Voices in Property - Sharief Ibrahim

Welcome to our quick-fire spotlight on industry leaders and entrepreneurs in Property.

In this edition, Sharief Ibrahim, Executive Director at CBRE, shares personal insights and experiences with anyone who may be currently working in or aspiring to join the London property industry.

What are you most proud of in your career?

The relationships I have built with colleagues and clients, many of whom have become friends over the years. Property and Estate Agency is about people, and I have been lucky to work with and learn from some fantastic leaders and mentors.

First property job and how you got it?

Like many people from my generation, I fell into a career in property by chance rather than being aware of the opportunities that existed in the sector. When I moved to London, randomly, one of my housemates had gone to school with the agent who rented us a house. We subsequently became friends, and I learned more about the role and the industry.

Eventually, I took the plunge and applied to Ludlow Thompson, who had an office on my local high street. I started as a Lettings Negotiator on a basic salary of £8,000. I loved it - the fast-paced nature, the competitiveness, being directly rewarded for your contribution. I really enjoyed working in a young, like-minded team. It’s a cliché but we worked and played hard… It was a lot of fun!

What motivates you?

For a long time, I thought it was money, and it probably was in the early part of my career. Being one of the better agents in the firm meant I was paid more than my peers and I enjoyed that initially. As I progressed through the ranks and assumed management responsibility, something changed. I became much more focused on helping my team achieve their objectives and becoming better at their roles. The team target or focus became more important and that is still the case today.

On a personal level, I have come to realise that fear of failure is what really motivates me. That nagging fear that today is the day someone is going to figure out you’re not as good as they think you are… I think a certain level of self-reflection / criticism is healthy and creates more rounded, authentic leaders. These are certainly the type of people I gravitate towards and want to work with.

Best advice for preparing for an interview?

I generally interview salespeople, whether that is in the sales or lettings market, they are salespeople. They will all tell you their figures are great, and they’ve exceeded this target or that target, but as an interviewer, I am looking for proof. The best salespeople understand that the most important thing to ascertain in any situation is the motivation of the person you are talking to. As such, I am interested in the extent to which they try to determine our motivation – what are we looking for and why, what type of person will be successful in the role, what characteristics are required, how will we measure success, etc.. If they do this successfully, then I am interested in the extent to which they use this information to sell themselves, their experience, and skills to me during the remainder of the interview. If they can’t do that, those sales figures they told me about could be a result of circumstance (being in the right seat in the right firm) rather than transferable sales skills. To summarise, take the time to truly understand what you are being assessed for and then use that insight to better position yourself for the role in question.

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

If you work in an industry with no barrier to entry, such as property, there is very little to differentiate people. So if you show up, work hard, have a great attitude, seek and take on board feedback, keep learning, and be nice to people, you’ll go a long way… It really is that simple!

Which leader, entrepreneur, founder, or CEO inspires you?

There is no one person that I can think of… I think it is important to choose your mentors carefully, so many of the people who have inspired me are those I’ve worked closely with. You get to see the good and the bad up close, and you can learn a lot from both if you’re paying attention.

That being said, I love sport and read lots of books on the psychology and motivation of great sportspeople and teams. I think there is a lot to learn from these high-performance / high-pressure environments that is easily relatable to business and management.

Your best deal?

This probably won’t be what you expect… It wasn’t a high fee or a particularly impressive property, but the deal taught me a lot. I had a tenant enquiry from an applicant who many of my colleagues at the time would have discounted. They would have made certain assumptions and moved on to the next enquiry. I subsequently learned that lots of agents had made the same mistake, and she really struggled to find an agent prepared to help. She had recently moved to the UK and was self-employed, so the referencing was a challenge but not impossible. After I found her a place, she started referring a steady stream of friends and business contacts to me, and I think I rented about 15-20 apartments to her network. I learned not to make assumptions and to take the time to understand an applicant, their motivation, and their ability to transact before deciding whether to invest my time in their search.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

How long do you have? I love food and have a long list of restaurants to visit when the opportunity arises. I am fortunate that I work in the West End surrounded by incredible places to eat. My current favourites are Mountain, Speedboat Bar and Berenjak.

Apple or Android?

I’m so far down the track with Apple I don’t know how I would even begin to change horses now…

Find out more about CBRE here and click here to connect with Sharief Ibrahim.

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