Rod Santomassimo: Stop Being a Deal Junkie, Start Building a Business

Welcome to this episode of The Tori Nook Talk Show! In this episode, Tori sits down with Rod Santomassimo, founder of the Massimo Group, the leading coaching organization for commercial real estate brokers worldwide. Rod is a five-time bestselling author, patent inventor, former Division I lacrosse player, and two-time Duke MBA Alumni of the Year recipient. Globe Street named him the Best Boss in Commercial Real Estate.

Rod grew up in Long Island, played lacrosse at Washington & Lee, and got his MBA at Duke. He spent 20 years as a COO, CFO, and broker across telecom, law, development, and brokerage before getting laid off in 2008 at age 45—the best day of his life. With two young kids, no jobs available, and savings in the bank, he decided he’d never work for anyone else again. He started coaching CRE brokers, combining his industry knowledge with business-building expertise.

Rod’s mission is simple: help brokers earn more in less time by building business platforms instead of living on the transaction treadmill. He’s worked with Bob Knakal (who went from $6M to $18.56M in 3.5 years), Sam McVeigh (the #1 hospitality broker in the world), and thousands of brokers globally. The Massimo Group now has 38 coaches, a management team of 10, and has been virtual since 2008.

They discuss the commodity broker vs. authority broker gap, why brokers need five divisions (sales, marketing, operations, finance, HR), the rule of seven (call seven times before taking a break), Rod’s daily AI routine, and his definition of success: making other people successful.

Timestamps:

02:59 – Growing up in Long Island and playing Division I lacrosse

04:24 – Getting laid off in 2008: the best day of his life

08:05 – The commodity broker vs. authority broker gap

13:19 – Inactive client cadence campaigns

15:37 – The rule of seven (call seven times)

21:04 – Building a virtual company since 2008

24:16 – AI integration: November 2022 and ChatGPT

37:37 – Rod’s AI tech stack and daily routine

42:57 – Why commodity brokers will be eliminated

48:28 – The gratitude box and defining success

52:36 – Why brokers don’t think big enough

55:48 – Final advice: You’re your greatest asset