In this property market and particularly commercial real estate, we find that banks and financiers are making life difficult for the owners, buyers, and investors of property. The availability of finance is more restrictive and more selective. It is harder for real estate agents to put deals together for clients and owners of property. It is harder to find buyers who can act in this market under this pressure.

Sure things will change, but right now we have to make the best of what is a difficult set of circumstances. What I will do here is help you focus your activity so the sales are optimised.

To compensate in this difficult commercial property market you have to be very focused and diligent in your business practices to make more sales. Everything comes down to you and what you do in prospecting, marketing, inspecting, negotiating, and closing. You have to be the best in each of the five disciplines.

To take these five elements individually:

1. Prospecting is the lifeblood of real estate agents to find sellers and buyers of property. Prospecting each day just has to be done, and without doing so things get very tough. It is the strength of your prospects and your database that underpins your listings and your enquiry conversions. Taking personal ownership of growing your database is essential. The more people that you know, the better you can survive a slow market. Believe it or not there are still sellers and buyers in this market that want to do a deal. You just have to find them.
2. Marketing of commercial property today has to be both direct and indirect. You cannot wait for people to come to you from an advert in the paper or on the internet. Essentially you have to make things happen by talking to the right people. Your marketing processes for each and every property have to be carefully considered and centred on the appropriate target market for the property. Not every property is the same, so selective marketing is the way to go.
3. Inspection of a property should be planned so you know exactly how you will enter and move around the commercial building. You should know where you are going to stop and spend time. You should know the areas to take less time in and why that should be the case. A planned property inspection keeps you in control and helps in the negotiation process. As a general rule, you take the people around the property and they have to stay with you. Do not let them split up into fragmented groups.
4. Negotiation in a commercial sale situation is mainly a product of the best timing and is only done after a series of mini closes on acceptable items that suit the prospect and the client. The more you can get the prospect to say ‘yes’ and agree with you during the phases of the sale, the final close will generally be easier and a natural progression.
5. Closing the property sale deal in this market has to be undertaken with great attention to detail. When the market is slow or soft, the transactions are harder to bring to finality and put on paper. All subject to clauses in the contract should be drafted with skill to allow for the required details and time frames. Asking for extensions and variations to contract clauses is best avoided as people change their mind in this market. You do not want to place yourself in that position.

So these are the 5 key elements that move a property to a sale faster in what is a difficult market. Master these elements and the frequency of contracts and commissions will be better than average.