Photo | Courtesy of NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs
Maria Adamo, chief marketing officer at NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs
Updated: 12 hours ago
Shop Talk
Q&A: NAI Glickman's newest executive on how to market commercial real estate
Photo | Courtesy of NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs
(From left) Tim Whittredge, Maria Adamo, Michael Jacobs, and James Glickman from NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs discuss real estate in downtown Worcester.
By Sloane M. Perron
NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs has been one of the major players in Greater Worcester commercial real estate since it was established in 1990. The firm joined forces with NAI Global in 2015 and grew its international network. In January, NAI Glickman announced the promotion of Maria Adamo to chief marketing officer.
How did you find your way to NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs?
I have lived 1,000 lives throughout my career path. I’ve had the opportunity to work in marketing and publicity across industries and areas such as fashion in New York City and Los Angeles, high-tech firms in Massachusetts, senior living communities across the nation, and small businesses in Worcester County.
My first job out of college was as a publicist in a high-tech PR firm, and while I quickly found out that high tech was not for me, I loved the publicity side of it. I loved speaking to journalists and strategic branding. I moved to North Grafton in 2014, and as I was getting to know the area, I kept seeing NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs real estate signs everywhere. After I did a bit more research on the company, their marketing seemed a bit traditional. I believed the commercial real estate industry could use some innovative disruption on the marketing side. After talking to the firm partners, James Glickman and Michael Jacobs, they were open to the idea of trying new things.
bio box for Maria Adamo
What were some of your new ideas?
In commercial real estate, specifically, I found customer relationship management adoption is either not implemented correctly or implemented but then thrown to the wayside. Brokers work autonomously, so they need flexibility in their schedules so they can service their clients. The adoption of CRMs is hard to implement in this industry because it takes time and there is a learning curve to it.
However, if done correctly, it helps brokers’ lives tremendously. The firm onboarded a new CRM system a year and a half ago, and it streamlined our processes, created new standard operating procedures, improved collaboration, and allowed all the lines of business to work seamlessly together.
What are the commercial real estate trends coming in 2025?
This year is kicking off on a high note, with many key indexes trending upward, including housing starts, and major leasing activity within the publicly traded market. In our local market, there’s a notable increase in retail leasing and development activity. There's a lot of new non-retail demand coming from data center developers who are actually building up and down the East Coast. So, our brokers remain highly optimistic.
What sets NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs apart?
We are the only full-service commercial real estate firm in Central Massachusetts. That means we are the only local firm providing brokerage, property management, and construction. We have become a one-stop shop for our clients.
We partnered with NAI Global, so we provide clients with access to a vast array of global wide resources and connections, while maintaining a deep, personal understanding of the Central Massachusetts local markets we serve. This balance allows us to craft tailored solutions for our clients that larger, less personal firms might overlook.
What are you looking forward to achieving in your new role as chief marketing officer?
I'm working on standard operating procedures right now, making sure everyone is in line for their business development goals for 2025. I am engaging in more hands-on experiences with the brokerage side. I already work very closely with our brokers, but I am digging a little deeper into each individual's goals, which is really important to me in this new leadership position. It will strengthen the overall marketing strategy as well.
As a marketer, what is one tool you could not live without?
This is good and bad, but I am always on my iPhone. I respond to emails very quickly, and I am the quickest texter. I'm just a very responsive person, which translates very well to my role, especially working with so many different people. Even if I don't have an answer right away, it's important for me to let people know that I've seen your question, or I have seen whatever you are doing, and I am working on it.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Correspondent Sloane M. Perron.
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