James Nelson - Principal & Head of US Investment Sales, Avison Young

James Nelson: What Makes a Great Broker? James Nelson is one of the country’s most accomplished investment sales brokers. Over 25+ years, he has been involved in more than 500 property deals and loans totaling over $5 billion. He was Avison Young’s #1 broker globally and its top U.S. producer. Today, James is *Principal & Head of Avison Young’s U.S. Investment Sales (USIS) platform*, building a national investment sales business across the country. He is also a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, investor, and guest lecturer at *Columbia, Wharton and NYU*. In this conversation, James and David talk about: Being the second choice for his first brokerage job The 90-day territory training program at Massey Knakal that helped launch his career Why time is a broker’s most valuable asset Why working harder isn't necessarily enough to grow your business What separates great brokers from everyone else Why handling failure may be the best predictor of brokerage success Building a team around shared information and shared commissions His national USIS platform and the future of investment sales His real estate investment funds and what investing taught him about brokerage Mentoring, teaching and giving back And, in the lightning round, we find out what drives James nuts about other brokers, what he'd be doing if he weren't in real estate, and what he hopes people mean when they say: “James Nelson is a great broker.” His answer? “That I always do the right thing.” Real Brokers. Real Stories.