When you create an action plan for prospecting in commercial real estate brokerage, you have something to work with that can help you find the right clients and listings. Most prospecting plans require modification and refinement given that most property markets will change throughout the year. The important issue here is that you also change your approach accordingly, and keep new contacts and prospects flowing into your database.
So you need an action plan. That plan is something that you can do every day to reach new people to talk to and connect with. Have you got one of those plans now? If not this will help you get started:
- Understand that you are the person to drive the prospecting plan and all the stages of it. Diligence to the process is required. You can’t take a day off or ‘cheat’ on the tasks required. When you define the actions to take, they simply have to be done.
- Define your territory to focus on. That will be ‘geographically’ so that you can concentrate on the streets, property owners, quality properties, and listings in a logical way. Split up the area into segments to be covered and worked. Ideally that will be in segments of 100 properties.
- Understand your property speciality in all respects. Most of the clients that you work with require an agent that is really experienced in the property type and the market; the client must see that you are the ‘real deal’ when it comes to understanding the property and what to do with it.
- List high quality properties as a preference. On that basis be selective in what you list and why you do it. It is a fact that any quality property will create better levels of inbound enquiry. In that way you can create more inspections and create leverage in negotiations.
- Letters should be sent to property owners locally and the required follow up calls should be done. Don’t send letters and hope that the prospect or property owner will call you back; it is highly likely that they will not. You are the key to getting momentum from your prospecting letters. Only send out the required number that you can follow up in calls. A good number to start with is 5 letters per day.
- Each day call at least 25 business people, tenants, property owners and any others that may have an interest in commercial real estate today or in the future. Ask the questions to see what they are doing now with property. Qualify them before you seek a meeting.
- Conversations are the secret to finding the leads and the opportunities that you require. Talk to lots of people every day and leave your business card with all the people you speak to. You really do not need much in the way of other marketing material. Your business card is the key to the process.
- Other listings, sales, and leasing should be watched for action and opportunity. Monitor your competitors and the factors of time on market.
- Track your momentum with a good database. People of substance and relevance to commercial property should be spoken to frequently, and a database will help you do that correctly and specifically.
Your prospecting plan doesn’t need to be complex, but it does need to be done. It’s not something that you can delegate. Personal action is required. The processes that you create can take you to the top of the commercial real estate market much faster.
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