Do You Work With Outside Brokers?

It's one of the first questions a smart seller asks. Here's why the answer changes what your property sells for.

Yes. But before I answer, pay attention to how a broker answers this question, not just what they say. A broker who hedges, changes the subject, or explains why co-brokerage "isn't necessary" is showing you, right at the start, how they'll handle every decision for the rest of your listing. A broker who answers straight, without hesitation, is showing you the same thing.

So here's my straight answer: yes, every time, on every listing where it can bring you more money.

Here's the question behind that question: when you hire a broker, are you hiring access to one person's buyer list, or access to an entire marketplace of buyers and brokers who might bring you a buyer?

Those are two very different products. Only one of them gets you the highest price. I'm based right here in Palm Beach County, and this is the same standard I hold on every listing I take, wherever in South Florida it sits.

The Math Behind a Higher Sale Price

Every buyer who doesn't see your listing is a buyer who can't bid on it. A broker who only works their own book, or who treats outside agents as competition instead of collaborators, is quietly shrinking your buyer pool before the property ever hits the market.

I've watched this play out directly. On a recent listing, there were five initial offers in the $3 million to $3.2 million range. By marketing it to the broader brokerage community, and treating outside agents as partners instead of rivals, I produced a buyer at $3.6 million. Same property. Same market. The only variable was how many buyers and brokers were actually invited to compete for it.

That's a 10% to 20% premium over the initial offers, just from widening who got invited to compete.

Inviting outside brokers from the start, not after weeks of trying it alone, also compresses your timeline. More brokers means more buyers surfacing at the same time, so competing offers land close together instead of trickling in one by one. That timing is its own advantage. Multiple offers on the table at once puts you in a position of strength. One offer with nothing to compare it to leaves you negotiating on the buyer's terms, not yours.

That's not a fluke. That's what happens when you widen the pool.

Here's a truth most brokers won't say out loud: I don't know every buyer out there. Neither does any other broker, no matter how big their book is or how long they've been in the business. Nobody has a complete list of every buyer for your property. That's exactly why co-brokerage matters. It's not a favor to outside agents. It's an admission that the fastest way to find your buyer is to widen the net, not pretend one person already has it covered.

What "Collaborator of the Year" Actually Means for You

I was recognized as Collaborator of the Year, and I'll be direct about why that recognition exists: it reflects a willingness to work with outside brokers and split a commission rather than sit on a listing and hope my own contacts happen to include the right buyer. Prioritizing the seller over myself.

That recognition means I can put a property in front of nearly 2,000 agents across Marcus & Millichap's platform, plus every outside broker willing to bring a qualified buyer to the table. For you, that's not a credential. It's more eyes on your property, more competition for it, and more leverage at the negotiating table.

New buyers enter the South Florida market every day, many of them relocating capital from California, New York, and other markets outside the state, looking at opportunities from Delray Beach and Boca Raton to Wellington, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, and Boynton Beach. They don't call the same handful of local brokers first. They call whoever their broker back home already knows, or whoever shows up through a national platform. The only way to reach that buyer before someone else does is co-broking through a network big enough to actually be in the room, which is exactly what Marcus & Millichap's national platform gives me access to.

Real Deals, Real Outside Brokers

A recent transaction is a good example. I represented the seller, an outside agent represented the buyer, and the deal still closed cleanly and efficiently, with both sides clear on where they stood throughout. The buyer's agent later said the coordination between both sides was a major reason the transaction got done despite its complexity.

On another deal, a client specifically pointed to my ability to collaborate with an outside broker, while still protecting his interests, as the reason the sale closed at a record-setting price. That's not an accident. That's what happens when a broker treats the outside agent as a partner in getting the deal done, not an obstacle to work around.

It Works the Same Way When I'm Representing a Buyer

This isn't only a seller advantage. When I represent a buyer, the same willingness to collaborate is why other brokers and property owners bring me off-market opportunities before they ever reach the open market. Outside brokers work with me because they know the deal will actually get to closing.

If you're looking for off-market opportunities, this is exactly why co-brokerage works in your favor too. So if you're asking, "How can I find off-market commercial real estate in Palm Beach County?", start with me.

I'm known as a deal maker, not a deal breaker. That reputation is what gets me a phone call before a listing goes public, whether I'm sourcing an off-market commercial property for a buyer or bringing a qualified buyer to a seller's table.

