In commercial and retail property sales and leasing, regular contact with local landlords will help you with growing your market share, and improving your commissions. Landlords require expert assistance when it comes to quality investment properties. They cannot do everything themselves (although they may think that they can).
Most landlords only have a spattering of knowledge when it comes to the bigger issues and challenges of commercial property ownership and property performance. Consider some of the following that you know and that landlords do not:
- Market rentals for property type and location
- Enquiries by local tenants for new space
- Occupancy costs relating to property types
- Leasing strategies in today’s property market
- Relocation and renovation strategies
- Income improvement processes for leasing property today
- Incentive strategies to create more property enquiry
- Marketing strategies for challenging property situations
- Franchise tenant leasing and occupation
You can be an expert in all of these things. It is that expertise and knowledge that landlords require and you can market yourself around. Local property information will always be of interest to the landlord’s that you talk to.
Relationships
Over time the relationship that you establish with local property landlords can be strengthened through regular contact, but also through the provision of relevant information and specialized services. Here are some strategies to help you in that process:
- Keep the landlords up to date with information about the changes to vacancy factors in the local area. Throughout the business year, vacancy factors will change relative to the property type and the supply and demand of new space locally. Track these numbers and make them available to your good clients or prospects.
- Given that the property market will change throughout the year, you can provide market updates relating to investment property, market rentals, lease strategies, vacancy rates, time on market, and local business sentiment and activity. All of that information should be at your fingertips as the local commercial real estate specialist. You can produce a research paper on those facts; that paper can be directly distributed and be made available from your website as an enticement to join up to your newsletter or mailing list.
- Any new property developments approved through the local planning office can challenge the owners of existing properties in the same general location. You can keep those landlords up to date with information regards other new property developments and the progress of the development. It is a prime opportunity to help them minimise their vacancy factor as the threat of the new property grows through its construction and project leasing phase.
- You can provide a tenant retention strategy for the landlords that you serve. A good tenant retention plan will incorporate lease strategies, tenancy mix solutions, relocation and refurbishment plans, and vacancy management. Charge a fee for the process.
- Any of the properties that you market locally for sale or for lease can be communicated to the other landlords that you know, in case they have an interest in monitoring or participating in the local marketing campaign. They may even have an interest in property acquisition and portfolio growth.
- When any property is listed in the local area, personally connect with all of the local business proprietors to tell them of the upcoming listing. The same process should apply with all local property owners. This thorough networking approach will show your professionalism in the industry and position you as the local top agent specialising in the property type.
Keeping in contact with landlords will always produce good opportunity over time. Establish your system of contact and keep it moving ahead. Make sure that all the local landlords know you as the expert that you should be.
Commercial Real Estate Online 