Experience Matters in Commercial Real Estate Agency

It is an interesting question to ask.  What value is experience in commercial real estate agency and how can it be used?  Most salespeople would say that experience matters, but it is only when you put factors together that you can see how it can all work for you as an agent.

This is what experience in the local property market can do for you.

1. It can help you rise to the occasion with difficult properties and clients.  You will know how to handle the tough things that can come to you.  It should be said that being selective with clients and properties is a good thing.
2. Unless you have some way of ‘fast tracking’ things, the experience that you need in the industry takes about 5 to 7 years to gather.  In that time you will see many situations and clients that require certain responses.  You will also have made a few mistakes and had a few ‘wins’.  Understand what works for you and keep repeating it.
3. Penetrating the market takes time. It happens as a result of prospecting, successful transactions, and client relationships.  All of these can be improved by prospecting and cold calling.  If you want better results and sooner from your efforts, start prospecting and improve the process every day.
4. Your database is the most important tool and resource that you have.  Capture all of the information that you can from clients, prospects, tenants, business owners, and other industry professionals.  Above all else, keep your database fresh and accurate.  Old and incorrect information will waste your time in many different ways.
5. Some properties and clients are the product of a ‘long deal cycle’.  It can take many months or even years for situations to be correct for a sale or a lease transaction.  Understand that not everything happens immediately with some clients and with some property types.  Keep the door open with the client so you are ready and willing to help them when their situations and market forces align.
6. I like to track the deals of competitors and other agencies.   When this is done you can move in on their client a few years later and open the relationship in readiness for the next property transaction.  In commercial and retail real estate, the average transaction happens about every 5 to 8 years.  That is an opportunity in waiting.

Experience in the industry will tell you what really works and what doesn’t.  All top agents have a personal system and a consistent process of making that happen.  You can do the same so that the rise to the top of the market is faster and productive.