Developing a Sales Character in Commercial Real Estate Agency

To be successful in commercial real estate agency, you do need to understand your selling strategies and character.  Every salesperson and every agent will be different in this regard.  Build on your sales strengths, and resolve the weaknesses (we all have them).

A lot has been written over the years regards the main characters that apply to personality responses and traits in professional selling.  You should take the time to understand your character relative to these established rules and known facts.  This will then help you respond to people in kind with their ‘character’, and help you connect to them with relevant information in a way that they will positively react to.  Over time this process will help your conversions when it comes to quality listings, and better negotiations.

The Common Salespeople Characters

So let’s look at two of the most common characters of salespeople when it comes to successful selling in commercial property.

• The first sales character is that of a ‘dominant’ salesperson.  They are very motivated and tend to push forward through prospecting activities, inspections, and negotiating.  They tend to dominate the momentum of the deal and the transaction.  They are quite results driven, and will do everything possible to get the result that they require.  Given that they are so ‘performance’ orientated, the basic weakness they have is in building long-term relationships.  A highly dominant salesperson may complete a difficult or challenging transaction faster, but they may leave some damaged relationships in the process.
• The second sales character that is also quite common is that of an ‘expressive’ or ‘people based’ salesperson.  They are usually far more ‘people orientated’ when it comes to moving through the deal or the transaction.  They will be sensitive to the feelings and concerns of the parties to the transaction; they take longer to close most deals.  They will still be looking for a positive and realistic outcome for the client; they will be protecting the relationship with the client as part of that process.

When you compare these two separate characters, it is interesting to note that the dominant salesperson is usually quite organised and efficient.  They keep everything under control and well directed to the goals or targets that they require in the deal or with the listing.  In comparison, the expressive salesperson is usually disorganised and not as task focused.  They tend to do too many things at once and therefore lose focus on the big and important picture.

We all want to earn better commissions and create more listings.  That then says we need to be focused on growing market share, and improving our prospecting and every opportunity.  The relationships that we strike with our clients and customers over time will help us build market share.  The deals or the transactions that we create should also be underpinned with strong ongoing client relationships.  Referrals and repeat business will then come back to us over time.

There is nothing right or wrong with you being either type of sales professional (you may also be a hybrid of both).  It is however important that you understand your natural preferences and styles when it comes to negotiating and client connection.  Sometimes you will need to adjust those to suit the circumstances and the client’s character.  Most top agents build relationships over time, and you will need to do the same.

There are times where you should be quite focused, and therefore drive through a deal at all costs; there are also other times where you should be sensitive to the needs of the client and the relationships within the transaction.  The best salespeople will adapt to the needs of the deal, the client, and the property.

Refine your sales skills, communication systems, dialogue, and your ability to adjust when it comes to the different clients and customers that we serve.  In that way your professionalism will support your growth in market share.