The old saying that it’s not what you know but who has particular resonance in commercial real estate, and when it comes to industry-insider connections, Lee & Associates offers its clients an array of services built on a solid foundation of industry knowledge and access.

As the largest broker-owned commercial real estate services company in North America, Lee & Associates can tap into a deep talent pool of professionals involved in CRE, including fellow associates in L&A’s more than 70 offices nationwide. In the Upstate, the company specializes in industrial and flex buildings, according to Adam Padgett, executive vice president/principal of Lee & Associates of Greenville/Spartanburg, who counts among his clients both CRE owners and businesses looking to purchase or lease space.

“We can provide sales, leasing, site selection, investment advice – we even have a division that does property management as well. I also do construction management and planning of projects for some clientele,” Padgett explained. “I’ve told people for the past 18 years that if it involves an industrial building, I can be involved with it.”

Those years of experience also mean that Padgett and his team offer a wealth of detailed local information and access to those who can help drive successful local CRE transactions and interactions.

“We service every aspect of our clients’ real estate needs from start to finish,” said Darath Mackie, associate broker in the Upstate office.

Mackie said Lee & Associates works to build relationships that benefit their clients: “We have local connections and most importantly relationships with other brokers, different organizations – we just have a multitude of industry connections to help service our clients, whether it be architects, engineers, contractors,” she said. “We have relationships with environmental companies. We have great relationships with accountants and attorneys in our industry. Those are all things that we use to serve our clients and to provide them with invaluable resources that they may not have otherwise.”

As an example, Padgett recounted how he used one local contact to help one of the brokers in his office keep a business deal on track – and on a Friday afternoon, no less.

“One of our younger brokers had an issue on a Friday afternoon – he was headed out of town to Florida when something came up on a project he was working on,” Padgett related. “I was in the office and we needed an attorney contact, real quickly. We use a number of attorneys, but there’s a handful of ones that we have real good, long-standing relationships with, and so I shot an email to one of the attorneys I work with on that Friday afternoon headed into a holiday weekend, and he called me within 15 minutes or so and he was able to help the client on a time-sensitive project. Those connections are invaluable because those people are our resources who help navigate through transactions.”

In another instance, Mackie recalled a new client who came to her about the possibility of constructing a new business facility, but “he didn’t know where to start,” she said. She was able to help him with everything from site selection to the purchase to construction. She noted that the client is still in touch with her and has become another valuable resource.

“It’s not the connections, it’s the relationships we build,” she noted.