Commercial Real Estate Brokerage – How to Attract More Quality Listings

In commercial real estate brokerage today there will always be elements of competition when it comes to finding new business opportunities.  Many client presentations will be undertaken through some competitive process and a few agents are likely to be chasing the same business and or client.

Other agents will be enticing the interests of the client and potentially the listing through discounted marketing and discounted commission.  Given that the client wants a good result in a timely way, you would think that both of those ‘discounting’ factors would be counterproductive to the outcomes that the client requires (i.e. don’t base your listing strategy on discounts).

Those other agents will also be claiming to have some form of relevance and skill when it comes to the particular market segment and solving the client’s property problem.  How do you compare to those other agents and brokers when it comes to that competitive listing situation?  Why should the client listen to you?

Connection Attention

Many of the clients that we work with, and particularly local property investors, already connect with a number of different agents for the location.  That then says that if we want to attract new business opportunities then we must be individually special and unique when it comes to professional property services.

There is no point in being ordinary when it comes to real estate brokerage and agency today.  Relevance is everything when it comes to winning the attention and the interests of clients in commercial real estate today.  All of your marketing services, your listing promotions, and recommendations should be specific to the property and the client.

Are you agent relevant?

Consider the following questions.

• Would your clients and customers regard you as a property specialist for the location?
• Would they remember you at the right time when it comes to property activity?
• How can you provide them with something special when it comes to a sales, leasing, or property management strategy?

Most of the clients that we work with have limited time when it comes to solving a problem or a challenge with their asset.  They want to get the best price or the best rent for their property in the shortest possible time.  When you control the listing, and when you work with the best properties locally, the inbound property enquiry will come to you more directly and frequently.  It directly follows as part of your prospecting model that you should be focusing your efforts on the best properties for the region and the best clients for the location.

Factors of attraction

To win the interests of those people, and then retain their commitment to you, it is essential that you have some form of relevance and speciality that they cannot overlook or bypass.  As a special note here, remember that every property you seek to convert should be on an exclusive basis.  There is absolutely no point in taking on an open listing unless you are certain it offers some potential to you over time.  You cannot control the listing stock when it comes to an open listing and you cannot control enquiry or the negotiation.  Open listings will not allow you to build market share any significant way.  Open listings are a process of ‘luck’ and you cannot build your real estate business in that way.

Are you the best local agent or broker?

Be the agent of choice in every respect when it comes to the location and the property type; specialisation is so important in our industry.  From the aspect of specialisation within a particular territory and precinct, you can provide some real value when it comes to marketing, negotiating, and time on market.  Here are some ideas to help with that:

• UPDATES: Provide a regular market updates for the region and in doing so specifically drill down into property types and locations. Provide a summation of rental trends, pricing updates, and local property enquiry.  In doing that you can easily show your professional skill and relevance to your prospects and clients.
• VARIETY: In providing the market updates as mentioned earlier, use your social media channels to distribute the information systematically and thoroughly into your database and into your list of clients and contacts. Just about every other agent or broker for the location will also be using social media in some way or form.  Your use of that marketing strategy should therefore be very unique and quite special.  The information that you dispatch through your social media channels should be immediately identifiable to you and your specialisation.
• MATCHMAKING: Mix and match your local property information in different ways so that you are not just providing a basic newsletter in a boring and generic way; you have to stand out in a positive and professional way. There are other things that you can do such as audio podcasts, charts and graphs, illustrations, and infographics.  Through mixing up your property market messages, you can attract more client and prospect interest over time.  Regularity and variety will or should always be part of your professional marketing strategy when it comes to building market share.  Take the time to spread the right message comprehensively using a variety of marketing tools including social media.

From these points you can see why it is absolutely critical that you market yourself and your commercial real estate brokerage services on the basis of local area relevance and knowledge.