Ins, Outs of Packaging the Deal

"You greatly increase your odds if the package contains everything they need when they go to committee. Get the package done right the first time," Jean Smith, COO and partner in United Commercial Realty/ChainLinks in Dallas, told a packed room of developers, brokers and retailers attending yesterday's ICSC luncheon at Rick Stein's Steakhouse at 18020 N. Dallas Parkway in Dallas. Smith was one of four panelists discussing what makes the landlord, tenant and broker relationship tick--and how to get the deal done. CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Bob Ginsburg moderated the panel.

"Put things into that package that speaks to the prospects of the sales," advises Raymond Poche, executive vice president and asset manager for locally based developer, Cencor Realty Services. "Once we do that, we've created a commodity."

The old adage of "location, location, location" is always a safe bet--unless the decisionmaker is having a bad hair day. And then, even the best location can be scuttled or the plan dramatically changed, says Seth Brown, vice president of new store development for the Scottsdale, AZ-based Sprouts Farmers Market LLC. Therefore, he stresses, it's as key to understand the dealmaker as it is the deal. "I'm an investor. I'm a landlord. I'm a retailer," he says. "You're the one who needs to understand the dealmaker so you can become the facilitator. You're dealing with the personality as much as the property."

Clay Fuller, regional director of real estate for Dallas-based Brinker International Inc., says it relies on brokers to be "the eyes and ears on the ground" on the front end to lock in sites that match demographical profiles compiled by its in-house research mill. But when "it's time to trade paper," he says one of Brinker's 15 real estate managers takes the field to handle negotiations.

Retailer, restaurateur and broker alike agree that time can be of the essence, but savvy brokers understand all parameters and all levels, from the business model to underlying issues that could derail the deal at any stage in the game. "Are they going to tell me what I need to know or am I going to have to pull it out of them," Poche says. "Do they have the moxie to take me off to the side? And if there's no deal, save my time."

From Brown's perspective, great sites will sell themselves, but they must match the business model to win the nod. "Get a feel, a sense for the model," he says. "If you make my job easy, you're going to make a lot of money."