How to Build More Client Collateral into Your Commercial Real Estate Business

If you want to get anywhere in commercial real estate brokerage, you will need good clients and plenty of them.  Those clients should be assessed for long term value and opportunity.  Then you will have to make some choices as to who and how you will work with those clients.  It’s a simple and yet important equation to watch and shape.

(N.B. these ideas are also sent out to regularly to our friends in Commercial Real Estate Online Snapshot to help amplify brokerage results…. Get your access here)

Brokerage Facts to Remember

Think about these facts:

 

• Some clients will transact commercial real estate many times over a period of years
• Some clients will need varied services to stabilize and improve their portfolios over time
• When you consider the different prospects and clients that you can work with, the value of their property and business will vary
• Commissions will vary between property and client types
• Some of the people that you deal with will be more realistic than others when it comes to marketing, inspecting, and negotiating. A degree of conditioning will always be required to move most deals ahead.

 

Establish Your Client System

 

If you take these issues and work with them, soon you will move into some facts and key decisions regards clients.  I like to look at things this way:

 

1. Set up some client value plans – they are plans that assess how you can provide special value and services to special clients. The object being here that you can grow trust and relevance with your clients.
2. Know your client’s business – when you can show the client and particularly the client that owns a business that you really understand what they do and how they do it, you can position yourself for better leads and listings over time.
3. You can systemize your contact cycles – if you have different client types and levels in your database, you can devote different levels of contact and service. That is where your VIP clients and your database become really important.
4. Think regional and think local – there are always two levels of business to tap into. The local people that are looking for local property, and the regional people looking to move into the area.  You should have a marketing process for both.
5. Seek referrals from all – If you work with many new clients, don’t forget to activate the referrals questions at the right time. Soon you will see new relationships start with new people.

 

When you focus all your business efforts on clients, the commercial real estate market place makes a lot more sense.  You can find the leads and the commission opportunities faster and more directly; in some cases, you will avoid the threat of competition in converting the listing.  Are you ready to build your real estate business?