Commercial Real Estate Agency – Interviewing Tips for New Agents

If you run a commercial real estate business you will understand the frustrations of finding and interviewing new agents for any sales or leasing position in your agency.  Finding the right person to employ can be a real challenge.   Top agents are few and far between; average agents are everywhere.

It is a fact that commercial real estate agents (and particularly the more successful ones) should be driven people that thrive on a personal challenge.  Whilst many candidates may think that they are ‘driven’ and focused, you will need to check that fact through the job interview process.  A professional ‘sales character’ test will help you with understanding the true nature of the person that you are talking with.

Here are some of the key skills that you would expect a good agent to have or be prepared to work towards.  Ask questions about these and other things.

  • Researching new clients and prospects to talk to is a daily event.   Agents must be prepared to do their own research no matter how frustrating and time consuming it may be.
  • Prospecting is required each day to a system.  What prospecting system do you expect of your agents?  What do they think a system of prospecting looks like?  Ask the questions to get to the real facts here.
  • Pitching and presenting to potential clients and customers in a professional way is critical to winning the business.  How do they pitch now and what would be their success rate?  Can they pitch for the business at a high level and across a number of property types?
  • Listing a property comprehensively is critical to the quality of the listing that comes into the agency.  All of the correct property facts and improvements should be fully investigated.
  • Marketing a listing is not a generic process.  Some agents don’t know or fully utilize the differences in marketing today.  Top agents are direct marketing experts that professionally take every quality exclusive listing directly to the prospects that they know.
  • Communications skills are very important for an agent.  Verbal, presentational, written, and electronic communications today require top agents that know how to get the message out in the required way.  You cannot or should not employ any agent that does not connect in all ways possible.
  • Documentation accuracy and property knowledge should feature in your job interview.  What does the candidate know about the property types and the local area?  Could they list a property right now?  Do they know about the required paperwork and the legal investigations required of a new listing?

You can add to this list based on your location and agency operations.  Ask the right questions when you are considering the employment of a new agent.  Avoid employment mistakes.

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