How to Best Use Your Time in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Sales

It is all too easy to waste time in commercial real estate brokerage.  There are so many things happening each day that threaten the focus of even the most diligent of agents.  Loss of focus leads to a loss of client contact, market share, and commissions.  I guess you know the importance of these things?  Now you can see how time is your most valuable resource and I will give you some ideas as to how you can use that time.  (NB – you can get plenty of time management ideas in Commercial Real Estate right here in Snapshot – its free)

What is the message here?  The best agents have a process of doing certain things that they know will matter to their targets and new business results.  They will not vary from the select three or four ‘essential’ things that they understand will bring in most of the new business over time.

Time Really Matters and Here’s Why

Let’s create some focus in your real estate business. Consider your brokerage and your city with its property market.  What are the things that you know are so critical to you with getting key results?  By ‘results’ I mean the things required to get more listings, commissions, and clients; not much else is or should be as ‘high’ on the agent’s agenda.

Ready for some daily ‘discipline’ to help you build and consolidate your real estate business?  If you are struggling with the concept, try these ideas for starters:

1. Client contact and growth – over time encourage a growth of clients and particularly your client list.  Property transactions are typically spread out for most investors and or business owners; it can be some considerable time between property ‘transactions’.  The greater the number of clients that you know comprehensively (and those that know you similarly so), the easier it is to get momentum in your client contact model; that then can lead to more listings.  Ideally, you want all your clients to remember you at the time when they require property help.  Referral and repeat business is important.
2. Finding new listings – many new agents ask the ‘listing’ question at the earliest stages of their career.  The question is something like, ‘How do I find clients easily?’  So, they want to go about finding and converting new clients and listings in the easiest and quickest ways possible.  Soon they understand that there is no ‘magic bullet’ to the process.  Diligent research and effort is required to find new listings and business.  A planned prospecting and contact approach will help greatly.
3. Creating more meetings – most listing and client decisions are made from a base of ‘personal trust’.  That ‘trust’ will be established with your clients over time from your meetings and ongoing relevant contact.  Working the facts in ‘reverse’, the number of new meetings that you create with local property people, will be directly proportional to the new business opportunities that you create over time.  A foundation of trust can be created from a meeting with a prospect or client.  Think about it in your situation, and then do something with it.
4. Building more momentum in a database – there are some business foundations to set in your real estate business.  The most important one will be that of a database and or client list; perhaps the two lists are the same thing or similar for you.  The core issue here is that the information that is captured in your database should be completely accurate and up to date in all respects.  Don’t waste your prospecting time with redundant data; maximize every call and contact with accurate data.  After you speak to a prospect or client, update the client list and database accurately.
5. Marketing of properties and services – there are different ways to promote your property listings; some of those processes are online, and others are more ‘traditional’.  The best way to market yourself and your listings is by making plenty of direct calls and contacts.  Make your listings work for you by doing some direct marketing wherever possible. Contact the local people personally and talk about your listings; that is the rule.
6. Local area awareness – get to know all the elements of your property market, and stay ahead of any changes locally.  Define your local ‘territory’ or new business area, so you know all the local listings, precincts, streets, properties, and owners reasonably well.  A good awareness of the local area will always help you in putting the ‘off market’ deals together with interested parties.  Stay ahead of what the local property people are thinking and needing; keep in contact.
7. Current listings and active negotiations – it is not easy putting together a property transaction.  Qualified parties should be ‘advanced’ through some contact registration system and a series of ‘gates’ of qualification, negotiation and interest.  Work your listings and negotiations forward through diligent contact, processes, and communication.  Don’t leave your active transactions to the ‘whims’ and workloads of others.  Your transaction and your client remain in your control.

From these things, you can now see how important time is to the average agent and their working day.  Time is the most valuable resource that an agent should work with.  Everything else done and achieved will evolve from time and task focus.  How is your day going?  How can you improve your career?