13 Key Skills Sets to a Successful Career in Commercial Real Estate Agency
A career in commercial real estate agency can be very rewarding for those that work to a plan and develop a real focus on self-improvement.
It is a fact that the commissions made from a single transaction can be very significant however they don’t come easily.
A client has to trust an agent and respect the skill that the agent brings to the property challenge. Without that client trust and belief the listings do not happen.
Growth and Opportunity
You can set yourself up for growth and success in the industry if you develop a mindset of growth in skill and knowledge. You then need to match that with systemised prospecting, listing, negotiating, and documentation.
You see there are specific stages to what we do as agents in selling, leasing, or managing a commercial or retail property. Each stage has special skills and requirements.
Now it should be said that most agents are somewhat average in most of the skills so that works for most salespeople and they can work in the industry; only the top agents are really good at all of the required skill sets.
Essential Skills to Develop
So what are these very special skills? Try these for starters:
- Research of properties, prospects, and clients in your local market
- Knowing your property specialty to such a degree that the market regards you as an expert
- Prospecting new listings and clients in your area and with relevance to your property type
- Presenting and pitching your services to prospects so you can convert more new business
- Listing a property in a comprehensive way that captures the full information of the client and the property
- Advertising and marketing each listing to reach the desired target audience in the best way possible
- Qualifying the enquiries that come to you from your marketing and advertising efforts
- Inspecting properties with qualified parties to encourage offers in sales and leasing
- Negotiating with the parties to a sale to get a ‘market relative’ offer and acceptance in place for the client
- Moving and closing a property negotiation onto a legal contract of sale or lease that satisfies the requirements of the client
- Ensuring that each contract or lease moves to final settlement or occupancy in the way that the client and the parties intended
- Encouraging referral business and repeat business from your clients and prospects
- Database management of your contacts and prospects
When you have a serious look at the things on this list you can see that the industry is highly specialised; that’s why we get paid a very good commission for a successful lease or contract. Rate yourself in each of the above skill and knowledge related items; are there things that can be improved? If so, you have some work to do.
There is so much to learn and improve on if you want to be a top agent. The choice is yours and the practice is very personal.
Take charge of your career and build your skills in each of the categories on the list. That is the fast track to the top of the industry.
