In commercial real estate there are unlimited opportunities for real estate agents to earn good income and grow market share. In saying that, the results achieved are all driven by personal effort.
There are 3 separate skill bases or services to the market and each are quite specialised. Decide what you like do and what will give you the most reward (physical and financial). There is no point in attempting to do something that you do not understand or like; that will be too personally restricting.
So the 3 skill bases are:
- Commercial and investment property sales
- Investment property leasing
- Commercial and retail property management
Some agents will choose to work on both sales and leasing. That is a good thing as the skill bases are similar and they are linked when it comes to working with clients. A leasing client today is likely to be a sale or purchase client in the future.
The skills required to be a property manager are a bit different, and the long term target when working with property management clients is that of providing professional service, and not just a single deal (as in sales and leasing). Property managers for that reason are ‘deal oriented’ but ‘service strong’. Building relationships over the long term is really what professional property management is all about.
If you have chosen commercial real estate as a career for yourself, then understand your character and its best ‘fit’ for the tasks at hand. You can work in any or all of these 3 segments or sections of the market within your agency. Choose the section of the industry that is best for your skills, knowledge and business style.
To move ahead in our industry it is best to prepare a set of goals and a small personal business plan. That strategy will help you with progress and adjustment during the year. Here are some more tips to strengthen your push and direction as a real estate agent:
- Motivation – You may have heard a lot about motivation and its requirement in any career. In our industry it is a very personal thing. Self-belief is a good thing, but action taking is far more important. Every day you will need to do specific things that can be a challenge. On that basis your levels of personal motivation must be significant; no other person can make things happen for you.
- Goals and targets – When you know the section of the market that you are working in together with your location, your goals can be set based on not just the personal performance that you are capable of, but also the ability of the market to give you opportunities. It directly follows that you will need to know your market and its growth factors and possibilities. Research is required to understand the history of local sales, leasing, and property management (depending on your skill base). Make sure that your town or city has the growth possibilities that you are looking for at a personal level. Ensure that you know how you will be tapping into those possibilities.
- Putting your plan in motion – As with any plan certain actions will be required. Every day you will be required to focus on new business, new people, and new properties. That is in addition to everything else that happens with current clients and properties. The most successful people in our industry are those that spend a good part of every day focusing on prospecting for new business. From the earliest stages of your career, set this rule in motion. Watch how results come back to you and track your results. Make adjustments in your prospecting and cold calling so you are growing your business in any property market and at any time.
These three factors are perhaps the most important to help you get traction and market share as a broker or agent. Look at what you are doing today and make adjustments where necessary. Strive to improve on a daily basis in commercial real estate agency.
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