It’s no secret that real estate development is a competitive industry. Michael Liyeos and Rob Walters co-founded Quattro Development in a tough market during the Great Recession in 2008. Despite this rough start, the duo steadily grew their small business and established a nationwide footprint with just ten employees.
Liyeos and Walters set the business up for long-term success by prioritizing client relationships. While other real estate development firms use pushy sales tactics, Quattro Development takes time to understand client needs. It’s a breath of fresh air in an industry plagued by cutthroat competition and hard sells.
Liyeos and Walters share how they take the time to understand their clients’ needs and how this client-centric approach contributed to Quattro Development’s sustainable growth.
Prioritize Time With Clients
“Interfacing with tenants is probably our most productive use of our time, whether that’s being in the market, driving with them, having dinners, being at conferences, meeting new people, networking, that kind of thing is probably No. 1,” Rob Walters says.
Few real estate developers have the time or flexibility to meet with clients face-to-face, but Quattro Development’s founders understand this is the best way to comprehend their customers’ pain points. “Rob and I are willing to spend our personal time with clients. A lot of other developers outsource that to brokers and junior associates. We typically bring myself or Rob and some of our junior staff members in the car with us because we want everybody to understand what the client’s looking for and see things through the client’s eyes,” Michael Liyeos shares.
“We get a lot of value out of spending time in the car with clients looking at different sites and hearing what they say about those sites,” he continues. “We spent two days in the car last week with a client driving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, looking at different sites. We’ve driven with this client before, but every time we get in the car, we learn something new.”
Build a Solid Team
It takes time to build client relationships, which is why many developers struggle to offer one-on-one relationships with their clients. However, Liyeos and Walters believe in relationship-building so much that they structured Quattro Development to support this client-first approach.
The co-founders worked hard to staff their business with motivated employees who could operate independently. “We do whatever we can do to bring in new profitable projects and then execute on them. A lot of that is delegation to other people in the company,” Rob Walters notes.
But this approach doesn’t just free up their time — the co-founders also believe staffing efficiently provides their clients with top-tier service. “I think once you have that team, then when people outside the organization deal with you, it’s a different feeling than if it’s just people fulfilling a role for their paycheck and couldn’t care less. I think we try to get people to care about the company as though it’s a family,” Rob Walters says.
Educate Yourself on the Market and Trends
Many real estate developers lack the capacity to expand their skills, visit sites, or learn about different trade areas. “We work with brokers a lot. But [other developers] rely on brokers to find sites for them. The principals of the development companies never even go out and see these sites. Mike and I have been to every state in the country multiple times,” Rob Walters says.
While Quattro Development frequently relies on brokers and other third parties for its real estate transactions, Liyeos and Walters believe in educating themselves about nationwide real estate trends. “If we have a meeting with the head of real estate for Chipotle, we can talk to him intelligently about pretty much any trade area in the country. I think being able to talk about it with somebody who has that direct knowledge really goes a long way,” Walters says.
Ask Questions and Listen to the Answers
Quattro Development’s leaders chalk up their success to knowing when to listen and how to ask the right questions. “So many times, developers with tenants want to talk so much about themselves. But I think the tenants want to talk about what they need and to be able to listen to it and try to just do what they want instead of talking about the way you do things is helpful,” Liyeos says.
Instead of making their development firm the center of the conversation, the co-founders instead focus on learning as much as they can about the client’s needs. “I think we try to ask a lot of questions. Different tenants have different needs and hot-button issues,” he points out. “Real estate is a business that’s very location-focused. There’s a trope in real estate that says, ‘What are the three most important things in real estate? It’s location, location, location.’ And what is a great location for a quick-service restaurant might not be the best location for a Montessori school or an oil change facility. So it’s really about spending time asking questions.”
The Golden Rule: Quattro Development’s Secret to Success
For over 15 years, Quattro Development has made a name for itself by servicing the needs of clients across the United States. Michael Liyeos and Rob Walters believe their success comes down to designing a corporate culture that prioritizes the client experience, listening, and asking the right questions.
For these co-founders, following the golden rule has led to tremendous success. “If we service their needs, then the business will take care of itself,” Liyeos says. “Good things will come around when you’re a decent human being to other people,” Walters adds.