A Simple Formula for Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Results
There are different ways to approach commercial real estate brokerage today. In your town or city there will be factors of opportunity for every agent and broker to tap into.
So what can you do here? The levels of competition and the size of the local property market should be assessed so you know exactly where the new business will be coming from and how you can convert that new business yourself.
Key Questions
You need some rules and systems to support your progress.
Think about these questions:
- Salary and or Commission? – Industry standards will drive certain approaches and rules when it comes to agent and broker remuneration. Ultimately the top agents of the industry usually work on a ‘commission only’ basis of reward. They have the coverage to pull in the enquiry and the listings. They have the inbound leads and the client base to create substantial ongoing income for themselves. It takes deliberate effort to get to the pinnacle of the local property market and then to stay there; you may have plenty of competitors to consider and work around. Set your income strategy so that it is clear and precise, and then prospect for new business comprehensively.
- What are the best local property targets? – When you analyse the industry, a few targets or points of focus will exist and stand out. Ask these questions of your location and property market. Where are the greater volumes of upcoming property opportunities? What is happening in local business and investment? Should you specifically serve buyers, sellers, tenants, or investors? When you answer those questions for yourself, you will know where you should be focusing your prospecting efforts. Set some milestones to guide you ahead.
- What are relevant Key Performance Indicators? – In most cases the KPI’s to watch are related to business generation and conversion. It is one thing to win a listing on an exclusive basis, it is another to convert it to a positive result. The KPI’s that you set for yourself should be similar to or cover off on ‘meetings created’, ‘listings created’, ‘database growth’, ‘marketing money’, ‘time on market’, ‘price or rent per transaction’, and ‘referral business’. Watch all the indicators so you can see where things are improving.
- How can you start and grow a Database? – From the very start of your career, a database should be the foundation of your real estate business. Shape it and grow it every day. Make sure that you are using the best software solution that you can afford to help you to stay on track with your client list and prospect list. Don’t use spreadsheets as they are fraught with the potential for errors.
- How can you comprehensively start marketing yourself? – Every agent or broker should have a marketing plan for themselves in the local area. That plan can be shaped and changed over time, however it must happen every day. Top agents ‘stand out’, so be prepared for a degree of personal marketing. We have a few good tools to help that happen including the cell phone, social media, direct mail, websites, blogs, articles, and editorials. Every marketing process requires a strategy at a personal level.
- What do you know about documentation? – When you put a sale or lease deal together for a client, ensure that you have the knowledge to do so. Many sales and leasing transactions can be quite complex. Build the right documentation skills to create accurate and ‘rock solid’ property transactions. Learn and improve.
- Professional skills improvement? – We all need to be at the ‘top of our game’ especially in competitive location where many agents and brokers will be chasing the same property and or client. Start practicing your skills.
So there are a few good things that you can do here. Set your plan of coverage and skill development as a broker or agent. Start acting on that plan and refine it over time.
(N.B. these ideas are also sent out to regularly to our friends in Commercial Real Estate Online Snapshot to help amplify brokerage results…. Get your access here)