Answer extracted from The Crexi Commercial Real Estate Podcast — listen to the full episode below.
What role does tenant canvassing play in building a retail leasing practice from scratch?
Tenant canvassing is the essential foundation for new brokers entering retail leasing—not landlord prospecting. When you canvass tenants directly, you position yourself as the expert educating them about market conditions, rental rates, and which submarkets fit their business, rather than competing against landlords who already possess deep property knowledge.
The asymmetry matters. Landlords have built expertise over years; tenants are actively seeking guidance on expansion, relocation, and market opportunity. As a new broker with limited track record, you have more authority educating a tenant about why a particular submarket works for their growth than trying to convince a seasoned landlord that you add value to their existing property decisions.
Tenant canvassing also converts directly into deal flow. As Tuva Patoli explains in the episode, the work is unglamorous and requires sustained effort: putting hundreds of miles on your car, meeting owners in person, collecting direct contact information, and being persistently but respectfully pushy. But the payoff is a proprietary network of tenant relationships that generate referrals and repeat business.
Once you establish yourself through tenant representation, you shift into landlord representation from a position of credibility—you already understand what tenants need, you've seen the market from both sides, and you've proven you can execute leases. This progression is how new retail brokers scale from zero to building a third-party retail leasing practice.
"I always like to put on my landlord hat so I sometimes I don't act like I'm just a broker and I act like I'm a landlord and I own this property."
Tuva Patoli — Senior Retail Specialist, Huntington Properties. With over 4.5 years in commercial real estate, Patoli started at age 22 after leaving a corporate salary position, drawn by the direct link between effort and earnings. She built a third-party retail leasing team from zero to 36 represented shopping centers across Texas, focusing on tenant mix strategy, emerging submarket identification, and bridging leasing execution with investment sales fundamentals.
What makes tenant canvassing distinct from casual networking is consistency and deliberate market education. You're not asking for a lease; you're teaching tenants why a space, location, or rental rate makes sense for their business model. This positions you as a consultant, not a transactional middleman. Over time, these tenant relationships surface expansion plans, relocation needs, and co-tenancy requirements—all the signals that generate lease opportunities.
If you want to hear how Patoli scaled from tenant canvassing to managing a portfolio of 36 shopping centers and handling 95 annual leases across her team, the full conversation covers her specific approach to tenant mix strategy and landlord positioning in the Texas market.
See also
How does retail leasing activity function as an early indicator of consumer behavior and market trends?
Consumer behavior changes fast and can be observed month-by-month through retail leasing activity in real time. What tenants are leasing reflects the actual demand patterns and shifting preferences within a market.
What strategies help retail brokers stand out when representing landlords in competitive markets?
The key is to adopt a landlord's mindset before advising on deals. Rather than simply pursuing commissions, a broker should think like a property owner, understanding the long-term value creation and tenant mix that maximizes center performance.
How did a young broker transition from a corporate salary job to building a retail leasing business in Texas?
Tuva Patoli left her corporate job after one year to enter commercial real estate at age 22, attracted by the commission model where growth is tied directly to effort and results. She built expertise through persistent tenant canvassing and market knowledge.