The Balance of Risk and Reward in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Brings Opportunity
There is plenty of risk in commercial real estate brokerage. The same can be said for rewards for agents and brokers. The rewards and particularly commissions only come after a degree of risk taking. The trick is to take those risks in a controlled way so they do not impact growth of market share and property specialisation.
Common Risks
So what are the most common risks an agent needs to work through? Try some of these for starters:
- Few listings to work with
- Difficulty in converting exclusive listings
- Competition from other agents
- Difficult listing negotiations
- Challenges from the property market and the economy
- Lack of property enquiry
- Few inbound enquiries
- Shifts in the economy impacting property investment
These issues aren’t new. They are always out there as routine challenges for agents and brokers in all locations. There is a saying in sales and leasing that ‘You only get back what you put in’. That is certainly the case in commercial property marketing and brokerage. It is a tough results based industry where commissions only come in abundance to those that focus on clients and listings.
Solve the Risks
So let’s minimise the risk for you. Here are some of the most important targets and facts to keep in mind:
- Exclusive listings help you drive market share at a personal level
- Luck is of little relevance when it comes to building your real estate business
- The database that you create personally will help you find more new business
- Not only do properties need to be marketed, but so do the agents at a personal level
- The listing presentation that you make should be planned and directed at a specific level so that the client can see that your property solutions are superior.
- There are always clients needing help with property challenges in all markets and locations
- When you control the listing stock, you control the momentum of things and other agents need to come to you if they want to introduce a prospective buyer or tenant
- The online marketing approach today is increasingly more important in promoting quality properties and your professional skills
- Every agent should have a personal marketing process that they work to every day
- It takes about 3 or 4 months of hard work and prospecting focus to build momentum
- Referrals are a critical part of our business
- The amount and ratio of marketing dollars that you generate for your listing bank will impact the levels of enquiry coming your way
- Some clients and prospective tenant, buyers, and landlords take months if not years to move to a property decision or activity
- Don’t take too long to recognise that prospecting for new business is a critical part of the business.
It’s an interesting list don’t you think? Needless to say it contains quite a few challenges. Seriously consider how you can get these things under control and optimised to help you with market share.
