With more than four decades in the real estate development business — both here in Cleveland and in markets abroad — I’ve learned that the true differentiator in this industry isn’t just capital or vision, or even timing. It’s the ability to win with sugar. Winning with sugar means structuring deals so that every stakeholder walks away ahead. It is the discipline of generosity, the strategy of long-term thinking, and the foundation of a reputation that compounds over time.
In practical terms, winning with sugar means paying your land sellers the most you can afford. It means fulfilling — and whenever possible, exceeding — your commitments to municipalities. It means compensating brokers fairly for the real value they bring to the table, and making sure your contractors are paid well and paid on time. These aren’t small gestures; they are strategic investments in the ecosystem that determines whether your projects succeed or stall. When every participant is made whole, or better than whole, the entire deal moves more efficiently, with fewer points of friction and far more trust.
That trust has a way of coming back to you. After completing more than 100 residential and retail developments throughout Cleveland, I can say confidently that deals now find me more often than I find them. Landowners call because they know I won’t waste their time. Brokers reach out because they know the commission will be fair. Municipalities are willing to collaborate because they have seen firsthand that I deliver on my obligations and create tangible value for neighborhoods. This steady inbound flow of opportunity isn’t luck — it’s the compounding return of decades spent ensuring that others benefit alongside me.
But winning with sugar is not easy. It requires both knowledge and patience — two qualities that are far more difficult to cultivate than they sound.
The knowledge side involves understanding, at a granular level, how real estate value is created. You have to know the obstacles, both obvious and hidden. You must be able to recognize what you can promise a community and what you realistically can’t. You need the experience to structure deals that work for sellers, tenants, investors and lenders while still leaving a margin for yourself. You must recognize what the market will accept, what the numbers will support, and what concessions you can offer without jeopardizing the project. Knowledge gives you the confidence to be generous without being reckless.
Patience, however, is the harder virtue. On the first obstacle — or the 10th — it’s tempting to react emotionally, to argue, to push back. But by the 100th obstacle, when fatigue sets in and tempers run high, it takes real discipline to keep your cool and stay committed to the sugar-based approach. Generosity under pressure is what separates enduring developers from those who flame out.
If you can apply both knowledge and patience in service of winning with sugar, you will build not just a portfolio, but a name — a reputation with a competitive edge that can’t be bought. And when you’ve truly exhausted every avenue to create a win for all parties, only then is it time to stand your ground. ●
Sam Petros is Owner and CEO of Petros Homes Inc.
