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How to Improve Leasing Skills Faster in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage

If you are a professional leasing agent working with commercial and retail property owners, there are certain skills to grow at a personal level, and particular focus points in your business to optimise.  You can of course work with both landlords and tenants with their leasing requirements.  Either ‘channel’ of business has opportunities.  Size and quality has something to do with the results any agent or broker achieves.  (NB – you can get plenty of ideas for Brokerage Leasing here in Snapshot – its free)

 

So here is a list of some of the best ‘leasing’ clients to work with:

 

  • Landlords that own multiple properties in a precinct or location
  • Property owners as investors that are looking to grow their portfolios
  • Larger businesses in a town or city that may seek to lease or move premises
  • Franchise groups seeking to grow their brand locally with businesses in new locations
  • Landlords with vacancies in properties that they own
  • The owners of larger properties or properties in prime precincts
  • National retailers and merchandise groups seeking to consolidate or grow occupancy

 

The list is not finite, but it does contain the main channels of leasing opportunities for most brokers and agents.  How much market share will you hold and or cover in those categories?  Can you improve your coverage in these groups?  Make a list of the segments you cover now and see how you can improve things.

 

Where is the Leasing ‘Upside’?

 

Look for the ‘upside’ in the property leasing market.  You can focus most of your new business and prospecting activities into these groups and lists of people.  Over time, the regular contact process into those groups will create opportunities for renting, leasing and relocating people and businesses.  Beyond that point, it is simply a matter of how you keep up the momentum into the future.

 

Assuming you know the listed people or the target groups noted above in your local property market, the next stage of getting more new business and leasing opportunities underway is through systems and ‘skills development’ at a personal level.  Here are some of the most important factors to consider with that:

 

  1. Tenant database – your database or client list is where most of your commission opportunities will evolve, so take the time to get the issue under control. When the property market is slow, or your commissions are ‘stagnant’, have a look at your client list and see how you can grow it consistently over time.
  2. Landlord database – there is no doubt that vacancies in a property put landlords under pressure. There will be upcoming vacancies for you to find that require resolve; tenants will be moving to other locations.  Stability of rent is important to the investment results of any property.  You can help with that.
  3. The way to set up a lease of premises – there are different lease documents and clauses to use with commercial and retail leasing. There are also some legislation factors to take into account as you finalise a lease. Make sure you know how to do that with your property speciality and location.  In many cases, the final lease will be prepared by a solicitor on behalf of the property owner or landlord.  You will be the catalyst to getting the lease on paper.
  4. Rent strategies – there are a few alternatives in structuring rent and lease arrangements in any property. Look at the comparables and the variables of market rents for your property type and location.  Incentive solutions in leasing will also come into play as negotiations are set or worked through.
  5. Market rent understandings and comparables – know your precincts and city so that the market rents are comprehensively understood. It is not always the starting rent that is important, but the value of the rental cash flow over time.  Check all the recent lease transactions locally so you can fully appreciate the achieved market rent.
  6. Lease expiry calendar – identify the larger leases locally and get a good understanding of when the leases will expire. As part of that, make up lists of prime and high-quality buildings.  You then have a target list of tenants and tenant movement in your location to work with.

 

There are some real skills to develop and nurture here if you are a leasing agent working on commercial and retail property.  Position yourself as the expert and keep all your skills honed and refined.

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