Everything You Wanted to Know About Territory Management in Brokerage

In commercial real estate brokerage, you will have a territory allocated to you, and that defined precinct should be monitored and controlled with some personal rules of engagement. Start every day with direct marketing activity in your zone or precinct.

So where do you start?  Brokerage activities will be in either sales or leasing and the following factors should be tracked and optimised for the territory that you have been allocated.

Territory Management Focus

Consider the following in your zone or precinct now:

1. Signboard coverage – know the locations of all properties that are that are on the market for sale or lease currently.  Check out the intensity of signboard coverage in precincts and on properties. As basic as it may seem, the traditional signboard is still an effective marketing tool in a local area.  People see the signboards as they drive through a property zone or city, and that creates a perception of relevance and experience for agents and brokers.  Get your signboard out into your territory as frequently and prominently as possible.
2. Internet adverts – the online part of property marketing is growing and evolving.  How you get your properties online and how frequently you refresh the advertising with a quality descriptive copy will impact enquiry.  Consider your active suburbs and priority locations with listings.  How many listings do you get up online?  What levels of enquiry are you getting from the online portals?  Can some of those adverts be lifted to a higher profile and placement when considered for a suburb?  People search for properties in a suburb, so your properties should be optimised to appear at the top of the suburb list when a person is searching for a property type.
3. Time on the market – some listings stay on the market for too long.  There will be reasons for that, and seasonal pressures also apply.  Monitor things and assess time on the market that you believe that should apply for a good property that is actively marketed comprehensively.  Beyond that time frame, a property has saturated the enquiry and should likely be given a ‘spell’.  That then is the removal of the property from promotion for a period.
4. Email out grouped listings – be it weekly or monthly, there are good ways to email out property listings that you believe are of quality and interest to your database.  Group your listings so that the emails can be more targeted to types of people and business owners interested in certain locations.
5. Focus on prime precincts – know where the better precincts are from a business perspective and drill down into property occupancy records and property ownership records.   Find out what people are thinking and seeing in the zones.
6. Know your targeted buildings – choose the better buildings in a location for constant ongoing review.  You are to review occupants, owners, changes, vacancies, and business pressures.  When you watch a small number of targeted buildings, you can see things happening before other agents or brokers get involved.
7. Establish a list of VIP owners – create a list of 10 to 20 property owners that you want to help on leasing or sales activity.  These ‘VIP’ people are part of a deliberate and direct campaign of contact into the future.
8. Monitor comparable listings – some listings will be exclusive and in your control.  The same can be said for competing agents.  All comparable listings should be monitored for change and churn.  Are properties selling and leasing quickly?  Why are some listings staying on the market for too long?  Information like that will help you see the reasons behind the strengths and weaknesses of property sales and leasing results.
9. Choose the best method of sale or lease – some methods of selling or leasing an investment property will be more successful than others.  Make your observations and help your clients know what you think are the more successful methods of marketing and transacting property today.
10. Consider off-market opportunities and transactions – when you know a good number of local people, be they owners or occupiers, the chances of an ‘off market’ transaction escalate.  Keep talking to people frequently so you can resolve their property challenge when it arises.

So these are effective rules of territory management.  If you work in brokerage sales or leasing, consider how you can establish these rules in your business on a daily and weekly basis.