Grow Your Commercial Real Estate Business Faster – Understand Exactly What Clients and Prospects are Looking for in Investment Property

Property Investors get involved with commercial property for a number of reasons.  Their motivations can be quite personal and specific to factors such as capital gain, redevelopment, highest and best use, building renovation, market rental, and portfolio mix.

In asking the right questions you can identify exactly what your clients and your Property Investors are looking for.  From that point onwards it is simply a matter of understanding capabilities of finance and the correct time for a transaction; those observations will apply individually with your clients and prospects.

Here are some ideas to help you understand exactly what your clients are looking for relative to commercial and retail real estate investment:

1. Determine the property type that suits the balance of the portfolio. It is a well-known fact that portfolio diversity will lessen the risk and volatility of an investment portfolio.  In a lessening the risk, the returns can also be reduced.  That is where many Property Investors will divide their portfolio across retail, industrial, and office buildings.
2. Understand the factors of timing with any property acquisition or change. Locally you will find the pressures of property supply and demand impacting prices, rents, and time on market.  There will be times of the year which are more favourable for the sales verses leasing activity.
3. Some properties have a definite lead up to a promotion or marketing campaign. Some things may need to be fixed and addressed.  As an example, you may have to rectify weaknesses in the tenancy mix, vacancy factors, tenant selection, building cash flow, and rental structures.  Look for those weaknesses before you implement a marketing campaign for the client.
4. Some of your clients will have a preference for portfolio improvement through diversity and change. They will be on the lookout for properties in particular locations, assets of particular value, and buildings that may offer a new and vibrant opportunity through redevelopment or a fresh alignment to the market rental locally.  When you understand the needs of the particular client, it is quite possible to put together a transaction off market without the pressured factors and interference occurring with other agents, buyers, or tenants.
5. Within your database, determine a small segment of clients and prospects that you would regard as VIPs. Over time get to know exactly what these people are looking for from an investment perspective and identify when they could potentially need that repositioning or change.  From that point onwards you can be researching the market and looking for the correct property acquisitions and opportunities.

When you focus a lot more on your individual VIP clients and their property needs you can get to the real triggers and points of change that create commissions.  That then is a proactive approach to being a top commercial real estate agent.