Professional Services Marketing Strategies In Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
There are many things that you can do in commercial real estate brokerage today as part of offering professional services. The choices that you make here with your services will impact your business for years and particularly the commissions and the listings that you create.
Make the service choices based on your commercial property skills, knowledge, market, and location.
Key Questions to Ask
Here are some interesting questions to consider as part of moving up the ladder of opportunity in our industry:
- Where are the growing business segments in your town or city?
- How many other agents and brokers are you up against in your location?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of your property market and your competition?
- Why should people listen to you or use your services professionally?
- How can you specialise into a property segment that will offer you reasonable opportunities over the medium term of the next 5 years?
These questions put you closer to the issues that matter in commercial real estate brokerage in your location.
Generic Brokerage Doesn’t Work
There is no point in just being another general commercial agent or broker without specialisation, as there are plenty of them around.
It is wise if you consider how you can build your business comprehensively on being ‘different’ locally and professionally skilful. Offer the services that people need, and do so in ways that help you stand out as the agent of choice.
Create Your Service Alternatives
Here are some ideas below for you to explore in moving into this valuable topic to grow your real estate business. It is difficult for any agent or broker to do all of them comprehensively, but you could choose one or two of these and make them work for you:
- Investment sales – There are plenty of investors around looking to upgrade or expand their investment needs. It can also be said that selling an investment property is quite special if you are trying to pull in the best levels of interest and price.
- Tenant mix and leasing services – Improving the leasing returns and occupancy of a property is a matter of skill and leasing knowledge. You can derive a good income from offering specialist leasing services to the owners of good quality properties.
- Auction specialization – Auctions are a special sale process that forces elements of momentum and time into a commercial property sale; some agents specialise in the ‘auction’ process and know how to get results for the right property and the right location. They pitch their services accordingly. That being said you cannot and should not auction every property that comes your way. If you are to recommend the auction process, then you should understand that the best results are very possible for the property given the current market conditions.
- Tenant advocacy – Many businesses today need help with their premises and location choices. The larger companies are generally prepared to have a tenant’s agent work for them in finding the right property in the right location; they are usually prepared to pay a fair commission for the tasks required in securing the right premises to lease. That being said, is part of the industry is quite special and the tenants served should be carefully selected. A general rule is that quality properties and quality tenants should only be serviced.
- Buyer’s agent – Many companies and investors require help in finding the right property within a location and for a particular type of business. If you are to work as a buyer’s agent, you will need to know your local property market comprehensively covering offer on all the property ownerships, and all the prime locations. When a buyer comes to you looking for a property solution to purchase, that local information will help you substantially in talking to the right people ‘off market’; you can put a potential transaction together. Many buyers’ agents focus on putting together confidential property transactions away from the prying awareness and disruption of competition agents. That can be a special part of the market to work within and develop; over time it can be quite lucrative. How can you get the buyers to come to you to find their next property acquisition? You need a very good database that you grow each day and tap into regularly.
So there are some good things that you can do here with your professional services as a commercial broker or agent. Position yourself as the person that people need with property issues. Specialize into the zones and the property types that offer the best opportunity.
