List Management Rules in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage

In commercial real estate brokerage today you need a ‘list’ to be successful.  In that ‘list’ there will be sellers, landlords, buyers, and tenants.  It directly follows that the list should be up to date and totally accurate.

Recently I met with a new agent of a larger brokerage to coach him on the skills and requirements of the industry.  He was new to the industry so he had quite a few things to learn.  So all of that was good, and we started the coaching process.

During the coaching I was soon to learn that the brokerage had several thousand prospects in its database and most of them have never been followed up and encouraged into doing business as part of an ongoing contact program.  Many brokers and agents had come and gone through the brokerage over the last 5 years and left their ‘contacts’ behind.  What an amazing opportunity!

So what would you do with a list like this?  This is what I would do:

• Every day between 8:30am and 11:00am I would call people on the list at the rate of 40 or 50 per day.  That is going to take me 2 or 3 hours.
• I would find out what those people are doing today with their property needs and I would bring the list up to date.
• From that point onwards I would stay in touch with the right people on the list at least once every 90 days.
• After calling all the people on the list I would add at least 5 or 10 new contacts per working day.

List management is really important.  Most agents struggle with contact management and relationship systems.  This in itself is a great opportunity for those that can create the focus, practice their dialogue, and make the calls.

Here is a simple script that I would use in this situation of database update:

‘Mr Brown, its John Smith, from Acme Commercial Real Estate.  Thanks for taking the call.  Perhaps you can help me, as I am really not quite sure who to talk to.  The matter relates to commercial/retail/industrial property.

I have noticed that you own/lease commercial property in Newtown.  I was calling to see if you have any issues or challenges with that property locally.  Would property be of any concern to you today?’

No matter what they say in answer to the question, you can continue a conversation from this point.  Explore the variables of sales, leasing, buying, and property management.

Your focus should be in getting information and in updating your database or list.  Some of the people that you talk to will want help and others will not.  Ask the questions and create the conversations. Soon the property market will offer you some leads and fresh prospects.   Top agents are great at creating conversations.

Understand the value of the people in your list and manage it well.  One good relationship that is well managed can be taken into many transactions over time.  Grow your list and nurture it the same as a farmer plants crops of grain.  The results come over time.