It is a fact that the commercial real estate market today is under some pressure and is also highly competitive. For you to be successful in your career in the industry, you will need a plan of action and a tracking mechanism to understand what’s working and what needs to change in your business model. Notice I said ‘your business model’? Most agents and brokers don’t have one! They simply let the days pass with little focus and random action. That is a recipe for losing business over time.
The commercial property industry is not all that different from city to city, state to state, and country to country. The property problems are all similar and simply need understanding. Taking direct action in your market every day will help you see the opportunities to work on and the clients to serve.
Having worked in the industry for some time, I have seen three distinct mistakes made by the majority of brokers and agents in the industry. Some of those agents eventually adjust and resolve their mistakes, whilst others overlook them to the detriment of their market share.
So what exactly what are these three all too common mistakes? How can you deal with them? Here are some ideas:
- The most common mistake made by all brokers and agents centres on prospecting. They simply fail to develop a prospecting plan that they can work to every day in a consistent way. They let the pressures of the day overtake their diary and business activities. Soon prospecting becomes item number 8 in a list of 10 issues. Inevitably the broker or agent never gets to the prospecting process in a regular way. If you want to rise to the top of your industry and generate reasonable market share, you will need a prospecting process that you can work to every day. Prospecting should be item 1 in your diary.
- Success in the industry is largely built on established relationships with key people. Whilst a prospecting model as mentioned earlier can drive more new people towards you, you do need to establish ongoing contact in a consistent and relevant way. When you first connect with new property owners and property investors, most of them will not have an immediate need for selling or leasing. That will however change over time, and you need to be there for the moment where experience and property expertise will be needed. Most top agents in the industry win the new business due to establish relationships built over many years.
- Marketing processes will vary from property to property and city to city. That being said, your marketing processes should be specific and special; they need to stand out around all the other agent generic advertising. When a client or prospect picks up the newspaper or reviews the Internet, they need to see your advertising and property listings as special and unique within the property type. A property listing that is well marketed will attract many other clients to you over time. Build your marketing skills to increase the brokerage profile with the property speciality. Improve your marketing skills to show the people in the industry of your relevance.
These three simple factors will have a lot to do with your success as an agent or a broker. Choose to improve each of them at each and every opportunity. Stand out as the top agent that you want to be. Be prepared to go that little bit further in all three of the categories.
Commercial Real Estate Online 