In today's commercial real estate market, there have been a flood of new agents, drawn by the allure of easy money due to heightened buyer demand. But there are no short cuts to long term success in this business. With every recession, there is a mass exodus from the business, led by those who never learned the basics. A broker's primary responsibility is marketing backed by market research, and too many agents delegate those important functions to others. You cannot outsource your core competencies in any profession.  

My advice would be to learn how to research your market to predict trends so that you may better advise clients. Seek opportunities to gain market knowledge by attending conferences and speaking to economic development council members about their initiatives and challenges. Talk to CPAs and financial advisors about their continuing education, client experiences and success stories.  You will soon find that with ongoing investment in your own professional development, your clients will perceive you as a trusted advisor rather than simply a salesperson. 

Once you improve your research skills, you will notice that your marketing skills will naturally evolve.  You will begin to include more detail about the listing's compelling advantages as the property relates to the surrounding market, rather than simply a list of its obvious features.  

Seek opportunities to develop true strategies for marketing a property rather than handing the responsibility over to administrative assistants who employ random tactics that are virtually the same for all your firm’s listings. Every listing is unique and has a different position, advantage, and solution from a marketing perspective. Every owner has in the back of their mind the perfect prospective buyer or tenant for their property. Explore this and identify these target verticals. Tailor your strategy and campaign around these and you will experience greater success. Seek tools that simplify the entire process for you as well as for the admin staff so that you remain engaged in the marketing process.  Learn how to do what it is you are asking your assistant to do so that you can direct them more effectively. From editing photos to enhance visual appeal, to creating aerial maps that tell a story and clearly depict a property’s boundaries, much can be learned in one afternoon on YouTube. And there are free online tools that enable all of this. 

The time invested in improving these skills will yield exponential results in increasing deal flow and improving your personal brand. RealtyZapp is here to help, and we hope to see you on the other side of the next recession. 

Feel free to contact RealtyZapp on how to increase deal velocity through a number of free or dirt-cheap methods to help you market smarter.  support@realtyzapp.com

Over the past 5 years, RealtyZapp has been helping brokers become more pro-active in their marketing and increase their income by streamlining their process while improving engagement and follow up.  

For more information on increasing efficiency and deal velocity, visit our YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpBCpFngpQLs9tFBwxHmnQ

Or learn, share and network on our community site, TalkRealtyZapp.com:  https://talk.realtyzapp.com/portal/en/home