BANKING
Joseph Meterchick
Regional president, Florida West
PNC Bank
Tampa

"People do business with people they like, so meeting as many potential clients as you can and listening to their stories usually leads to mutual respect and likability. I, like most people, prefer to do business on a relationship level first and then move on to the business. The rest gets pretty easy from there. It's also essential to really know your business and keep a pulse on the industry to know where future business is trending."

REAL ESTATE
Yosi Gil
Principal, condominium development
J. Milton & Associates
Sunny Isles Beach

"Obviously, the most important is understanding the needs of the client and the needs of the market ahead of time. Seventy percent of people coming to Sunny Isles Beach come for a second home. When you buy a second home, you see right away that a three-bedroom is much easier to rent out and much easier to use for a vacation. Everything is based off the needs of the client."

REAL ESTATE
Patty Nooney
Senior managing director, investor services
CBRE
Tampa

"The most important thing today is to understand as much about the client and client's business as you can before you get to pitching the client. Today, we sit down with the client and ask a number of questions to find their main objectives. We need to ask all those questions so we can customize how we help them achieve those goals. You have to show how you distinguish your company and your team of people from the others they may be interviewing. You don't want to be commoditized.