Why Some Brokers Don't Share the Stage

Some brokers avoid co-brokerage because splitting a commission means a smaller check for them. That's an incentive problem, not a market reality, and it's worth asking any broker you interview whether they've ever turned away or discouraged an outside offer to protect their own commission.

You're not hiring a broker to protect their commission. You're hiring a broker to get you the highest possible net proceeds. Those two goals aren't always the same thing, and the difference shows up in your final sale price.

This is also why a market-rate fee is worth paying. A full, fair commission is what gives outside brokers a real incentive to bring their buyers to your table instead of somewhere else. Sellers who push to shave the fee down often shrink the very buyer pool that gets them the higher price. The fee isn't the number that matters. The net proceeds it helps generate are.

What If You Don't Want the Whole Market Knowing?

Wide exposure is the right approach for most listings, but not every seller wants their property broadcast to nearly 2,000 agents. If you're concerned about tenants finding out before you're ready to tell them, employees hearing about a sale secondhand, or competitors and landlords in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or Miami getting wind of your plans, there's a more discreet route.

A confidential, discretionary process means no public listing, no signage, no broad blast. Instead, the property is marketed quietly to a smaller, qualified buyer pool, with identifying details and financials withheld until a prospective buyer signs a non-disclosure agreement. You still get serious, vetted buyers. You just control who knows and when.

The right approach depends on your situation, not a one-size-fits-all process. That's a conversation worth having before you decide how your property goes to market.

Questions Sellers Ask Before They Call

Should I just tell multiple brokers to bring me an offer?

No, and this is a common mistake. Handing your property to several brokers at once usually creates confusion instead of competition. Buyers get conflicting information, marketing efforts overlap or contradict each other, and no one is accountable for the process or the price. It can actually suppress your value, because buyers and their brokers sense the disorganization and negotiate accordingly. Co-brokerage is different: one broker controls the listing, the pricing strategy, and the story being told to the market, while still inviting every qualified broker and buyer to compete for it. You get the exposure without the chaos.

How do I know I'm not leaving money on the table?

The clearest signal is how many serious, competing offers you actually see. One offer tells you nothing about what the market will pay. On a recently closed property, a widened buyer pool produced more than ten offers in writing before closing. That's what real price discovery looks like. If your broker brings you one number and asks you to decide fast, you have no way to know if it's the market's best offer or just the easiest one for the broker to close.

Is ethics in brokerage actually important, or is that just a nice idea?

It's important, and it's directly tied to how much money ends up in your pocket. An ethical broker discloses material facts, negotiates transparently, and won't steer you away from a better outside offer to protect their own commission. The alternative costs sellers real money: fewer offers considered, less pressure on price, and decisions made in the broker's interest instead of yours. Honest advice isn't a soft value. It's a financial one.

If you work with outside agents, does that make you less qualified?

No, it's the opposite. Working with outside agents isn't a sign a broker can't handle the deal alone. It's a sign they're confident enough to prioritize your outcome over controlling every part of the process themselves. The brokers who refuse to collaborate usually aren't protecting quality. They're protecting their commission, and that's a different thing entirely. Look at my client list for the proof: some of the largest commercial property owners in Palm Beach County, some of the largest privately held companies in Florida, and some of the largest companies in the United States have trusted me with their transactions. You cannot put a price on integrity.

Why Settle for One, When You Can Hire a Whole Sales Force?

When you hire me, you're not hiring one broker with one buyer list. You're hiring access to Marcus & Millichap's nearly 2,000-agent platform and every outside broker in South Florida willing to bring a buyer, all working toward the same outcome: the highest price for your property.

Ask any broker you're considering the same question you asked me: do you work with outside brokers, and how often? The answer will tell you a lot about whose interests they're really protecting.

Visit marcusmillichap.com to learn more about the platform and see how it can net you more money.

Contact Nick McAndrew at Marcus & Millichap to discuss the current value of your commercial property or land in Palm Beach County, Broward County, or Miami-Dade County. Call or text: 561-245-0486 | marcusmillichap.com/advisors/nicholas-mcandrew | nickmcandrew.com

Nicholas A. McAndrew, known professionally as Nick McAndrew, is a Director of Investments at Marcus & Millichap serving Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County.