Commercial Real Estate Brokers – Focus on the Present for Leads and Commissions
In commercial real estate brokerage you can find lots of opportunity in the property market when you focus on the present. In other words, get to know what is happening now in the local property market. Don’t listen to your peers and other agents; get the facts for yourself from talking to tenants, property sellers, and property buyers.
It is surprising what people will tell you when you focus on asking good questions and undertaking professional business communication. Fortunately we largely work with experienced property investors and business people; most of them will share information in a valuable way if we connect with them professionally and directly. That means putting a name to a voice and a face to a conversation; meetings are a critical part of our business.
Its a People Business!
People like to know who they are talking to and that personal relationship takes time to develop in commercial real estate.
So the message here is that we should focus on the present property market in our locations if we want to find the new business. Consider these questions in your town or city:
- What people are looking for? – Certain property types will be more desirable than others. Understand and track the levels of enquiry across office space, investment properties, industrial warehouses, retail shopping centres, and development opportunities. Know what is moving and why that is so.
- Where they are buying? – In your location, some property zones or precincts will be high on the agenda for buyers and investors. Factors will drive that choice such as changes to roads, rail, airports, freeways, zoning, other businesses, customer base, and price or rent.
- Where they are leasing? – It is common for some property zones to be more popular than others when it comes to leasing office, industrial, and retail space. Look at the leasing trends of the rental deals over the last 12 months. Find the popular areas of tenant choice and know why they are as such. Understand the grades of property and the popularity of each from a leasing perspective.
- How they are making choices? – Money impacts everything in business, and commercial property leasing or investment sales today is no exception. Prices, rents and incentives drive different levels of enquiry and negotiation. Some tenants and buyers like to look at a good number of properties before they make a decision. Your job is to help those tenants and buyers move to an offer and negotiation. Improve your negotiation skills so you can achieve that process with skill and control. Know how they are making property choices today and what triggers are helping you close deals quickly and effectively.
- When they are making a property change? – Many businesses today will consider property change only at certain times of the year influenced by key factors such as financial year change, seasonal holidays, production changes, sales cycles, access to raw materials, and staff employment cycles. Market your properties and personal skills around those factors.
- What factors of marketing seem to work better than others? – Always track your marketing results from every listing and particularly so with exclusive listings. Understand the marketing methods that really work today and keep repeating them.
Focus on the present factors of the property market to see how you can improve things. Opportunities are always in the numbers.
