Client Familiarity is Amazingly Effective in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
In commercial real estate brokerage today you really do need to understand the client in a comprehensive and familiar way. Over time the clients that you that you really understand and can comprehensively relate to are very likely to be those clients that give you new business opportunities, listings, and commissions.
Make it your business target to put 25 clients into your VIP connection process; give them a higher level of your attention and involvement. Segment your database so that those very special clients are ‘flagged’ for a greater level of personal attention and understanding.
Understand your clients and the property market
The top agents in the property market really do understand the clients that they work for. They are on the lookout for quality acquisitions, tenants, and purchasers.
Want to improve your client connections? Here are some ideas to help establish that level of contact and understanding with your special contacts:
- Preference in property types – Some clients understand or prefer particular property types from an investment perspective. They make specific choices between retail, office, and industrial properties because they can relate to the changes in prices, rents and future supply.
- Spend capability – There will always be limits for some property owners when it comes to property ownership and financing. They will be able to spend money within limits of lending and risk exposure. The strength, quality and gearing of their current portfolio will help with future lending potential on any new property.
- What they currently own – Understand their current property portfolio by location and property type. Review the investment challenges in each property driven by things such as tenant profiles, leases, rents, vacancies, and property age. The client may need some help with resolving and or controlling some of those issues.
- Strengths and weaknesses – Some properties are better than others for many different reasons. Over time it is preferable if a client can fix investment weaknesses through repositioning and tenant or lease strategy. You can plan some of those things for your client and give them a ‘cost benefit analysis’ to help them see the road ahead on any weakness in property performance to be resolved.
- Risk and exposure – When you look at a group of properties or a precinct of property investment in your city you will see factors by location that will impact property values and returns. A shift of zoning or a movement of freeway are examples of change that can impact property values and ownership.
- Timing – When will a client need to change or improve property presentation, tenant mix, or investment performance? Investment timing helps a client make a decision or make the next move in property ownership and change.
When you really understand the clients that you serve, you can interact with them in a positive and relevant way at the right time. That is what proactive relationships are all about in commercial real estate brokerage.
