Tips for Credibility in Your Commercial Real Estate Sales Pitch

There are lots of commercial real estate salespeople and agents around the local property market.  Some of them are less professional than others, and the best top agents will be few and far between.  When it comes to a sales pitch for listing presentation, you have to connect with the client and convey your credibility and experience in an effective way.  You will be up against some top agents.

Here are some tips from our Newsletter.

The good thing is that most agents take a generic approach to the sales pitch process.  That means your presentation can be more successful if you choose to make specific steps in building your credibility and showing it in your sales pitch or presentation.

What Does the Client Want?

When it comes to selling and leasing commercial or retail property, the one thing that really matters to the client will center on the success of the process.  They need to see that you have the experience, tools, and strategy to make the sale or leasing process as fast and as painless as possible.  They want the right agent with the dominance in the market and the credibility to make the process work.

Ultimately they want the best price or rental, but they also need a reasonably short time on market.  They understand that the longer the property remains on the market, the more difficult it will be in attracting new and fresh inquiry.

To lift your credibility as a specialist commercial agent in your sales pitches the following factors will be of great assistance.

1. Show the client similar properties that you have successfully transacted in recent time.  Give them details of the time on market, the starting price or rental, and the end result.  Emphasize the strategies necessary to complete the transaction quickly and effectively.
2. Show the client some comparable properties in the local area that are just not selling or leasing.  These properties will be with the other agents in the local area and on that basis should be suitably explained.  Tell the client why you believe these listings are not moving and how those other agents have got the wrong processes underway.
3. Explain to the client the recent levels of enquiry that you have had from buyers and tenants for similar properties.  You should be able to provide specific case studies of the requirements of some of these parties.  Show them the size of your database.
4. Pricing and rentals should be broken down to a unit level; in this way you can compare properties of different sizes in the same general location.  That analysis will be per square foot or per square metre as the case may be.  You can then also relate to the cost of replacement of the improvements on various properties; split the properties into levels of relevance.
5. Take digital photographs around the client’s property and then compile a slide show of photographs that can run on your laptop whilst you are making your presentation.  Make sure that the slides running automatically are only photographs.  Do not attempt to put any words into the slides process; just use the photographs as trigger points for discussion and let them roll through continually during your presentation.  For a typical commercial property, a selection of 30 or 40 photographs will be adequate.
6. Show the client how you will be inspecting the property with potential tenants or buyers as the case may be.  Give details of the features of the property that will be emphasized in your inspections and in the marketing process.
7. Give samples of relevant advertising that can apply to the client’s property when you take it to market.  Itemize the trigger points and focus points that should be featured in the advertising.
8. Provide a timeline to show the client exactly how you will be preparing the property for marketing and how you will then be taking it to the market as part of a dedicated and specially designed campaign.

All of these things help you build credibility as a specialist commercial agent.  Show that you are fully prepared to take on the subject property with all its challenges and attributes.  Confidence and strategy will underpin your market knowledge and allow the client to see that you are really the agent of choice when it comes to the property solution that they require.

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