In commercial real estate leasing you want the tenants and landlords to remember you as a leasing specialist, and thereby use you at the times when they have a leasing challenge. On that basis you really should know lots of people locally that own or occupy investment properties. Your database should be the lifeblood of leasing commissions and vacancy opportunities. Your brand and your image should feature in your professional leasing marketing plan.
You want the tenants and the landlords in the local area to remember you as the industry specialist at the right time and in the right way. The best agents and brokers have a reputation for resolving leasing challenges effectively and directly. The understand how to shape the lease and rental transactions for the best outcomes possible for their clients.
Whats happening?
Consider the leasing market over the last 12 months. Think about how the rents have changed and the enquiry rates similarly so for the different property types. Somewhere within that change and churn you will have the opportunities for tenant placement and vacancy resolve.
The local leasing market will always be under change and churn, and the commissions can be found when you tap into the changes in the property market. Rents will alter, as will the vacancy factors throughout the year. An active leasing market will have plenty of opportunities for commission growth. Look for the tenants that need help when it comes to occupancy and premises expansion or change. Ask the right questions, and comprehensively talk to all of the tenants through your business zone or precinct.
Know the tenants
So the message here is that you can and should talk to plenty of tenants each and every day. Understand what the tenants are thinking and doing when it comes to lease occupancy and rental intentions. Some of those tenants will need to expand or relocate their business operations. Other tenants will be coming to the end of lease occupancy and will be looking for better value from a rental and occupancy cost perspective.
The agent or the broker with a comprehensive tenant database will be of great value to the landlords that they serve. Market your leasing services accordingly, using your database as part of your lease listing pitch.
Your database rules
A good leasing agent will have several thousand local businesses in their database, and that database will be fresh and up-to-date. All of the tenants and business owners in the list will be contacted in an ongoing and complete way. Their leasing status will be changing in the database over time. Track and measure the changes and the challenges of local tenants.
Here are some other ideas to help you build your brand awareness with the tenants in the landlords in your investment leasing market:
- Comprehensively canvass all of the local businesses within your territory – take an organized approach to buildings, streets, precincts, and property types.
- Connect with all of the landlords within the region – some landlords will have a valuable portfolio of prime properties to lease. Work with the landlords that have or offer the most opportunity for you over time.
- Offer specialized vacancy resolution services – develop some unique and valuable leasing services to help resolve vacancy challenges and local leasing requirements fast and efficiently. Tenant retention plans, tenant advocacy services, and lease negotiation services are all valuable services to offer to the local area and the people therein.
- Provide tenant mix strategies and clustering solutions – office buildings and retail shopping centers have unique challenges when it comes to tenant mix strategy and clustering. The mix of tenants in the building can make or break the growth in market rental over time. The types of tenants can also strengthen or weaken the occupancy within the building over time.
- Understand how to improve the value of a lease – a long-term occupancy can improve property cash flow and values over time. The rental structure can include variations in rent reviews, outgoings recoveries, and option periods. Think about how you can negotiate leases with due regard for your client and their investment circumstances.
So you have five ways here to help improve the leasing services that you offer locally. As a direct result, your personal brand can grow in the local area with tenants and landlords. That is the best way to build your leasing business.
(N.B. these ideas are also sent out to regularly to our friends in Commercial Real Estate Online Snapshot to help amplify brokerage results…. Get your access here)
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