New Business Prospecting Advice for Agents

Prospecting for new listings is essential for a commercial real estate agent.  More property owners should be spoken to and collated into a control database every day.  It is a very personal process and should not be delegated.  It is a skill to be developed by all.

Some agents today struggle with the whole idea of getting listings and creating commissions.  Whilst the focus is understandable, both outcomes are possible when an agent knows lots of people and connects with them frequently.  It is a simple formula.

Simplicity Matters

Our property industry doesn’t need to be complicated; it simply comes down to knowing the people, the properties, and the property market.  When you understand those three things comprehensively, everything else makes a lot of sense.

Where do you start with this idea in commercial real estate? You have a territory, a group of preferred buildings or properties, and a prospect or target list.  Everything in your real estate business starts there.

New Business Model

So, client and listing prospecting should be at the centre of everything if you want to succeed as a real estate agent in your town or city.  Here is a model of property market exploration that is useful and direct:

• Researching the right people to contact – take the time every day to find new people to work with and build relationships around.  There are many different ‘characters’ in the property market, so be prepared for challenges with those characters.  Integrity, professionalism, and persistence are good skills to develop; most top agents are specialists in those things.
• Having something relevant to say – when you contact a property investor or business owner, it pays to have strong communication skills that support you through any variation of discussion or questioning.  Some people you connect with will test you out before they open on or share the key facts and information about their property needs.
• Understanding the local property market – sales and leasing activity will vary through the year, as will the number of listings on the market.  Research the result of completed real estate deals and property enquiries in rents and prices.  In that way, you will know what is selling or leasing and why.
• Establishing your database – your database is perhaps the most critical resource in your real estate business.  Take the time to ensure that your database is up to date and growing daily.  Keep talking to all those people you enter into your database so they can see and understand your real estate professionalism; they may not want your services today, but they will need some help at some stage in the future.  At that time, you want them to remember you.  You could say that strengthening property client relationships is what it is all about.
• Seeing opportunities – when you know a good number of people, you can keep a close eye out for the types of properties they may require.  Around 50% of the deals done in our industry are through top commercial real estate agents matching market circumstances to people.  It is a skill that takes a good database, a great client rapport, and relevant ongoing contact processes.

So, there are some definite rules here to help commercial real estate agents move ahead in their industry.  If your real estate prospecting processes lack, take a good look at these five factors.  Then, change your systems so you can improve your listing opportunities.