Lessons of Experience in Commercial Real Estate Agency

The longer that you are in the commercial real estate industry working as an agent you learn things and you see things.  Some of those things will help you shift your market focus and grow your habits in a positive way.  It should be said that good habits in our industry are often showing us the ‘roads to results’.

Some agents struggle for far too long in changing their bad habits on things that are critical to their business. Some agents never make the right changes due to lack of focus or personal development.  We all have choices and it is essential that we make the right ones in rising to the top of the market.

Here are some of the messages and tips that I have gleaned from commercial real estate over the years:

1. There is an average property ownership cycle that can give you significant listing opportunity.  Most property owners will be in a situation of property change or expansion every 5 to 7 years.  They may have reached the need for more property or a change of property in that time.  You can use this cycle to contact local property owners that are reaching the mid-point in that cycle (3 years).  You can then position yourself as the expert to help them in the next property challenge.  The rule of ‘constant contact’ then applies.
2. When your competitors put a signboard on a property, it is a good opportunity for you to contact the surrounding businesses and property owners.  It is likely that the competitor’s signboard will be a trigger for others in the street or the general location to consider property change or competition.  You can be the agent to help them.
3. Your prospecting system is likely to be the most important part of your personal real estate business.  Without leads and clients you can do nothing of consequence, and the road to better market share will be a lot slower.  Start a focus on prospecting and put your database at the centre of that.
4. Relevance is the key to converting more clients and listings.  For this reason you should be a specialist in a property type and a location.  Be better than the competitors locally by dominating the signboard counts and the property enquiries.  It is hard for a client to ignore you when you have the majority of the enquiry in your database.
5. Use technology to the fullest of its advantages.  That will include an online internet and social media presence as a specialist real estate agent.  Many agents do not have the discipline for the process; you can easily be more efficient than your competitors online.

Look for the lessons of experience in your real estate market and local area. Tips like these above will help you greatly with building your commercial real estate business.