Proven Strategies in Using Property Market Updates to Attract Commercial Real Estate Clients
We all know that finding new clients and plenty of them is a critical part of building a commercial real estate business. Attracting those clients is one thing; keeping them interested is another.
To create the interest for the client and make your prospecting efforts a lot easier, you can use market updates as a base strategy to keep in touch with all those prospects and clients that could one day do business with you.
In recommending this I am putting two things together as part of a client prospecting model. They are:
- Your prospecting model for new business
- A tool of relevance and interest to distribute and use
Far too many agents on the first contact with a prospect will simply ask if they want to sell or lease their property. In 99% of the direct contact cases the answer is always ‘no’; that response is driven from a lack of interest or a lack of trust between the prospect and the agent. You have to ‘prove yourself’ as a property professional before most people will open up and tell you the bigger picture with their property needs.
If you provide regular and relevant property market updates to the people that you talk to it is far easier to do all of the following:
- Stay in regular contact
- Talk about property needs
- Show that you are an industry expert locally
- Ask for referral business
So these processes can help you a lot with your efforts in commercial real estate brokerage. Are you ready to give this a go?
Property Market Updates Content?
So what does one of these market updates look like? How can you create one? Try some of these tips:
- Use Local Content – It is important to talk about local issues such as property sales and leasing activity in the local streets. Be specific in doing so although remember the requirements of confidentiality where necessary on some of those deals. Do your research in the local area.
- Tell Local Stories – Local property stories and results from marketing efforts will be good ‘fodder’ for putting together a ‘Case Study’ of interest.
- Quality Photos – Use plenty of photographs in all your market updates. Most adults and particularly your prospects and clients will not read all the words unless they are really interested. Photographs will help create that interest.
- Gantt Charts and Trending Graphs of property results – In the pictorial part of your ‘market update’ summarize the trends of activity and show how things are changing in sales and leasing.
- Watch the Media – In the local media there will be always be situations of controversy and activity in and about property. You can use that information as a base of discussion. Look at how ‘mooted changes’ to property in the region could impact the future supply and demand. Talk about it and give your professional opinion. Show your market relevance and intelligence in doing so.
- Zoning and Roads – When changes to property zoning and local or major roads are contemplated, you have something to write about. Plans and drawings to illustrate any upcoming changes are valuable display items in your ‘market update’.
It is remarkable how some agents will avoid the work involved in providing a ‘market update’ to clients and prospects; the client then has no reason to remember the agent or understand the agent’s skill and importance to any upcoming property transaction. Could you create one of these ‘property market updates’ each month? Just think how much easier your prospecting efforts would be if you could leave with the client or prospect such a document.