoid the pitfalls that sink so many others.

🎙 Hosted by Timmy & Bo Barron

📺 Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@commerciallyspeaking

👤 Connect with Allen Buchanan: @allencbuchanan, abuchanan@lee-associates.com, 714-624-3896

📚 Get Allen’s Book “The Sequence: A Personal Journey and Proven Framework for Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Success”: https://a.co/d/iYzg6K7

#CRE #CommercialRealEstate #Brokerage #CareerAdvice

Thanks To Our Sponsors

• 💰🏙️ CRE Investor Coach: No Guess Work, No Wasted Time — https://bit.ly/43t6Vrl
• 🛠️ **Site to Do Business (STDB) – Powerful CRE analysis and mapping tools: ⁠stdb.com⁠
• 🤖 Superpowers HQ – Need a CRE executive assistant? Get one here: superpowershq.com/commerciallyspeaking
• 📊 CRE Marketing Mastermind – wesgay.com/cs

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

• 📚 “The Sequence: A Personal Journey and Proven Framework for Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Success”: https://a.co/d/iYzg6K7
• 📰 Our Weekly Newsletter: The Inside Scoop On CRE — ⁠https://subscribe.wgbarron.com⁠
• 🏬 Barron Commercial Group: CRE Made Simple — ⁠https://barroncommercial.com/⁠
• 🥏 All Disc, No Balls! Tizbee, The Secret Game Of Champions — ⁠https://tizbee.com⁠

00:00:00 - Cold Open00:01:00 - Welcome Allen Buchanan00:02:55 - The CRE OGs of Twitter00:04:20 - Divorce, Boy Scouts, Baseball and Golf00:09:09 - Interviewing As A Family And Moving To CA00:09:25 - AD: CRE Investor Coach (Link in Shownotes), Site To Do Business https://stdb.com00:10:41 - Interviewing As A Family And Moving To CA00:15:18 - The Ingredients Of An Elite Broker?00:16:13 - The Proper Why00:17:55 - Focus and Put In The Reps00:19:09 - Why Go Through The Brain Damage Of Writing A Book?00:21:16 - Why Your Book Is Worth Reading00:23:33 - What Other Professionals Have The Clients I Want?00:26:56 - The 2008 Minor Economic Setback00:28:50 - Walk Me Through How You Build A Network?00:34:02 - I Want To Understand What You Do So I Can Help You00:36:58 - Transferring Trust (The Referral)00:39:17 - Working Out Loud00:42:39 - The 3 Things You Need To Be Successful On Social Media00:47:45 - AD: Site To Do Business (https://STDB.com)00:48:24 - The Sequence: https://a.co/d/dAHZo5O00:50:54 - Ways To Source Deals00:55:15 - Focused Questioning (Evaluate/Need Assessment)01:02:14 - How Do You Qualify A Lead?01:07:53 - Talk Yourself Out Of The Deal!!01:11:25 - The Superpower Of Specializing01:17:08 - Pop Quiz01:25:00 - Massimo March Madness01:27:54 - Shoutouts!