New Business Ideas in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage

We sometimes forget that our prospects and the people that we know are highly important and critical to our respective commercial real estate businesses. If we want to attract more business, then we should attract more of those valuable people and connect with them regularly.

 

That is how the industry works. Those people locally need to know you and trust you. The equation is quite important when it comes to building market share and commission opportunity.  (NB – if you want help with your commercial real estate business, get Commercial Snapshot – its free)

 

Who Should be a New Client?

 

Some agents and brokers get a bit confused when it comes to the clients and the prospects that they should be working with. They will work with just about any person that walks in the door or telephones them with a property inquiry, need or challenge.

 

That can be, and usually is initially a counter-productive process for any broker or agent. You have to be selective with the people that could be clients or prospects. Choose the best people to work with and serve over time.

 

Every client and prospect needs to be qualified and considered from a business and value perspective; that is your business perspective and your value perspective.

 

You can waste a lot of time in the industry if you are not careful. Time is one of the most important resources that we have in the industry.

 

Top Agents Dominate Property Markets

 

If we focus our available time on the less important people and or the low value properties locally, the commissions we require simply don’t convert. That is then a ‘slippery slope’ to lower incomes and less market share.

 

The top clients and the top investors in any location want to work with the agents that have the domination and the control of the market. Put that concept and focus into your prospecting model; show the people in the property market that you are the better person to resolve investment and location changes.

 

Consider Your Valuable Clients and Prospects

 

The message here is that you can and should consider all your listings and clients from a value perspective; that value perspective should be assessed at least quarterly as you proceed through the business year. So, there are some things to look at when it comes to growing your market share with the right people. Ask yourself the following questions:

 

• What are the valuable client types within the location that you should be working with? Have a clear vision when it comes to the priority clients and properties locally. Do the research to identify the property owners controlling the better properties in the location. They should be at the centre of your prospecting model and client list.
• Where are the factors of change and churn in the local property market? The supply and the demand factors of the local property market will create change and churn to tap into
• What are the buyers and the tenants looking for when it comes to property occupancy and investment? Understand the property types and the locations. Identify the precincts that people are looking to move into and invest across.
• Where are the pressures of the property market when it comes to property ownership and investment? When you consider your territory, you will find certain pressures of property ownership and investment that you can help with.
• Where are the better properties located in your town and city? And what share of that market and those properties do you currently have? Refine your focus into the better properties and the better locations. Research the facts of ownership and occupancy in a direct and relevant way. The right information will always lead you to the better opportunities.

 

When you know the answers to those questions, you will know exactly the types of clients and prospects that you should be working with. A refinement of vision and focus on certain clients and prospects will help you find the new business that you require. Connecting in a relevant and real way beyond that point is very important.

 

Feed your database with the right people, the right properties, and the right inquiries. Track the property churn and the change in your location and then match the right people to your market intelligence.

 

Get More Involved with Your Database

 

So, the word ‘involvement’ is important here when it comes to the people in your database and the clients that you know. Every working day you should be connecting with those people in ways that show that you are the top agent for the location with a market coverage that they can use and benefit from at the right time in the future.

 

What can you do here?  You can get involved with those carefully selected people and encourage them to connect with you regularly as their property investment and occupancy issues change and challenge.