John Cassidy, SIOR co-founded Lee & Associates of Illinois in 2002. Since its inception, John and his partners have grown Lee & Associates of Illinois to a 50+ person, full-service real estate firm. John works with local and national corporate clients, as well as institutional investors, on the acquisition, disposition and leasing of industrial/office facilities and vacant land.

During his almost 30-year career, John has been involved in transactions valued in excess of $2.5 billion and the development of more than 500 acres of land. He is among the perennial top producers at the firm and an annual recipient of the CoStar Power Broker Award. John is a board member of the Chicago chapter of The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors and a member of the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers.

How a Successful CRE Brokerage Was Built with Culture and a Unique Broker Compensation Model

We spoke with John about how culture, combined with a unique compensation model, has been the winning formula behind the successful sales organization he built alongside his co-founders. This innovative firm is committed to finding people that gel with their entrepreneurial spirit, and then supporting them along a “path to partnership”.

Lee & Associates of Illinois staff, brokers and principals

As a founder of the firm, what did you originally set out to accomplish?

When my partners and I founded the firm in 2002, the practical goal was to leverage the Lee & Associates U.S. platform, which would allow us to provide national coverage for our corporate and institutional clients. But it quickly became so much more as we spent a lot of time deciding on who and what we really wanted to be. Since the first day we have never strayed from our core tenets—to be different and bold, yet stable and debt free. We are committed to building a supportive culture that puts the best interests of our clients first.

It can be hard to build a corporate culture and even harder to articulate what it is. How do you do it in a commission-focused setting?

Culture isn’t just a word to us. It’s something tangible that our people feel. The pressure is always on to choose the right people, or it could all fall apart. We have become very skilled at knowing who will positively contribute to our culture and who won’t.

Almost always, brokers that come to our firm say that what initially attracted them was our culture. It really is unique. We’re fostering an ethos where you’re challenged to be your best and celebrate others when they’re better. It’s a place where everyone gets a vote, yet red tape doesn’t exist. As a sales organization, it’s competitive, but we don’t tolerate any actions that aren’t what’s best for our clients. We are not a rule-laden organization, and as such, we naturally attract people who are entrepreneurial and want to control their own destiny.

Sales organizations as a rule are driven by the bottom line, and as long as the dollars are there, not much else matters. But at Lee, we’ve been known to turn away top producers that aren’t top humans, because for us and our clients, it’s more important to have quality of service over quantity of transactions.

Current principals, Lee & Associates of Illinois

What exactly is the “Path to Partnership”, and how is it unique?

The Path to Partnership is a path to ownership. Through it, each person is vested in the long-term success and expansion of the Lee brand. A path to partnership is viable, whether joining the firm as a young associate, a more established veteran, or someone who had an ownership stake in another firm.

We think it’s important, even with our newest and youngest associates, to have partnership in the firm as a primary goal. When you think and act like an owner, you run your business much differently than you would as an “arms-length” broker without a financial or emotional stake in the business. We also think this serves our clients well, because as a fellow business owner, we can offer a like-minded perspective to the challenges they encounter.

In what other ways does your firm offer “broker-forward” compensation?

We want to reward the entrepreneurial spirit of our people at all stages of their career, not just once they become an owner in the firm. For example, through our national Associates Equity Funds (AEF) program, our people can take an active role in identifying acquisition and development opportunities across the country and invest in them through an AEF Fund. The program is extremely popular, offering a low minimum investment and an ability to build wealth and passive income. Also, when new Lee & Associates offices open around the country, there is an opportunity to invest in those offices as well. But the hallmark of our broker compensation model that we feel is the most significant driver of successful recruitment is our commission splits. We offer the most attractive commission splits in the business, in addition to a profit-sharing program.

How do you know your strategy is working?

We know it’s working because of the significant growth of our firm and the fact that we have a very low attrition rate. Once our salespeople have settled into our culture and barrier-free structure, it’s unusual for them to leave for a competitor. Over the years this strategy has allowed us to evolve from a small shop to a top firm with the infrastructure, coverage and expertise to compete with any other national, regional or local players.

Is your firm looking to expand further?

Yes. We are always on the lookout for office, industrial, retail, investment and healthcare brokers based in the Chicago area that can demonstrate alignment with our core values. I would encourage anyone interested in learning more about our unique organization to reach out to me at jcassidy@lee-associates.com.

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