How to Build More Leads Successfully in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
Every commercial real estate broker or agent needs lots of leads for new business. The correct leads can help you build your client list and grow sales and leasing opportunity. When you get direct tips from the market coming to you directly it is a lot easier to put deals together off market and away from the pressures of the competition brokers and agents.
In any property market at any time there will be opportunity to be had by the astute and active property agent. In saying that, hard work is required at a personal level. Organisations and systems go with that process. Are you prepared to do the hard work?
So how do you create or find these leads? The answer is simple and goes something like this:
‘You comprehensively connect with the right people in an ongoing way.’
Given that the rewards in commercial real estate are many, look at your property market and where the best opportunities will be coming from for you. Understand your strengths as an agent, and how you can use them within a property type and zone. When you get focused in this way the listings and client conversions are easier. The leads are easier to locate.
So the ‘golden rule’ here is that the ‘leads’ will come to those agents and brokers that take planned action. Look around your market and see what can be done and covered from a property perspective. Here are some ideas to help you:
- What property types are active locally now, and will that continue into the future? As part of that, understand the history and growth of the area.
- Analyse the streets and property precincts in your sales territory for the quality clients and listings that will be ‘valuable’ to you in listings and commissions. Make a list of the top people and properties that you must know.
- Get a list of businesses through your region, town or city. Every business should be approached for property needs and changes. Speak to them directly and track the responses.
- Review property ownership details on a property by property basis. This will take time and on that basis work to a plan and enter your findings and progress into a good database.
- Who are the decision makers or business leaders that have relevance to the market? How can you connect with them? Why should they listen to you? You will require a strategy when seeking to talk to some ‘top end’ people.
- Understand your skills and relevance to the market today. Can you say that you are of real value to the people that you talk to, or are you generically similar to all other agents and brokers? Top agents are specialists, and you will also need to be.
- The people that you know today are good sources of repeat and referral business. It is just a matter of asking the right questions at the right time.
- Current listings will help you with enquiries. If you control your listing stock (exclusive listings), you will control the enquiries and the leads. If you list quality properties exclusively you can build your database of buyers, sellers, and tenants faster.
I go back to the point that in any market at any time there are plenty of leads and people to follow up on. It is just a matter of doing the right things in the right way. Over time market share starts to grow.
