Workplace Feedback Tips and Techniques in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
In commercial real estate brokerage, you can get feedback from a number of directions. Importantly that feedback you seek should be from the people and the channels that matter. That feedback is from the experienced people that are already ‘market achievers’. Don’t look to inexperienced sales managers or your brokerage peers for that feedback.
When you filter through the people that you are working with in the brokerage team, you will understand that only some of those people are worth ‘listening to’ when it comes to property market facts, comparisons, and changes. Choose your peers and work colleagues with care; relate and listen to those that really do have a track record.
Talk to the people that matter; the experienced people. Don’t take a biased comment from someone that really doesn’t fully understand the property market and the challenges of today; they have their own agendas and those agendas do not need to be yours. They may be struggling with their own ‘performance issues’ and be looking to give you plenty of biased reasons why they are not getting results.
The Right People and Facts
Get comments from the people that understand the things that are happening now. They will be clients, prospects, and proven people from the industry. The right feedback allows you to grow as an individual in so many different ways. Take the criticism and then build on your opportunities. This is a service industry, and serve you must. Feedback should come from the people that you serve first and foremost; they are the only people that really matter.
From this assessment you can get a good idea about your strengths and weaknesses. You can improve your strong skills and resolve your weaknesses. Logical.
Your Feedback System
So what do you want to know about as part of this exploration? Try some of these for starters:
- Business presentations – It is always a difficult comparison to make, but it has to be done. Just how do your property presentations match to those of your competitors? It’s a good question worth exploring. Given that the industry is based on the interactions of people and personalities, make sure that your property presentations are on task, up to date, and client relative. Are you a good communicator? You can practice those skills to lift your conversions.
- Defining the target market – Far too many agents and brokers are not clear and precise when it comes to what should happen to the property and its challenge. There are different target markets to address with most listings today; some are more relevant than others. Short list the best property markets for the listing, and define exactly how you are going to reach out to them.
- Marketing strategies – Don’t be generic when you promote your properties. Put some real thought into the marketing alternatives and the campaigns that matter for your listings. Use the fullest opportunity of the promotional tools at your disposal. Think about the online and offline methods of promotion. Get involved with your property messages and the target markets that matter. Ask for vendor paid marketing as part of that promotional approach.
- Inspection feedback – When you take people through a property for sale or lease, ensure that you are covering off on all the variations of information that the qualified person may require. Make the inspection a positive process. Encourage feedback and interaction.
- Client contact – Most of your new business over time should come to you from the relationships that you strike and maintain with clients, prospects, and customers. Trust is a big thing in our industry. Help people trust you in the right ways for the market conditions. Show that you are the industry specialist. Keep talking to them over time about property market changes, listings, and results. Every successful transaction is a reason to talk to others.
So there are good things that you can do here as a property specialist. Build your brand and your reputation. Ask for feedback from the people that matter. You will soon see what they want from you and how they perceive your skills as an industry specialist. When you get the right feedback, and then do something about it, you can and will improve. That’s how ordinary agents become top agents.