Ideas for Shaping Your Destiny as a Commercial Real Estate Agent Today

In commercial real estate brokerage, the results that you achieve will be largely influenced by the personal processes and efforts you apply in your local property market. Some agents make the big mistake of focusing on too many issues at once and on that basis achieve only random results.

If you want get anywhere with listing and commission activity in the commercial property industry, it is necessary to apply yourself specifically within a location and a property type. That being said, ensure that the location has sufficient potential property action over the next five years for you to achieve the results that you need.

Location Research

In checking the area for future potential the following are good indicators to seek out:

• The number of businesses in the town or city
• The successful business segments
• The locations where tenants and companies like to occupy
• The types of properties that people are looking for to own or occupy
• The number of sales and leases over the last 12 months
• The momentum of property enquiry recently showing what people are looking for by way of property

Given these ‘historic’ indicators you can set about looking into the future opportunities in commercial real estate locally.  Consider the following questions.

• What segments of the market are most attractive and flexible for new business opportunity?
• How can you grow your database directly and efficiently with new clients?
• Where is the property market headed over the next five years?
• What are the factors of supply and demand today in local property?  Are you working the opportunities of each?
• Can you move your focus across sales, leasing, and property management to retain your client as they seek to solve property problems?
• Why should people use your services to sell or lease?

When you consider the last 12 months, some things will stand out in your career as positive and others as negative.  All agents have issues and challenges to work through; the industry is like that.  We have to work through our weaknesses and build on our strengths.  Personal performance as an agent is a deliberate choice; practice and action will resolve many a sales or leasing weakness.

The Client Facts

Having spent a long time working with many clients in the property industry over 30 years, I have developed some observations that are helpful for new agents and those that are struggling with commissions.  Here are some of those ideas:

1. You can change your habits and achieve fresh results in market share and client contact.  Your habits shape the future in the industry.
2. The clients that you reach out to in your property market are the key to new listings and commissions.
3. There is no point taking the ordinary or generic approach to client contact and marketing.  It is important that you stand out in a meaningful way to all of your clients and customers.  Don’t be just one of many local agents; be special and knowledgeable in your market segments so the clients you approach cannot ignore your strategies and results.
4. Relevance will bolster your listing conversions and presentations.  How relevant are you in your location and property type?
5. Control your property market through exclusivity.  Exclusive listings are the only way to optimise the results you get with quality listings.
6. The size of the property, the location, and the quality of the property will have a lot to do with the enquiries you create.  In selecting properties to take to the market, err on the side of quality and exclusivity.
7. It takes about 3 months of consistent effort to change your listing conversions and enquiry situation.  If the property market is difficult for you now, dedicate the time to prospecting and new client contact for at least the next 3 months.  Soon the opportunities will be identified and you can improve your market share.
8. Practice your listing pitch, and your inspection processes.  Make them special and unique so that the client can see why they need you as the agent of choice to help them in the marketing and challenge that their property presents.

Think about the last 12 months in your career as an agent or broker.  Could things have been better?  Given the 8 facts above, now would be a good time to consider self-improvement strategies and practice.  Top agents get to the pinnacle of their market through deliberate effort.  You can do the same.