business men negotiating at table

Commercial Real Estate Agent Prospecting – Contact Adjacent Property Owners for Leads

Every time you take a commercial or retail property to the market for sale or for lease, use the listing as a chance to talk to adjacent property owners, and other property owners in the street.

As simple as this seems, many salespeople are basically a bit ‘lazy’ and will not do this without pushing.  It is remarkable just how much information you will get from talking to other property owners in the immediate vicinity of your listings.

The same rule applies to other competing agents.  Many of them will fail to talk to the property owners adjacent to their listings.  I, therefore, use the other agents listing as an excuse to talk to the people in the street.  If those other property owners or business leaders are considering a sale or a lease transaction, I want to be there as the agent of choice to help them.

Key Contact Questions

So exactly what can you talk about?  What can you say to these other property owners and business leaders?  Here is a list of questions to consider:

  1. Are they looking to expand or contract their business in its location?
  2. Would they like to be updated on prices and rents locally?
  3. Have they noticed other property changes in the local area recently and if so what?
  4. What property needs do they have and when do they review those needs?
  5. Who is the leader of the business?  How can you talk to them?

Direct questions in our business are just fine.  It’s the rapport and focuses that you have in asking questions that is really important.

Top Agent Questions

Top agents ask questions all of the time.  They talk to lots of people and find out what the local area is doing.  Market information underpins performance and listings.

It is interesting to consider just how big your ‘territory’ should be and how you are covering it.  I recently spoke to an agent that had a potential area of business covering 10 miles by 10 miles.  Inside that area were some 80,000 businesses and many commercial and retail properties.  The numbers and opportunities are great to work with, but you must control your actions and activities in zones.  You cannot cover a big area all at once.  Better results come when you segment your territory and work through it street by street and property by property.  Controlled prospecting is what it is all about.

Through all of this process, when you talk to a lot of people each day, most of them will decline your offer or request.  That is just fine, as they do not need to do business with you at the moment.  Remember that fact as you methodically work through your sales patch or territory.  Opportunity awaits the agent that asks lots of questions.

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