Commercial Real Estate Brokers – How to Avoid the Bigger Risks and Low Commissions in Your Career
Like it or not there are some risks in working in commercial real estate brokerage and those risks have something to do with getting results. You will have heard about ‘risk and reward’, and the two issues go hand in hand as agents and brokers strive to find new business opportunity. It doesn’t matter what part of the industry that you work in, there will always be a focus on new business and commission generation. Some risks have to be taken.
To minimise the risk of the commercial real estate industry, start focusing on new business generation and take steps every day towards talking to new people in your location, and finding new listings. When you have plenty of new business in the ‘pipeline’ listings start to flow and commissions escalate. New business is more important than anything else.
Solving the Risks?
Here are some ideas to help you get this risk minimization process under control in your real estate career:
- Prospecting activities – Devote 2 hours per day to direct prospecting and talking to new people in your designated zone or territory; ask plenty of questions and create conversations. You never really know where the next leads or listings will come from so the connection with people will help you resolve that problem.
- Database – Use a good database program that will allow you to connect with people easily and record the conversations that you have. Small pieces of information today are likely to be listing or deal opportunities in the future. The database that you use should have reasonable flexibility to categorise information and capture plenty of data in the form that you require.
- Market yourself personally – Whilst we are to market properties comprehensively in a local area, we can and should market ourselves locally as the industry specialists for a property type and a region. Use a number of promotional strategies to get the message out to the people that matter about your services and relevance as a property specialist. The best tools to use are online (internet) and direct cold calling. With the online process you can use articles, blogs, and social media. As part of the online marketing process, talk about your local area and the property activity; show that you are the industry wise and specialised person that can resolve property problems.
- Focus on quality listings and exclusivity – To rise to the top of your real estate market you really must control your listing stock, and the only way you can do that is through exclusivity. Avoid the open listing process as it gives you little control of the stock or the client. Focus on quality exclusive listings; in that way you will lift the level of inbound enquiry coming to you.
These are easy strategies to implement and can provide you with plenty of focus. They will help you overcome the riskier parts of the job and the real estate industry in general.