Commercial Real Estate Agents – Tips for Finding New Salespeople

When you run a commercial real estate business, it is always hard to find the right people to help you build your business.  Most new salespeople will claim to have the necessary drive and commitment to do what is required, but in the majority of cases, they will not have the factors that produce great success in the industry in all markets.

When the property market is at the top of the cycle, just about any salesperson can make commissions simply by going to the office and sitting at their desk.  It is the more ordinary markets where listings are hard to move and enquiry is difficult to generate where the top agents stand out as being the best in the local area.

Here are some strategies to help you with choosing the right salespeople, and running your commercial real estate business.

1. Always be on the lookout for good people.  That can include other agents in other real estate offices.  The right people should be able to show sales results and discipline when it comes to the commercial property market.
2. The industry is largely based around relationships and networking.  This then says that every top agent will usually have a significant group of clients and contacts to work with.  Good agents will always have a database of several hundred clients or prospects that they work with.  The accuracy and the up to date nature of that database will be important.
3. Divide the sales territory into precincts and property types.  Some salespeople will be working a defined geographical area, whilst others will be working a specific property type in which they specialise.  Such is the case when it comes to retail property given the specific and the unique nature of the property and the people involved.
4. When employing future salespeople, it pays to undertake a psychological assessment of their sales skills.  Top salespeople are quite unique when it comes to business style and performance.  They also require special types of management and leadership.  That being said, a salesperson is employed to generate commissions and listings.  Have each potential new salesperson for your business or agency checked out thoroughly at a skill and mindset level, before you employ them.  Make sure they have the necessary character traits that a salesperson requires in this industry.
5. When it comes to employing new sales people in the industry, two factors stand out as critical to ongoing performance.  The first factor is market share, and the second factor is conversions.  For this very reason, it is essential that you monitor the market share of each salesperson relative to their location or property speciality.  When you can see that the market share is consolidating and growing for a team member, the next factor to watch and observe will be the conversions of listings to completed transactions. It is one thing to list a property, and it is another to convert the transaction.  Some salespeople list very well, but cannot sell or lease at a satisfactory level.

We need more top agents, or people that can reach that level of the industry.  Can any salesperson reach the top of their industry in their location?  The answer is absolutely and yes.  The right people will learn and adapt their skills to improve and grow in the industry.