How to Become an Acknowledged Expert in Commercial Investment Property Sales and Leasing
There are plenty of commercial real estate agents in most towns or cities chasing the same property business, listings, and client base. Every listing is thereby likely to become a competition between agents; the successful agent to win the listing is likely to be the ‘locally acknowledged expert’ in the market segment and location.
So what’s the issue? Property clients know the differences and when they are talking to an ‘average agent’ versus a ‘top agent’ or expert in their property field. If you strive to build market share and better commissions, it stands to reason that you must be that expert and build real expertise and knowledge for the clients that you serve.
Expert Agent Factors
To become an ‘expert’ in property locally a number of things must come together for any agent or broker. Here are some ideas to help:
- Clear and present market share – Your market share will be seen across a number of marketing platforms including the internet, the local and regional newspapers, and signboard presence on quality properties. Do a review of your listing numbers online and offline. Look at the listings that you have in comparison to other agents. Are you focusing on quality and how do you compare to other agents in your market or zone?
- A database that drives new business leads and deals – If you feed your database daily with new leads and contact details, soon you will have a foundation of attracting new listings. It is very hard for a client to ignore your relevance as an agent when you show them a few facts from your database such as a ‘short list of buyers or tenants to inspect’. Use your database as a leverage factor in any new listing presentation.
- Comprehensive knowledge about upcoming market factors of supply and demand – The future supply of property and the prevailing business sentiment locally will impact property enquiry. Look for the changes to the property market such as new property developments and renovated or repositioned properties coming into the future supply. Those buildings are likely to impact rents, prices, and time on market. What strategies will you use to get around those problems?
- Plenty of sales and leasing evidence – It is hard for a client to refute or challenge real facts from the property market. This ‘third party’ evidence is meaningful and gives you great leverage. To support any information from existing deals and leases get plenty of photographs and facts from each property involved. Comparable property information requires proven evidence that can be seen, read, and handled by the client. Most agents overlook the intensity of comparable property evidence needed in any property pitch, and thereby do not convince the client to accept the information in a meaningful way.
- High-quality marketing campaigns – A top quality property listed and the applicable marketing campaign will attract investors, buyers, tenants, and business people. When you get a good property coming on your listing books, ensure that the listing is comprehensively promoted in a special way. Soon you will have many more people to talk to about the property market and other listings coming up for sale or lease. Your database can underpin your future in the business and your deals this year.
- Shorter time on market – Show the client how you are achieving a ‘shorter time on market’ for your clients and with better listings. Most clients want the best price or rent in the shortest time. It stands to reason that your listing pitch should reflect those factors. Property marketing is not an ‘experiment’; it is a very specific process and your strategies should stand out as the best available for the current market conditions.
- Exclusivity in listings – Do not accept open listings on your books unless you are really desperate for listing stock. Exclusive listings are the only way to build your market share and relevance as an agent; it is also the way you can get faster results for your clients. Your listing pitch and presentation has to be structured towards that ultimate ‘exclusivity’ goal. Practice your pitch accordingly so that your conversions are highly biased towards exclusivity at all times. Are you prepared to protect your professional skills by walking away from an open listing? I hope so. Over time this elevated agent perception will help you attract better clients and property prospects
- Vendor paid marketing funds – If you convert more marketing funds with the vendors that you work for, you can drive more enquiries from your listings. Over time those enquiries and leads allow you to match sellers, buyers, landlords, and tenants. Top agents always run marketing campaigns based on vendor funds. There is a direct correlation between top agents and vendor paid marketing funds.
From these eight things you have a definite way of proving to your clients that you are the agent of choice for the local area and the one that will help them with any sale or lease conversion.