There's no shortage of residential real estate agents in Southwest Florida, but when it comes to the top producers in the commercial market, the field narrows considerably. For the record, their individual sales and lease volume estimates for the year ranged from around $20 million to almost $80 million. But we quickly found from agents and brokers that the definition of top producer is fluid, and the figures they report can be apples and oranges.

Among their points: Some companies record a listing and sale separately; others regard it as one transaction. Some are third-party brokers representing clients; others are involved in ownership. Some do residential or consulting work in addition to commercial real estate. Commission structures can alter how the value of a transaction is measured.

Some argued that the number of transactions is a better measure; others countered that the number doesn't matter if all the transactions are small. And a few argued that one year's production does not a success or failure make.

Still, we were curious to find out who's at the top of the heap-and why.

What isn't so arguable is that those in the top echelon seem to have certain things in common. They all have worked in this market for years-from about nine to more than 25. Although some continue to do a lot of marketing, many have reached a point where they don't necessarily need to; most have developed relationships with repeat clients.

Listed below alphabetically are those identified by their offices as top producers for 2003.

Mike Carr Sr., Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Naples office

Mike carr sr. hung out his own shingle, specializing in industrial sales, shortly after getting his broker's license in 1982. Some six years later, his business merged with Coldwell Banker Commercial McFadden & Sprowls. He now manages the office, which, with 20 commercial associates, is Coldwell Banker Comm-ercial's biggest in the state in terms of commissions, he says. Among those associates is Rich Sommerville, who was Cold-well Banker Commercial's top producer in the world in 2002.

In addition to managing, Carr continues to specialize in industrial real estate, as well as in land for retail use. His largest transaction in 2003 was $2.3 million for 12 acres in North Fort Myers.

What does he do right? "I'm just a hard-working guy," he says with a laugh. Longevity in the business helps build a reputation and "presence," he adds. "You have to be in the business a fairly long time because you get repeat customers in commercial real estate.

"I like to believe I have a reputation for being honest. I'm very persistent," he says "and I have a huge amount of knowledge in my specialties."

Frank D'Alessandro, D'Alessandro and Woodyard Commercial Team, RE/MAX Realty Group

Frank d'alessandro, in the local market for 24 years, barely edged out managing partner Tom Woodyard for the top spot in 2003 for their Fort Myers company, followed closely by two associates. His biggest deal of the year was $7.5 million for 23.3 acres on South Tamiami Trail, sold to Pelican Bay Development.

He calls himself a "general practitioner" who covers retail, office, industrial and raw land. With seven brokers in the office, "I will partner up with the person who is best qualified in the area I'm working," he says. "We found that in this market, in order to work just a niche of the market, you have to do it on a team concept to be effective."

To D'Alessandro, real estate is a commodity; what makes a top producer is an understanding that the business itself is service. "It's finding the best transaction for your prospect. It's matching them with the right product and executing it. We do that and build a reputation and get referrals," he says.

"Real estate is what it is. It's the real estate broker that adds value to a transaction," by bringing local knowledge, current information and emerging trends into the equation. "Anyone can check listings," D'Alessandro adds. "The reason people come to me is because they know I have some vision of the market and follow trends, and we service our clients very well."

William Gonnering, David Stevens, Craig Timmins, Grubb & Ellis|IPC

William gonnering, david stevens and craig Timmins are major players, but don't fit the formula because their production can't be separated. While others might partner for specific projects, but generally work independently, the Grubb & Ellis|IPC (Investment Properties Corp.) team pools talents and earnings on all projects.

Gonnering, with about 35 years in the business and 22 years locally, specializes in industrial properties, although the trio's specialties overlap. Stevens and Timmins have spent their careers here-20 years for Stevens, who focuses on income properties and development land, and 16 years for Timmins, who does leasing and land.

"We go back about 17 years working together," says Timmins. They worked in the same brokerage office, sometimes sharing assignments, then formed IPC and a true team approach about eight years ago. They buy and sell vacant commercial land, shopping centers, office buildings, industrial land and buildings, and other commercial properties. They also handle office, retail, industrial and land leases.

"All three of us don't have to know everything about every product type," Timmins adds.

Their largest transaction for 2003 was a $16.4 million deal involving Eagle Creek shopping center in Naples.

"The real estate business has truly become an information business, where you need to collect and gather, synthesize and disseminate information to people. If you've got three people working together as a team, you can cover more ground and better service the needs of your clients," says Timmins. "You can also share resources very freely-staff, database, mailing lists, listings. With everyone putting in, then everyone can take out.

"I would think our strength is the number of years we've been in the market, working together and trying to do the right thing." And, he adds, "There's no substitute for hard work."

Debra Johnson Shuey, Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Fort Myers office

Debra johnson shuey started in commercial real estate 24 years ago with The Rental Man, Charles Johnston, who took her under his wing. She stayed with the company 20 years (Johnston died in 1998), then went to Arvida, which was acquired by Coldwell Banker Commercial.

With a specialty in retail leasing, Shuey's biggest transaction of 2003 harks back to her Rental Man days. It was the $16.75 million sale of the remaining Rental Man properties along U.S. 41 in Fort Myers, the Old America Center and Dragon Plaza. "I'd done the majority of the retail leasing in there," she explains. "I knew a lot of the tenants. I was around when we built a lot of the buildings."

