Earning a CCIM designation is a lot of work. It involves many hours of classroom study, not to mention a good deal of commercial real estate experience.
But it’s worth it, as the growing interest in the CCIM Institute’s programs will attest.
Steven W. Moreira, CCIM, CIPS, the incoming national president of the CCIM Institute, and Frank Rodriguez Melo, president of CCIM Miami, came on the show recently to talk about the value-added proposition that is the CCIM designation.
First and foremost, said Moreira, is the real-world education you receive.
“When you take a CCIM class, you’re in a classroom with someone who’s done the deal and knows the deal. It may be a developer or may be someone who has brokered millions or sometimes even billions of dollars in real estate,” he said.
“And they still have all of the nuances of a college professor. We have a fantastic cadre of instructors at CCIM.”
That, combined with the technology offered at Site To Do Business, makes a great combination for industry veterans and newcomers alike, Moreira said.
And, when you get your designation, you become part of a network of 13,000 CCIM professionals nationally with whom you can do business.
Plus, there are programs like the CCIM University Alliance, which allows students to get a head-start on CCIM course credits and professional networking.
Locally, said Rodriguez, the University of Miami and Florida International University are part of the program – and those relationships to the local and national CCIM organizations are getting closer all the time.
CCIM events are being held on campus, where students can more easily participate and find mentors, he said.
“It’s all about giving the members not just the pin and the designation, but what you do with that pin after you’ve received it. Really, what we do with it is exchange and network and create more business,” he said.
Another initiative, Rodriguez said, is the monthly feature of a CCIM member on the Fried On Business show, which gives him or her some additional promotion in the business community.
Now, with my interest in social media, I had to ask if there might be some new CCIM technology initiatives on the national level.
Moreira said the CCIM Institute has some 16,000 Twitter followers, so there’s plenty of communication infrastructure in place.
But, he added, the CCIM mapping capability is becoming hugely important, especially to those on the retail side of the business.
And it’s only accessible to CCIM members.
“Technology and real estate are hand-in-hand today, whether you’re managing property or selling property or just trying to understand what’s going on in your own neighborhood or where your goods come from,” Moreira said.
We talked about a lot more, including;
– Local and national mentoring programs.
– Upcoming conferences.
– Global initiatives.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Steven Moreira of the CCIM Institute and Frank Rodriguez Melo of CCIM Miami.
