When it comes to marketing a commercial property today for sale or for lease, it is important that the marketing campaign captures the target audience in the right way. Far too many properties are advertised generically. The end result is little enquiry and fewer inspections. When you work as a commercial property agent on commission, every listing that you take to market has to be optimized.
The property market is tough enough without the wrong decisions being made regards advertising and marketing. Here is a checklist to help you through the process as an agent promoting the property.
- Inspect the property so you know what the attributes are that can impact the campaign. List the features and the problems in the property; both of these will impact the way in which you take people into and around the property as part of the inspection process.
- Create an inspection strategy that allows you to show the property in the right respect. As part of that inspection preparation you can have available a ‘property handout’ with fuller details of the features of the improvements and location.
- You may identify a list of presentational things that should be done by the property owner in and around the property before the campaign starts. Cost of remedial and presentational repairs will be a factor of consideration prior to the marketing campaign starting. In some cases you will have limited enquiry coming to you from any marketing effort, and for that reason all ‘hurdles’ and ‘obstacles’ should be removed from the inspection process. In this way you can optimize the potential negotiations that will occur.
- Review the other properties that are for sale or lease in the area. They will have impact on the strategy of promotion and pricing that you adopt. Identify why those properties are still on the market today and consider just how they can impact your property price or rent. Will your listed property offer more or less advantages and improvements than these other properties?
- Define the target audience that all of your marketing should be directed towards for the particular property. In this way you will know how to draft the advertisements and time the campaign.
- From the definition of the target audience you will know just what improvements will be attractive as you arrange inspections of the property. This will also help in the qualification process that applies in all enquiries that come to you.
To correctly market a property for sale or lease today it takes real effort and skill. Professional and experienced agents know how to do this well. The effort that is required to correctly market a property will be influenced by the type of listing taken and the availability of vendor paid marketing funds.
Open property listings are a real waste of time and should not take a lot of your marketing effort; certainly if you can see a deal to be made with an ‘open listing’ then move towards it, however most property owners that give you an ‘open listing’ cannot to be trusted to fully disclose and cooperate as you proceed through any negotiations with qualified parties. More often than not they are working with a number of agents and taking comments from all; this can derail or frustrate your specific property promotion and negotiation.
With all of these things being said, many properties can be promoted directly to the qualified tenants and buyers in your database. All property campaigns should include an element of direct marketing. Each listing will help you expand your market intelligence and database. Every property listing will give you an excuse to talk to local business owners and property investors.
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