A commercial real estate broker has a tough road ahead due to competition, so studying and emulating the best brokers can lead to success.
In this article:
- Why Choose a Career in Commercial Real Estate?
- A Successful Broker Knows the Difference Between Marketing and Prospecting
- A Top Commercial Real Estate Broker Values Both IQ and EQ
- The Competent Broker Fights with Verbal Judo
- A Good Broker Knows the Ins and Outs of Commercial Real Estate
- Brokers Build a Good Prospect Database
- Successful Brokers Work Smart and Hard
- A Good Broker Is Concise
- Successful Brokers Value Focus over Frenzy
- A Successful Commercial Real Estate Broker Has a Strategic Peer Group
Do You Have What It Takes to Succeed as a Commercial Real Estate Broker?
Why Choose a Career in Commercial Real Estate?
With approximately 35,000 brokerage firms in 2016 for the US market, the competition in the industry is fierce but also profitable. Having an annual average salary of $56,730 as of 2017 according to the Bureau of Labor’s statistics, it is entirely up to the broker if he or she wants to stand out among the rest.
A Successful Broker Knows the Difference Between Marketing and Prospecting
Ordinary agents do marketing while great brokers master the art of prospecting. Ask some brokers and agencies how they prospect, and a lot will tell you about Facebook and Instagram advertising, networking, and traditional brochure marketing.
Ordinary agents mistake marketing as prospecting. They introduce their services and properties and then proceed to sell. Since they skipped the filter made by good prospecting, normal agents lose time, effort and money to low-quality leads.
If they used the lost time and resources for converting hundreds of high-quality prospects instead of thousands of low-quality leads, brokers can get higher revenue and close more deals.
While those activities can lead to brand recognition, they do not lead to business deals directly. Real prospecting focuses on lead conversions. Both marketing and prospecting play crucial roles, and mastery of both can make a good CRE agent a lot better.
A Top Commercial Real Estate Broker Values Both IQ and EQ
A good CRE broker has both a high IQ and EQ. In fact, an increase of one point in EQ leads to an increase of $1,300 per year for the average salary. With High EQ, brokers can make more thoughtful and impactful conversations in business operations. With high IQ, brokers can convince leads of the benefits of a deal to the client.
Of course, being a broker does not only mean having a good head on your shoulders. A good CRE can show their technical knowledge in many ways. Having post-nominal titles, like CPA or MBA, begets respect from leads. Specializing in a particular field naturally flows in conversation; a lot of people can see if a newbie is pretending to be an expert.
Great EQ qualities, like calmness, perception, and self-awareness, give customers a stronger sense of trust. A broker can also pick up crucial information that a prospect may not verbalize. EQ can give brokers the grit and staying power to weather through difficult clients and circumstances.
The Competent Broker Fights with Verbal Judo
When converting prospects to clients, most brokers tend to overpower the leads with information and persuasion. They fight like sumo wrestlers using solely brute strength of logic, facts, and data. This method may work for some, but not for others. This method will most likely lead to a tired client instead of an enthusiastic one.
There is a reason why we have two ears but only one mouth; listening is a skill that is severely underrated.
Rather than sumo, do verbal judo. You listen to a prospect’s statements and questions. Rather than dodging statements by answering with your prepared speech about how one property will be more useful over another, give assent that you appreciate their perspective.
Redirect the conversation again with you leading the flow. A prospect’s objection is not an obstacle but an opportunity. Take this opportunity by listening to the things both said and unsaid. You may find a lot of useful surprises at how much better you are converting prospects to clients by just changing your stance.
A Good Broker Knows the Ins and Outs of Commercial Real Estate
Knowledge pays high premiums not just in commercial real estate, but also for life in general. Successful brokers earn higher revenues not just because they get clients, but also because they use time and resources efficiently.
For instance, knowing the current trends for 2018 can lead to better planning. Knowing useful strategies to minimize taxes also increases a broker’s bottom line. Creating an accurate customer avatar also helps transition good brokers into great ones.
You can never have enough knowledge and information. Brokers start off as good professionals, but successful brokers continue improving by soaking knowledge like a sponge.
Brokers Build a Good Prospect Database
You can have a thousand leads but only have ten prospects, and that is fine. In fact, a top commercial real estate broker may spend a fourth of a 40-hour work week only prospecting.
Prospecting leads to conversion and higher revenues. Whether you are after a quota or looking to increase your bottom line, prospecting can help you get better clients that bring higher revenues.
Successful Brokers Work Smart and Hard
Knowing how to prospect is useful. However, a lot of brokers forget that the time and schedule that brokers prospect can affect the sales funnel. For instance, a lot of brokers just go with the flow of the day, but great brokers have a disciplined and set schedule that they formulated through their experiences.
Have you heard about A/B split testing? How about optimizing your prospecting schedules? Knowing the best time to prospect can give you better results compared to just working in the organized chaos of every day.
By outworking and outsmarting the competition, the best brokers remain at the top. By emulating the principles of these extraordinary professionals, a lot of agents who feel they are underperforming can reach their potential.
A Good Broker Is Concise
Brevity is the hallmark of expertise. You and your prospects do not need a 30-page document showing the pros and cons of a building. Great brokers focus on the three crucial points that the prospect is looking for, not the 30 beneficial points that the marketing and research team have formalized.
If you notice that you are taking more time to get average results, try researching and cutting down the unnecessary clutter of your workflow. By being concise in both communication and execution, the successful broker gets more done with lesser time and effort.
Successful Brokers Value Focus over Frenzy
In line with the previous tip, a lot of brokers unknowingly work in a frenzy. They call leads without proper prospecting; they try to close an underprepared sale losing it in the process and move without an organized plan. By sticking to a daily, monthly and yearly plan, brokers become successful. Frenzy makes you feel you did something, but focus gives you real and tangible results.
A Successful Commercial Real Estate Broker Has a Strategic Peer Group
Due to the competitive world that a commercial real estate broker works in, joining a group tends to be counter-intuitive. Why should I share my secrets to my competitors? What if the so-called suggestions are just there to sabotage my efforts?
This is one of the few things that separates the good ones from the best. A support group can give so many benefits; a more extensive network, practical advice and proven strategies implemented by successful brokers. A peer-to-peer support and mastermind group can do wonders to a career.
A good broker merely gets by, but a successful broker goes beyond. By focusing on prospecting, efficient use of time, and meeting with peer experts, brokers reach success consistently. Brokers who do cold calling are wasting their precious time. There is a better way! The best commercial real estate brokers no longer do cold calling; they execute a prospecting strategy that targets leads and clients efficiently.
No one ever drifted to the success they wanted – they created a plan and set goals. Get the step-by-step proven methodology and workbook to make 2019 your best CRE year yet.
