Plant Some Questions You Want the Competition to Address
When it comes to positioning yourself as a successful commercial real estate agent in a sales presentation or pitch, plant some questions in the clients mind that you would like your competitors to address. Good questions can shift the momentum and focus of any presentation in your favour.
Questions and ideas in this way help you stand out as an agent of experience and relevance; you are showing that you have better ideas and experience. Don’t criticise the other agent in the process (that is a professional ‘minefield’), but raise some good ideas and questions about the market and the property that you believe are valid and important for the client to consider.
So what can you raise that may be relevant and of interest to your clients? Try some of these:
- There will be a ‘best method of sale or lease’ that you know is more successful in this market today for the property type. Give the client details of how that works and why.
- The ‘time on market’ factors for any listing can be changed by a different approach to marketing. Tell the client about the time on market today and how they can shorten that process.
- Question the timing of the promotion of the listing given the local market factors and the target market for the property
- Show the client how some other clients in the area have made some mistakes in marketing that you don’t want your current client to repeat.
- Some competing agents have a conflict of interest with too many properties of the same type or in the same proximity. Talk about those ‘other properties’ that could conflict with the new listing coming into the market.
- Use your database as leverage in showing the client a good way of getting inspections underway quickly at the property. Give them a ‘short list’ of inspecting parties that will inspect the property as soon as it is listed on the market.
- Walk through the property with the client to show them exactly how you will feature the improvements, services, and amenities to interested buyers or tenants as the case may be. Also give them a strategy of inspection and negotiation that you will be using in marketing the property.
- Give the client a visual time line to what you intend to do with the property when listed. You can use a Pert or Gantt chart for that purpose.
- Show the client a ‘slide show’ of their property that you intend to carry with you on your laptop computer or tablet computer to show prospective buyers or tenants.
- Give some very unique approaches to marketing that are well away from a ‘generic’ approach.
So just how do you win a listing with a new client? You show them some real strategies that are much better than the competition. Your questions will show the client your relevance and experience with their property type and challenge.