Commercial Real Estate Agents – Gathering Market Intelligence

The intelligence-gathering efforts that will help you build opportunity in the market should include analysing your commercial real estate marketplace.  The property sales and leasing market is always changing.  Seeing those changes early and adjusting your efforts or focus will always be the best strategy:You can then make choices on which you will focus:

• What are my market segments? How do the segments differ?
• Does local property needs differ in sales and leasing?
• Are some property segments destined for obsolescence because of changes in the market?
• Which segments within my niche are prosperous and under growth? Are any of them recession-proof? Recession-sensitive? Which are doing poorly? Why? You should always be in tune with financial and business publications, their data, information and value.
• Which segments of my niche are most price-sensitive and competitive? In this case you should identify the other agents that you are up against and how they impact your activities and listings.
• Which are most profitable property types for you to list and work on?
• What trade journals or publications in my market niche are the best for marketing, the most comprehensive, and the most objective for commercial sales and leasing?
• Subscribe to every relevant publication and read the papers daily.  It is remarkable how much local property information you will get from the local paper.
• What can I learn from our own competitors and peers that can help me serve the needs of my niche? Your prospects may have uses for commercial real estate sales and leasing that you never previously thought of.
• Are any of my real estate competitors exhibiting any behaviour in the property market that seems strange or unusual? If so, what are the true reasons behind it?
• What must I do to become a recognized expert within my commercial real estate niche?  What should an expert cover and offer to the local property owners and investors
• Do you understand the differences between sales, leasing, and property management?  Can you cross sell your services in each discipline?
• Are there any certification mechanisms or awards for which I can qualify? Associations I need to join? Groups in which I might need to assume a leadership role?

Having this intelligence information on your commercial real estate market can be likened to knowing the rules of the game.  When you know the basics, you are ready to gather scouting reports on other teams in the “ big league”.

We need the truth when gathering market intelligence.  Whenever we have accurate intelligence on our competitors, we can leverage our own strengths and weaknesses against theirs and apply the most concentrated, effective pressure we can muster.

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