Improve Your Commercial Real Estate Agency Business in a Leasing Slump

A leasing slump can be challenging in commercial and retail real estate.  Invariably, in a leasing slump, you will find an abundance of vacant tenancies and little enquiry coming your way.  Deals are slower and more challenging to assemble (or so it seems).

There is a good thing about this leasing market downturn: We will have plenty of stock to work with. What you should do as a real estate agent in a slower leasing market is find and then sign up all the quality local property listings onto ‘exclusive’ listing appointments. 

Control the Enquiry

When you control the better listings, you control the better enquiry.  That is how you put deals together in a more challenging market. So to balance that off, you make sure you are talking to lots of business owners and tenants across the market, and you are categorising and recording their needs as you go.

Review Your Lease Listing Stock

If things are slow or challenging for you in leasing commercial or retail property, take a long look at your listing stock.  Ask yourself these questions:

1: What type of listings do you have?

Do you control the listing, or is it an ‘open listing’? Open listings are a waste of time and will convert to successful transactions less frequently.

2: Client paid marketing funds

Has the property owner put in some ‘marketing funds’ to help you spread the message about the property today?  At the very least, you should have a very good signboard on the property, a priority listing on the internet, and a direct marketing campaign moving with all local businesses in the area.

3: Local Area Marketing First and Foremost

Local area marketing is critical in leasing any property.  Setting a defined prospecting area and tenant profile before marketing any listing on your books is best.  

Set some guidelines about marketing strategy and reach.  Know your media and methods, and then monitor the results weekly.

4: Examine Your Strategies

Think ‘outside the square’ regarding tenant use of the property and the types of tenants that could be suited to the property.  Make a list of business groups you can approach about the property and then start the process of personal contact.  Yes, I know this is time-consuming, but that is why we have ‘exclusive listings’. 

You can devote the time and effort to ‘exclusive listings’.  ‘Openly’ listed properties are a factor of luck.  If you have them on your books, put a sign on the property and don’t do anything else.  If the sign brings in enquiry, then act on it.

5: Talk to more business owners and tenants each day

Tenants are the lifeblood of the business and investment property industry.  If you are in a ‘leasing slump’ today, you probably do not have enough tenants on your books.  Take a good look at your listing and prospecting efforts. 

Start working on your prospecting to get more enquiries back into your database. The categories of your database should be tenants, landlords, business owners, investors, and franchise groups. You will find lots of leasing business in those groups.

Focus On People

A ‘slump’ in commercial real estate is a reason to develop more focus on people, and take more action.  When you consistently take more action through conversations and connections, you will find things you can list or close a lease on.  Top agents are doing more deals today because fewer agents are around to take the stock.  Isn’t that a good thing?