Specializing for success

These days, it’s not often that someone stays with the same company for nearly 30 years. But Hessam Nadji, CEO of Marcus & Millichap, is the exception to the rule.

He’s been with North America’s leading real estate investment services firm for 28 years. He admits that change in the industry has been both challenging and interesting.

“It’s not an environment where you can get bored easily, if you’re seeking to take part in all these different changes,” he notes.

“Marcus & Millichap was founded very specifically to be a specialized provider by integrating investment brokerage, financing and research, when everyone else was trying to become all things to all people with multiple lines of service that are not necessarily connected.”

This focus on specialization, rather than being in a broad range of businesses, allowed the firm to dig deeper, delivering more tailored services and creating a unique niche in the market.

“The firm’s focus on constant change and improvement has made it very exciting to be a part of,” he adds.

Technology focused

Technology has been central to Marcus & Millichap’s growth strategy from the start. Nadji highlights how the firm embraced electronic listing systems in the 1980s, a forward-thinking move that set them apart in the market.

This early digital adoption laid the groundwork for later investments in real estate tech startups like LoopNet and, more recently, Archer, positioning the firm as a tech-forward leader that offers clients data-driven insights and advanced tools for property transactions.

“There’s always been an interest in investing in technology to enable real estate services, matching buyers and sellers, and then expanding the organic business pretty aggressively by doing it with a ‘block and tackle’, market-by-market methodology,” he explains.

Since Nadji joined, Marcus & Millichap has expanded from 18 offices, primarily in the western United States, to more than 80 locations, including Canada, without major acquisitions or external debt.

“We opened most of our offices between 1997 and 2005,” he reveals. “We just exported the company’s managers to new markets to go and scale it. All of it was internally funded, and the company has never taken on debt.”

Building a culture

In more recent years, Nadji and the senior management team he assembled as CEO have supplemented the organic growth model by acquiring highly experienced, complementary brokers, teams and firms. By avoiding overlap in this talent acquisition strategy, the execution has been highly successful and can now be scaled.

“We have also integrated key value-add services that connect tightly with our core business, including the creation of our institutional division, IPA, auctions, loan sales and niche leasing in Canada,” he says, adding that there’s a constant push and desire to find new ways to create value for its clients.

“We have countless people that have been with the company for 10, 20 and even 40 years or more. And we’re very proud of that.”

This impressive retention isn’t sheer luck. Instead, it’s a key part of the company’s philosophy.

“We aim to create long-term retention of our sales force, support personnel and management, giving them careers that are rewarding both financially and in other ways, so they never want to leave,” he explains.

In fact, as Nadji points out, all members of the sales management team are former investment brokers.

“That means they are better at training, problem-solving, troubleshooting and providing career support to our sales force,” he confirms.

He explains that the senior management team is a perfect combination of homegrown executives who’ve grown with the company and outside thought leaders from private equity, Silicon Valley and the banking industry.

“We’ve put together a very diverse and skilled senior management team, and those are the people I’m surrounded by every day,” he says. “They challenge me, and I challenge them. In the end, we all work for our clients and internal team. That’s the bottom line.”

Creating wealth

Undoubtedly, Marcus & Millichap’s strong company culture directly influences its ability to serve clients to the highest of standards while remaining true to its mission to create and preserve wealth for clients – something it’s done for the past 50-plus years.

“A valuable part of our business model is the relationships we build,” Nadji insists. “It’s these personal relationships that matter most.”

This relationship-driven approach extends beyond local markets.

“Even though most real estate is bought and sold locally, for us, roughly 45–50 percent of our transactions end up with a buyer from out of state,” he explains.

“That means not only are we generating interest from local investors, but we’re also generating interest from regional and national investors. And that makes a big difference in how many buyers become interested in the property and, of course, drive value.

“This is the essence of the company’s founding principle of ‘making a market’ for listings we represent, and we continually perfect the art, technology and science of doing it better and better.”

As Nadji reflects on the company’s journey, he emphasizes that its commitment to delivering a higher standard of service remains key.

“We seek to provide a different level of service and better results,” he says. “Whether our clients are in the market to buy, sell or refinance, to us, it’s not just about a transaction – it’s about a relationship.”