New property to lease? Before you call a prospect or design a flyer, there’s one thing you MUST do first: go to the mall. Yes, seriously. Even if you’re not a shopper (raises hand), the regional mall is the heart of the market and your best source of live intel. Why? Because the mall is the Main & Main of any trade area. It’s where you’ll quickly see:✅ Which brands are thriving✅ What people are buying✅ Who’s shopping and when✅ What’s hot—and what’s not Before I even get on a plane to visit a new market, I’m Googling the malls. I want to know the anchors, the top restaurants, the buzzworthy local spots, and even the sales per square foot (pro tip: that helps you evaluate achievable rents). But don’t stop at Google. Once you’re in the market, walk the mall. Look at the bags people are carrying. Where are the moms hanging out? Where are the teens? What’s happening on the perimeter—those pads and outparcels are part of your story, too. When you know what’s working at the mall, you’ll have the knowledge and confidence to make smarter leasing decisions. Bottom line: Before you lease, take a lap. The

I get it. You can’t exactly swing by your Kansas City shopping center every Tuesday if you’re based in Ft. Myers. But let me be crystal clear: you cannot lease what you don’t understand. If you’re repping a property outside your local market, here’s your non-negotiable game plan: ✅ Spend at least one full week “living” in the market.Drive every center. Walk your property morning, noon, and night. Notice who’s shopping on Tuesday at lunch versus who’s there Saturday afternoon. Those are your future tenants’ customers—know them. ✅ Meet the locals.Introduce yourself to neighboring leasing agents. Tour competitor centers. Shake hands with the city’s economic development director. Show up to a chamber breakfast. Become part of the community, even if just for that week. ✅ Make regular return trips.Quarterly visits are a must. Monthly if your center’s hurting. You can’t stay on top of the market from behind a desk. And if your boss doesn’t believe in investing in market knowledge? Hand them this tip—or better yet, have them call me. I’ll set them straight. Bottom line: Out-of-market is not an excuse for out-of-touch. Market knowledge is what makes you a leasing rockstar, no matter your zip code!

Want to know the very first step to being a successful leasing agent? Get in your car and hit the streets. I drive by my properties every single day. Why? Because I want to see what’s happening with my own eyes. Lines out the door? Closing sales? New “For Lease” signs? These are the clues that tell you where the opportunities—and the challenges—are hiding. Before you make a call. Before you send an email. Before you pitch a prospect. You better know your market inside and out. That means:✅ Drive every center.✅ Walk every competitor’s property.✅ Call the brokers on the signs.✅ Pay attention to what’s working—and what’s not. This is not a copy-and-paste-from-Google exercise. A proper market study is boots on the ground, real-world research. Because when that prospect starts negotiating with you on rent and says, “But the center down the street is charging less,” you don’t need chutzpah—you need FACTS. The only way to negotiate from a place of power is to know more than your prospect. More than your tenant. More than your own owner. So, Leasing Rockstars, if you haven’t done a deep dive into your market lately, stop everything and START HERE. Then watch

Chutzpah can be great—it can help you pick up the phone, walk into a store, and make that bold ask. But without knowledge to back it up, it can cost you BIG. Trust me, I learned this the hard way. Remember my “HA!” moment? When I arrogantly dismissed a caller asking about space for a video store—only to later find out he was Wayne Huizenga, founder of Blockbuster? Yeah… that mistake cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chutzpah alone isn’t enough. Preparation + Knowledge = Real Confidence. Here’s why knowledge wins: So, before you pitch, before you call, before you canvas—prepare. Because confidence built on knowledge wins over chutzpah every time.