After working as a research analyst and in lease transactions, development, and capital markets, Trace Tam Sing transitioned into brokerage. Now, focusing on site selection, he brings his leadership and love of data to solving clients’ ongoing business needs.

We sat down with Trace to learn more about the KBC broker experience, our nationwide operations, what success for our clients means to him, and more!

Q: How does KBC’s broker experience differ from the typical market experience?

I call myself a broker, but we're more than just a sole broker representing a client. There's only so much you can do as an individual. At KBC, we work collaboratively together, as one team—and that's semi-atypical in the brokerage world.

In sports, a team is in one location at one time, trying to get to a certain goal. For us, we're in these different markets helping one another solve for one client or multiple clients at the same time—so we can really solve for clients’ needs on a lot broader scale than most.

Q: How has your own personal journey helped you thrive in KBC’s collaborative environment?

I played collegiate and professional baseball—two worlds requiring both collaboration and teamwork. That previous life of collaborating on a team and being a leader helped me get to where I am in real estate today. It provided a foundation of leadership and guidance—advising folks on my team with key information about a pitcher, a player or the situation at hand.

That leadership I had on the field really helps me thrive today from an advisory standpoint, especially at KBC. At other firms, you're one person working against a competitor, who is sitting at the desk next to you. At KBC, there's no competition across the table—we compete together as a company, all working together to find the best client outcomes.

Q: What’s it like to work with some of the other markets that KBC operates in?

KBC is great because we have individuals in many major markets across North America. Depending on what market you're in, you're really specialized in that specific location. We're able to bring in the right people and really rely on their specialties and expertise. It's a pretty cool atmosphere where you can bounce ideas and thoughts and experiences off one another.

I'm young in the business so it's nice to have people around me who have some tenure. We're collaborating daily to find ways to address our client's needs—whether it be in Seattle or Atlanta or Chicago.

At KBC, our data is coming in real-time so being able to share that data with other teams can give you a world of perspective. We can have those conversations, speaking candidly and openly to truly get to the best solution for the client.

Q: What service are you most passionate about at KBC?

Site selection is always interesting and where I can provide a ton of value as an advisor. And at KBC, we just do it differently. The site selection process often allows us to deeply understand a client’s business—learning their true needs and what drives their business operations.

During the site selection process, you really get a feel for what your client truly wants to solve—from logistics to distribution needs. By finding out what your client’s pain points are, you get a good scope of what the issues are to steer your solution.

Q: What is unique about KBC’s data?

Our data is huge. It’s real-time information that we’re receiving from the market and keeping track of internally. It tells a story. Data really drives every recommendation we make.

Anyone can go out and look at a building and say ‘this makes a lot of sense for my operations’, but if you look at the data, that's really going to drive the deciding factor. Whether the data tells a story about labor, inbound or outbound products, vacancy rates or rent, it’s accurate data that can really add credibility to why a certain solution may be so important.

Q: What do you define as a ‘job well done’ for your clients?

We want to provide a service that's going to be long-lasting. Of course, an immediate result for your client is fantastic, but we want that to last. We want them to find value from start to finish, whether that’s in a two-year or a 20-year lease.

Personally, my goal is long-term success, not just immediate. In 15 years, I want them to say, ‘This has been even better than we could have imagined. We've been able to far surpass what we needed in terms of labor and distribution. This site’s provided us tremendous results for not just our spatial needs, but for our customer base as well.’