For Bisnow Business Manager Nicole Sorrentino, Variety Is The Spice Of CRE

At Bisnow, we are passionate about keeping the commercial real estate industry connected and informed. The industry has changed dramatically over the past few years, and as people continue to move away from large cities we are seeing an influx of activity in areas that were traditionally considered smaller markets, including Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh.

For us, this means that while we will continue our presence in large markets like D.C. and NYC, we will also be expanding our coverage and events in these newly expanding areas. Business Manager Nicole Sorrentino will be leading the charge to widen Bisnow's presence in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh. We recently sat down with her to learn more about what inspired her to dedicate her career to connecting professionals in CRE.

Bisnow: Why did you take this job at Bisnow?

Sorrentino: Early in my career, I gained a lot of experience with different specialties, including marketing, social media and business development. Within one of my internships, I honed my networking skills by going to events and talking to people about the company’s goals and work, getting intel into their specific needs and collecting business cards for future follow-ups. I grew to love the intersection between marketing, business development and pitching a company's value proposition that I believed in, and I wanted to continue to explore that. 

At that point, I knew I wanted to work for a company where I felt supported by the leadership but also had ownership over my own work. I wanted to contribute by coming up with new ideas that would be welcomed and, over time, put in the work to get to the next level. The most important thing to me is to enjoy what I do and I wanted to prioritize finding a company that was nonbureaucratic, empowers young professionals, welcomes creative thinking and has great leadership. I found that and much more at Bisnow. I've been at Bisnow for just over a year and a half and I'm constantly learning new ways to expand our footprint in the various markets I cover. 

Bisnow: What about commercial real estate interests you?

Sorrentino: With any profession within an industry, there are so many variations that I enjoy learning more about. In CRE, through working with many different architects, engineers and construction firms, I've been able to understand the different aspects of the work they do and what appeals to them. For example, some architects do interiors-only, landscaping, exteriors and so on. Similarly with construction firms, some are ground up and others do renovations. The more people I work with, the more I learn what questions to ask to gauge what matters most to them.

My interest in real estate also runs in the family. My sister is not only one of my role models, but she also works in real estate, primarily within the multifamily sector. From hearing her experiences, I learned about the ins and outs of decision-making from both the developer and investment firm side, which helped prepare me to look at the world from my Bisnow clients’ perspective.

Bisnow: What makes you unique?

Sorrentino: I am someone who doesn’t follow a set routine every day. I like variety and experiencing new things, down to the small things like waking up at a different time every morning or doing different workouts every day, to big decisions such as changing up where I live or who I’m living with. I have this hunger for variety in life, which feels refreshing. 

It also helps me in my work for Bisnow because I enjoy connecting with different groups of people and figuring out how to approach conversations based on who has known Bisnow for a long time or who is new to the market. I think about, ‘what do they need to hear and what can I include in my pitch to help?’ I also enjoy the social nature of what I do and being in a very people-centric role.