Commercial Property Agents – Prosposal and Presentation Strategies You Must Use

In commercial real estate, it is frequently necessary to create and submit proposals for the sale and lease of properties.  Every property owner or potential client will have special needs and conditions to feed into the proposal structure.  That being said, the proposal to sell or lease a commercial property should be quite specific and not generic.

Generic proposals are no more than an advertising document.  They rarely win the business.  Clients and property owners today require proposals that are quite specific to the trends of the current market and the needs of the particular property.  Your competitors will be on the mark to attract the business, so your proposal must be very good in all respects.

Top commercial agents prepare proposals that are unique and special when it comes to resolving the particular property challenge of the client.  Here are some tips to help the process.

1. At the front of every proposal document, there should be an executive summary that clearly brings all the critical elements together in one short page of dot points.  Simplicity is the key to converting any proposal to a successful transaction or listing appointment.
2. In most cases, a proposal to sell or lease a commercial or retail property should be relatively short and specific.  Bulky documents are to be discouraged.  In the case of ordinary properties, most proposals will only need to be about 15 to 20 pages in length.  That being said, it is interesting to note that many agents will create bulky documents of double that size simply to talk about generic property trends and their relevance as a local agent.  The key to winning any proposal is to be specific in what you say and give solutions based with clear recommendations.  At every opportunity, talk about the property and the solutions that are available.
3. The proposal should specifically talk to the local property market today and the trends that are clear and apparent.  Tell the client how those trends will have impact on the property marketing process and negotiation.  This will have significant benefit at a later time when any potential prospect has been identified and commences negotiation on the property.
4. In every proposal document, it is wise to clearly restate the client’s requirements of sale or lease so that any misunderstandings are removed from the presentation or pitch.  This then aligns the agent to the intentions of the client and the requirements of the property.  Clarity is important.
5. The target market for the property should be defined and quantified.  That target market will be the focus of the marketing campaign to be described in the document.  The particular target market should be summarised in both the levels of current enquiry and types of enquiry.  The particular property will have property improvements that may suit the marketing campaign and the target market.  Those improvements should be featured as part of the marketing campaign.
6. The marketing campaign that is documented in the proposal should have two or three alternatives and budgets.  That will allow the client to formulate a decision based on expenditure and the recommendations of the agent.  Invariably when the client has a choice regards marketing costs, they will usually choose the middle ground in each case.
7. Every proposal to sell or lease a commercial or retail property should have a fee base that is competitive but not discounted.  When it comes to selling or leasing commercial property, fees should be one of the last considerations when it comes to choice of agency.  An experienced and qualified agent will add far more value to the sale or lease process than any discount that is offered as part of the proposal or sales pitch process.  Top agents sell their skills and relevance as specialists to solve the concerns of the client.  When this is done well, the requirements for any discount are well forgotten by the client.
8. In some respects, and with certain large or special properties, it will be necessary to clearly define the experience of selected staff in the marketing of the property.  This becomes quite important when you consider marketing larger and complex investment properties.  Top agents have more experience and will usually feed that experience into every proposal document.
9. As part of every proposal, it is wise to give the client some graphical display relating to the time line of sale or lease.  There are many stages to move through before the property will achieve a successful outcome.  Many clients do not understand those stages and the importance of them.  When undertaken correctly, this graph or graphical display can show the client the clear relevance of your people and your agency in solving of the property pain.

So these are some of the main items that can apply in the creation of a proposal to sell or lease a commercial or retail property.  You can add to these items based on locational factors and particular important issues attributable to the property.