How to Qualify and Service Buyers in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
When you have an investment buyer on your enquiry books or in your database for an investment property, then work the person and their purchasing opportunity deeply in a relevant and real way. Service them comprehensively; show them all of your listings that match their needs.
In an ordinary property market, buyers are ‘gold’ and are highly important to getting brokerage results and inspections; don’t let them ‘slip through your fingers’. Use your database in a comprehensive way when it comes to your identified buyers and their property needs.
It can also be said here that if you have high quality listings on your ‘books’ then the best buyers will very likely seek you out for inquiries and inspections. The rule works in any market and any economic cycle.
Your Current Buyers List?
So, let’s say you have some buyers to work with. Don’t lose contact with your buyers and inevitably let the buyer move to another broker or agent. Stay relevant with listings and local property information; keep the conversation moving ahead. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing another broker or agent close a deal with a buyer with whom you have been working for some time.
What information can you provide to them? Try some of these:
- Case studies for recent transactions
- Market updates on supply and demand for the location
- Reports regarding new and upcoming property developments
- Recent sales and lease transactions
- Levels of inquiry, sales, and leasing for the region
- Graphs and statistics for the location
- Recent property listings that match the investor’s requirements
From this simple list of interactions, you are demonstrating that you are a valuable agent for the location. It is hard for a buyer of property to ignore your approaches and information. So what do you do next? This is how I would qualify a buyer looking for an investment property:
- Who are they? – get the names and all the contact detail before you give out too much information. If they are open and genuine, they will not have a problem in giving out that information. Everything shared in conversation should go straight into your database under the appropriate category for later matching and action.
- How did they contact you? – when you know how they are coming to you, you can see what parts of your local area marketing are working more successfully than others. Consider the differences and inquiry feeds from online, offline, and direct marketing. Perhaps the local signboard has been the trigger for the inquiry; ensure that you understand how things got started and how the person has found you to make the inquiry.
- What have they seen? – if they have been looking around the property market already, they will know of other properties on the market, and the relevant prices. The important issue here is that their purchasing intentions and price capabilities match the market circumstances. Conversations will help you find out that information.
- What are they looking for, and when do they need to purchase? – you can explore property requirements and location here so that the primary zone of action and decision can be identified. Most investors understand a zone, a property type, or an area more than others. Get a full understanding of those primary facts. Focus your listing quotes into those facts.
- What is their primary focus and key requirement(s) with a new property purchase? – there will be 2 or 3 ‘must have’ requirements in finding a new investment property to purchase. Go deep on purchasing requirements so you know all about their rents, cash flow, improvements, risk assessments, portfolio timing, and existing financing capabilities.
- Budget for purchasing? – it’s all about the money in the end result. Can they afford what they want as an investment? Do they understand the averages of price and income from investment properties locally? As you probe this information accurately, use comparable properties, photos, charts, and statistics to help a buyer understand the prevailing market conditions.
Simple and specific facts like these will help you get to the real facts of purchase with a commercial investment property. Qualify the buyer in a comprehensive way.
With the advances in technology, there are plenty of ways that you can carry information with you on a tablet, computer, in the ‘cloud’, or on hard copy reports. Be prepared to do a ‘show and tell’ with any qualified buyer in commercial real estate. Market the properties that you have now comprehensively and deeply with buyers.