Setting the Scene for Sales Success
Becoming a top agent in commercial real estate sales is a process, and a mindset supports that process. It takes time to become that ‘top agent’ in your location, but it is not complex or challenging; it is a process.
Your progress as an agent will be built around and from your actions, supported by your real estate knowledge and professionalism. Is this attractive to you?
Sales History
History shows trends. Top agents are made, which is a personal process for each agent. It is all ‘controllable’ at a personal level. It doesn’t matter what brokerage you work for, but it does matter what you do every day in your real estate activities.
Here are some ideas to help you set the scene for your real estate progress and success. As you move through these strategies, be disciplined, and track your real estate progress. Here are the facts for you.
Defining the Agent Area
This is the area or location where you want the new business and listings to come from. It is a specific area you can service and where you know the market trends. As you work in the defined area, you learn more about rents, prices, enquiries, and the quality or directions of the enquiry.
Ensure that the area is easy to service and that it is a location that you are comfortable travelling into each day. As you travel the area, the streets, and the buildings, you get to know what is happening, and you can see where you can help with your specialist real estate services.
Choosing a Property Type
Some property types are very active with investors and local property owners. Some properties offer more growth or opportunity over time from an investment perspective.
Choose the property types you know something about and get to see where those properties are located. You can create a priority list of ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ properties to build a timeline or bias towards ‘quality’ in the people you know and the properties you work on.
Choosing a Property Service
So you can sell the property. Lots of local agents can do that. So, what will be your ‘point of difference’ in your services? There is no point in being a ‘generic agent’ today. You must stand out as the ‘go-to agent’ in your town or city, so how can you do that?
If you are going to sell the property and be the ‘stand out’ agent for that, you will need some property specialist strategies and marketing material that helps you attract the interests of your clients and property owners. Marketing is an excellent way to do that. Most agents take the easy way out when it comes to marketing listings; you can be better than that. How you do that is the question to consider.
Researching Key People
The key people in your location will likely be property owners and investors, with perhaps some business owners added to the list. When you know who these people are, you can concentrate on contacting them, building relationships, and establishing ‘trust’ when they need a property challenge or opportunity solved.
How many people should you know in that way? Probably around 500 people. That will be in a deep and meaningful way so they can remember you when the time arises for a property transaction or change.
Creating Conversations and Tracking Progress
Exchanges will be created from the previous point, and a reasonable degree of record-keeping will be wise as part of that. Know who the people are, what you said to them when you said it, and what their thoughts about property ownership or occupancy may be.
Notice I also said occupancy? Please cover the leasing and selling trends of the property market as you talk to people. Ask questions about leasing and investment to find all the variations of property change and churn locally.
Summary and Strategy
Setting the scene for real estate success, mainly commercial real estate, is about people, property, and processes. It would help if you strived to focus on these three factors or trends at a personal level. Know the people, their property priorities, and strategies to take them to the next transaction or property decision.