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Why Market Presence Matters — And Why It’s Not About Ego By Bob Knakal
Over the course of my career, I have appeared on the cover of 20 magazines, including four appearances on the Mann Report. The most recent one pushed the total to that milestone. People often react to that number with surprise and sometimes assume it reflects some kind of personal quest for recognition, fame and a giant ego. Those people are misguided and don’t understand the ultimate objective. In reality, it reflects something very different. What it really represents is a career-long strategy built on a very simple belief: it is not who you know
52 MANN REPORT | MAY 2026
— it’s who knows you. From the very beginning of my career in the late 1980s, I understood that brokerage is fundamentally an information and relationship business. The brokers who consistently produce the best outcomes for their clients are the ones who are closest to the flow of information in the market. And the closer you are to that information, the more value you can create for the people you represent. Very early in my career, I started keeping lists of every reporter who wrote about real estate in New York City. Whenever a new journalist appeared on the beat, I added them to the list. If someone moved publications, I updated it. If a new trade publication launched, I studied it and reached out. I would not only call them but would have coffee and always make sure to
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