New Strategy for Client Contact in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage

In commercial real estate the client contact model that you put in place will be the ‘make or break’ of lead generation and future listings.  Constant contact is required to establish the levels of trust and relevance with the clients that could need your services.

So many agents and brokers struggle with maintaining regular client contact; diversions are common in our industry as is the pressures of workload.   That then creates less momentum for the broker with slower or fewer commissions.  Control your focus so that most of your working day is dedicated to finding new business and servicing the clients that are on your list of opportunities.

Create Your Client System

The whole concept works if you allow your system of client interaction to get established and then improve it over time.  Think about your contact and marketing methods now and improve it where possible.  Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you connecting with all of your clients and prospects at least once every 90 days? – Contact can be by telephone, letter, meetings, email, and newsletter. The point of the process is that you must build your personal relevance with the client or prospect.
• Have you segmented your client list for greater contact relevance? – Good segments to use would be sellers, buyers, tenants, landlords, prices, rents, locations, and property types. That being said you will need a database to track your interactions with the right people that have been qualified and are looking to do something with property.
• Why should your clients and prospects list their property and or do business with you? – This simple question will help you focus your marketing efforts. The answer has to be quite specific and must allow you to stand out in the property market as a specialist for your area.  Your skills and property knowledge should support the process.  Generic agents don’t generally win a lot of new business because they have no perceived benefit to offer their clients.  Most generic agents take a listing tack that involves an inflated listing price and low marketing funds.  That then leads to extended time on market and low listing conversions.   Always remember that your clients want the top agent for the job.  Market and position yourself accordingly.
• Do you convert a good level of marketing money with every exclusive listing? – To spread the word about a listing or a property opportunity, marketing funds paid by the vendor will be a part of the process, so refine your listing presentation and pitch accordingly. Vendor paid marketing will support property exposure in all the typical promotional channels such as internet, newspapers, signboards, brochures, and direct marketing in the local precinct.  Your marketing has to stand out.  Make it special.  When you analyse the actions and performance targets of top agents you will find that they generally only work the higher quality listings, and vendor paid marketing funds are part of the exclusive listing appointment.

Simple questions like these in commercial real estate brokerage require specific answers and definite actions on the part of the broker.  Shift your client focus.