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Commercial Real Estate Brokers – A Listings Inventory in the Brokerage is a Valuable Business Alternative

When you work in a commercial real estate brokerage, the listings inventory in the business will be of some interest and use if you can use it and work with it.  There will be a gap in time as you prepare to prospect, list and then sell your properties.  So considerations come into play here with a listing inventory within the office.  Can you use it?  Can you lease and sell other agents listings?  (NB – you can get more listing ideas in our Snapshot program right here – its free)

A typical career fact

Why can this be an issue for you to consider? It takes time to build your listing registers and client list.  A comprehensive listings inventory across the brokerage will give you some stock to work with if you haven’t got the right listing to solve a client or property enquiry.  There are also times where you will not have any listings at all!  So is a valuable process when you first move into a new area or brokerage.

These are the facts

If you are going to work other listings within the brokerage, understand the stock that you can work with and the rules that apply (because there will be some).  Consider these things:

  • Quality of properties listed – When you look at the listing stock, do you know enough about the property type and or location to actually work it and introduce people to the listing? If you are not familiar with the property then you will need help.  Will that help impact your commission results?
  • Time on market – Some listings will have been on the market for a very long time. That will have an impact on attracting enquiry.  Ask plenty of questions relating to the existing listing inventory.  If the listings haven’t been selling them there must be some reasons.  Perhaps the existing group of salespeople lack the experience to convert.  That then leads to other questions to be investigated.  Whilst it is always nice to have plenty of other listings to quote, you really do want to be working in a brokerage that is successful in other ways within the market.
  • Overpriced listings – It stands to reason that overpriced listings generally don’t sell or lease unless the client or property owner can be conditioned to accept the realities of the local property market. Ask about the brokerages success in client conditioning when it comes to listing pricing.
  • Exclusivity – There should be a greater number of exclusive listings within the brokerage when compared to open listings. That will then be a good measure that you can apply to the skills and conversion factors of particular brokers and agents.  You want to work in an agency that controls its current listing stock in the majority and at most times.
  • Ability to introduce buyers and tenants – If you want to introduce buyers and tenants to particular listings existing within the brokerage, how will that be done? Are there rules to the process?  What are the percentages of commissions that will apply if your buyer or tenant completes a transaction on any other listing within the listing inventory?  These are important questions to consider given that your income will be impacted by the existing rules and the existing listing stock.
  • Commission splits – Whilst it is always nice to know that you will be achieving some commission from a transaction that is internal to your brokerage, the percentage of commission that you achieve should be reflective of the amount of work required on your part. If you are introducing a tenant or buyer to an existing listing, the percentages that you achieve should be fair and reasonable for the work required.  You are the only person that controls your income.  The commission splits that you negotiate with your peers will have a great impact on the income that you achieve.
  • Client communication – There will be some specific rules that apply when it comes to client communication as part of the sale or lease process. The client is likely to be controlled by another agent or broker (the listing agent) within the business; most clients don’t want to connect and communicate with a number of other brokers or agents as part of any sale or lease.  They prefer to work with the people that they know from the very start.  Who will be communicating with the client?  Who will be negotiating the transaction with that client?  Remember that you are introducing the tenant or the buyer so you do have some value to the of property results equation, however in most cases you do not have direct links to the client.  Who will close the transaction with the client?

There will be rules that apply when it comes to connecting with the client and particularly the client that is under the control of another agent or broker or within your business.  Respect the rules of communications so that you can build a good business reputation and future opportunities around selling and listing properties from the listing inventory.

You can get more commercial real estate sales tips for brokers from our eCourse ‘Snapshot’ right here.

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