The Benefits of Directed Marketing in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
In commercial real estate brokerage today the marketing processes and recommendations that we make should be quite specific to the property type, the client, and the industry trends. Understanding the activities within the market today will help you capture the interest of the target audience for every exclusive listing. Show the client how you will do that.
The clients that appoint us as exclusive agents are looking for property commitment and high levels of professional skill. Through the marketing process we can tap into the right buyers or tenants as the case may be. When you pitch for a listing, show the client how your marketing system is special and unique. Give them some solid reasons to appoint you as the best agent for the job. Personal involvement is critical to winning the listing. Let the client see how you will do that.
Here are some tips to help you with your sales pitch and marketing presentation to the client:
- Most property listings today will require a comprehensive campaign of initiatives and marketing processes. Take the attributes of the property, define some of the factors of attraction, and build the marketing campaign around them.
- For every exclusive listing today it is wise to have at least three different advertising layouts with slightly different advertising content. This then helps with the attraction of the target market to the property both online and offline.
- Any marketing campaign should be structured around a critical date and promotion strategy. It takes about two or three months to comprehensively cover the target market for most commercial, retail, or industrial property listings. The property owner should be encouraged to commit funds to the marketing process. Vendor paid advertising is a standard approach when it comes to exclusive listings.
- Show the client some results that have occurred with similar properties in the same location. Break those results down into price outcomes, inspection results, and time on market. Show the client how the entire marketing process should be handled with their property relative to the history of other listings.
- It is wise to provide two or three approaches to the cost of the marketing budget. This then gives the client some alternatives to consider rather than looking for another agent to solve their problem at a different budget level.
- Show the client the timeline to achieving results as you would see it with their property. The timeline should be structured in a Gantt chart for ease of information display. Break the sales and marketing process down into 10 or 12 specific stages of focus and activity, and put those stages on the Gantt chart. The same strategy can apply to property leasing. When you show the client the critical factors of marketing their property they soon understand the logic behind your recommendations. This then makes it easier to convert the listing and proceed with the promotion.
From the above points, it is easy to see that most property promotions are specifically crafted for the elements of the property and the requirements of the client. All presentations and pitches for listings should be similarly structured. Take the extra steps to make sure that your presentations are capturing the right information and providing the solid recommendations the client needs.