Geographically, her niche these days is Cape Coral. "I think the Cape Coral market is a great market right now," she says. "Bonita was a few years ago, but everybody has caught on."

She's a top producer because "I understand the numbers that make it work," she says. "If you understand why the numbers work, it's easier to sell someone something. It's not like a residential transaction, where your heart's in it. With a commercial transaction, you're buying an income stream. You've got to make sure the dollars you're paying for the income stream justify what you get back out of it."

And Johnston's lessons have helped her succeed. "I had a great mentor in Mr. Johnston," she says. "It was always, 'Try to make the deal work. Figure out a way to make it work.'"

Fereidoun "Fred" Kermani, CB Richard Ellis, Naples office

Fereidoun "Fred" kermani's first love was architecture, which eventually led him in 1983 into real estate, first in Los Angeles County, and then, since 1991, in Naples.

Now a partner and a land and investment properties specialist, he finds that his background helps in his profession, and that his professional memberships provide training to keep him on top of his game.

"Being an architect, I know the codes and feasibility studies on vacant lots, so I'm getting involved in a lot of vacant land marketing," he says. "I also do financial analyses for income-producing properties, like shopping centers and apartment buildings."

In the past year, his biggest transaction was a $5.25 million sale of vacant land on Pine Ridge Road.

His expertise in architecture, as well as real estate, makes life easier for clients who have to deal with codes and permitting issues. "They come to me and we go together to the county, so the whole thing's going to be one step," he says.

What's his edge? For one, he sleeps only about four hours a night. "I work hard and I take my job very seriously," he says. "I enjoy what I'm doing." And his forthrightness keeps clients coming back. "Most of my clients are word-of-mouth"-partly because he's not afraid of losing a deal by pointing out problems, he says. "If I see something wrong with a property, I don't look at it that if I disclose it, I lose the deal. I'm frank with everyone and I may lose the deal, but eventually that client comes back to me."

Randal Mercer, CB Richard Ellis, Fort Myers

With more than 20 years in the region's market, and as a partner in the Fort Myers CB Richard Ellis office, Randal Mercer specializes in the office market and investment property, although he also gets involved in some industrial and land transactions. "Wherever my clients require me to be, that's where I'll be," he says.

His biggest transaction for 2003 was the $5.2 million sale of a 56,000-square-foot office building on north Metro Parkway, at the Metro Park Executive Center. "We leased and managed the building for several years, stabilized the revenue, the income, and sold it to a group out of Hialeah, and we're still representing them in the marketplace for the remaining space that is vacant," Mercer says.

What does he do right? "I think I'm a very organized, computer-literate broker with a lot of empathy for my customers' needs," he says. "One of the survival keys is being able to cut to the chase and represent your clients. Honesty is a big virtue in our business, and people who have survived over any length of time in any business have a certain degree of professionalism and excellent reputation that allows you to get referral business, and allows you to keep the clients you have."

And, he adds, "I work a lot. That probably has as much to do with success as anything. But if I were to pick one thing out of the mix it's listening to your clients."

Gary Tasman, Grubb & Ellis|VIP

Gary Tasman has been in the business since 1983, locally since 1995, and with Grubb & Ellis|VIP in Fort Myers for about six years. His niche is commercial and investment sales and leasing.

"My competency is adding value to commercial real estate by analyzing the property's operating statement, and finding ways to increase the net operating income," he says. "We identify markets and opportunities in the market for investors so they can feel comfortable about assuming the risks that the property will lease up as projected."

For example, he helps prospective landlords buy vacant buildings and reposition them in the market, or he guides investors in buying vacant land, developing it and leasing out the building. He also analyzes sites for potential users and helps in negotiations.

His biggest transaction in the past year was the listing and sale of land in Naples, for a total of $24 million.

Tasman points to the seven people on his sales team as his strength. They allow him "to keep buyers and investors and tenants and users all abreast of the most current trends and activities in the business," he says. "Second is superior negotiating skills to help develop win-win strategies for tenants, landlords, buyers and sellers."

Greg Toth, Select Real Estate by Stephanie Miller

As vice president of select real estate by Stephanie Miller in Estero, Greg Toth doesn't just broker real estate deals; he also shares in ownership of many of the properties. His biggest sole transaction in 2003 was the $5 million sale of 36 acres at Koreshan and Three Oaks, in which he is a principal.

"That's the difference. Although we do some brokerage, we do a lot of our business as principals or managing partners. We have investors, but we're generally an ownership partner of almost every deal that we do," says Toth, who has 23 years, eight full-time, in local commercial real estate.

He specializes in "acquisitions and entitlements for property, zonings, the development orders," and his particular interest is Estero, an area Miller targeted some time ago. "The area is our niche and, past that, we pretty much tackle everything. We do raw land, we do development, we do package deals for investors," he adds. "We do office, retail, flex space. We're involved in all the different facets of that."

Toth's strength, in business and as a member of the Estero Planning Panel, is the ability to compromise, he says. In Estero, the private sector, including developers, the people who live there and the county "are all working together to get a better product in Estero. The trick in getting those three entities together is for everyone to be open for compromise."

That carries over to real estate, he says. "Whatever people say, there's still a political edge left to zoning and entitlements to properties, and you would like to satisfy not only the county, but the community it's going in, and the investor. You have to compromise all the way around to make it a good deal for everyone involved."