Broker of youth

In commercial real estate, where experience and a deep client list is crucial, bringing in young, inexperienced professionals can be risky. And in a commission-centric industry, selling the youthful recruits on it is a tough task.

But Matt Drews, director of commercial real estate and property management at Sarasota-based Michael Saunders & Co., believes it's essential to both increase growth at his brokerage and discover and train the next generation of agents.

“We want to bring in young talent to pair with our seasoned agents,” Drews says. “It's kind of like an apprenticeship where they have a hands-on learning experience working with someone who's had a lot of success in this industry over the past 15 or 20 years.”