The Top Skills You Need to Succeed in Commercial Real Estate Business

Commercial real estate has become one of the most popular sectors in the last few years, and many general agents have considered reaching out to their brokerage about considering commercial.

Many think they have what it takes to get into commercial real estate, but it can be a tricky market to understand if you don’t have any experience with the topic.

If you have thought about getting into commercial real estate but you want to know a bit more before you start, look at this great article where we’ll talk about the top skills you need to succeed in commercial real estate brokerage.

What is Commercial Real Estate?

Commercial real estate usually refers to the sale of buildings used for income purposes or buildings used for large organizations (such as a church or a warehouse for a non-profit charity).

Different laws, sales processes, and inspections need to be completed for commercial real estate vs. residential real estate.

Things to Know About Commercial Real Estate

Real estate has always been a popular career for those who enjoy people and have a knack for selling things, and commercial real estate is where some agents choose to start due to the high-income potential.

If you want to be successful, you need to know quite a bit about the local regulations regarding the sale of commercial real estate, how to properly market commercial real estate, and what types of extra steps go into the sale.

Commercial real estate often involves travel, networking, and lots of back and forth with the clients you are working with, so you need to be prepared to schmooze.

The process for a sale is often far longer than a residential sale (months over weeks), and the sale usually involves far more paperwork that needs to be filed.

Another minor downside is that commercial properties are not as common as residential properties, so there might be times when you go longer than you’d like without a sale.

Making your Commercial Real Estate Business Successful

Every agent will likely have a different answer for you, but good marketing is one of the top ones that always come up. A great marketing plan will separate you from other brokerages and is the best way to bring in a wide range of clientele.

Commercial real estate sales are often made over long distances instead of residential real estate, typically local sales. Hence, you must ensure your online marketing is better than your competition.

Investing in Marketing

You might feel like your commercial brokerage is too small to need or afford a marketing company, but they are worth every penny when it comes to the extra business it can bring you.

A marketing team has insider knowledge of different types of online ad campaigns and how they can be used with your business. They also typically have different plans for different-sized companies, so you can adjust your marketing budget as your business grows.

Let’s look at a few ways marketing can help your commercial real estate business.

1) Gives your ads reach

Online marketing is essential to sell your commercial properties to people who don’t live in the area. Billboard and print ads are great for local sales, but you want the broadest reach possible.

People all over the world will be able to see the properties you have for sale, and they will be able to reach you with the click of a button.

2) Successfully advertise properties

A marketing team can sometimes involve a social media manager who knows everything there is to know about how to advertise your property online.

They can use keywords, algorithms, and trends to ensure your ads are at the top of the search queue. They will ensure that your ad looks and sounds perfect, catching the eye of tons of new customers.

3) Data collection for potential clients

Advertising online has tons of significant data that can help you determine more about the average customer’s interest in your website. You can use this data to adjust how and where you are advertising to give yourself a better chance of getting new customers.

The data might show you that you are promoting to the wrong group of people (for example, you might assume your clientele is primarily older business owners, but your data might show that younger professionals looking for start-up space browse your site more often).

A marketing team will know how to adjust your ads to bring in as many new customers as possible.

Enlist the Help of Professionals

Your properties are only as good as advertised, so you want to have a few professionals in your back pocket to help you show off the entire space. A seller might ask you for advice on what they can do to make their listing look more appealing, so it’s good to have a few trusted companies to help you.

Professional photographers are perfect for large properties because they typically have the equipment and skills to make the property look its best. Bonus points if they have videography skills, as many listings do much better when presented with a “walk-through.”

Many commercial buildings are being sold after they have been gutted, so it’s also good to know a good group of professional cleaners, painters, and handymen to recommend to your seller. They should be able to give you a quick turnaround so you can list the property as soon as possible for the seller.

There are so many ways you can help your commercial real estate brokerage become successful and stand out from the others. Marketing is one of the best ways to improve your business in the long term, and it’s a great way to make your listings as eye-catching as possible, so consider hiring a company to help your commercial real estate business.