In the marketing of commercial property it is the advert that will attract a lot of enquiry from buyers and tenants as the case may be. Adverts for commercial property sale or lease will appear in many locations such as:

• Signboards
• Email
• Newspapers
• Internet
• Flyers
• Brochures

Importantly they all have to capture the interest of the reader. To capture the interest correctly and to generate more enquiries there are a few design rules for setting out the information on the advert.

Most adverts should follow the rules below:

1. Have a headline that grabs the attention of the reader. The reader is your carefully selected target market so the headline should be designed with that in mind. Ask yourself these questions. Who is your target market? What are they really interested in?
2. Just below the advert headline place an item of great interest that takes them further into the advert. You want your reader to continue to look into the property detail. Usually this interest factor is achieved by placing a photograph below the headline. Importantly the photograph has to be good and flattering for the property. If you can get a professionally prepared photo for your advert then it will likely be of greater value in supporting your message.
3. Below the photograph you will need to create some points of want. These are the things that your target market must want or have and what they look for to get them. They are the things that will drive them forward to make a call to you or inspect the property. The best way to display these items is by the use of simple and short dot points. About 5 or 6 will usually be sufficient to do the job. As part of that process you can adopt a strategy of including the keywords that are researched from internet search engine usage (this information is free). In that way you are integrating the words that most people use. It also helps the search engines see your advert more and perhaps even elevate your property advert to a higher level in the internet rankings of enquiry.
4. After the above three points, you have to have a clear statement or request that calls the reader to take action. That is to lift the telephone and talk to you the agent marketing the property. Be prepared to take calls at any time and use your mobile telephone number for that purpose.
5. Be prepared for the calls that you get. Have a question checklist that takes the party through key levels of qualification. Only after asking the right questions will you know that you should spend time with these people.

A good property advert will help you sell or lease a property faster. It will give you more enquiries. Take the time to refine this process using the above layout and model.

Commercial real estate selling is a specialist field. Not all property agents know enough about the commercial property market and the property type to do it well. Sellers should choose their agent with care.

The owners of investment property that want to sell their asset should carefully choose a real estate agent that is well versed in the market trends and the property type. That agent should also show a high level of current market share and success in commercial property over the years.

Selling commercial property is not an ‘experiment’ or an exercise in ‘hope and pray’. When undertaken correctly in any market situation by a skilful agent, a property will attract enquiry and a sale is possible. The result then sits on the client’s ability to accept the market price and market evidence. There are always buyers out there; they just have to be found and the sellers need to be accepting of the market trends.

Today’s price for a property is not necessarily at some escalated figure from that which the client paid some few years ago. Not all properties go up in price and the market has a huge impact on the sale processes and outcomes at the moment. Sellers have to be realistic on price and method of sale. Agents should help them with that.

The sellers of commercial property should also choose a real estate agent to market their property based on evidence of success and not on any offered discounts of commission, marketing, or method of sale. Discounts or bonuses in the sale process do not attract a buyer and rarely a positive outcome.

To list and market a commercial property for sale, key considerations come into play such as those on:

1. The ideal method of sale given the prevailing market conditions and the economic outlook.
2. The timing of the sale given the local property market activities and trends.
3. The best method of marketing that can attract the best levels of enquiry from the target market for the property.
4. The right level of price that the property can attract in today’s terms (not something from 3 years ago).
5. The client’s flexibility in accepting a price based on today’s market and not some ‘wish list’.
6. The location of other similar property for sale in the local area and the price that they are being marketed at.
7. The stability of the existing lease and its attraction of cash flow for the new property owner.
8. The types of improvements in the property today and how they match the services and amenities required by qualified tenants.
9. The established database of contacts that an agent may already have and be willing to use in the marketing process.
10. The quality of the tenant and the tenure that they bring the building in the sale process.
11. Inspection and due diligence processes that capture the all the facts for the sale process.

Selling a commercial property is a highly skillful process. The chosen agent and salesperson should bring all these skills to the property owner. In that way a property sale in any market and economic situation is far more possible.

When considering a career in real estate most salespeople start in residential property and that is probably due to the fact that residential property is everywhere. There is plenty of property to sell and it does not seem too complicated, after all we all live in houses and we know what makes up a great house.

Some real estate salespeople however look to expanding or specialising their skills and moving beyond residential property. In that case they can consider commercial investment property. Now one thing needs to be said here; commercial property is not hard, it is just different. Many of us in the industry would say that commercial is more interesting than residential property but let’s not start that debate. Suffice to say that commercial property is very stimulating and gives a totally different twist on the industry for those that feel so inclined. In commercial property you can really specialise.

One of the greatest advantages with commercial property is that it is based on logic and property performance. The emotion of residential property and the family home is no longer an issue. Most of the clients you deal with are business proprietors, investors, or owner occupiers of a corporate nature.

In commercial property the sellers and buyers do the deals because they can see an advantage or opportunity. Salespeople that work in commercial property therefore have to know how to interpret and display opportunity to a buyer.

The most significant advantage you have in working in commercial real estate is that you can focus on both commercial leasing and sales. Both are very lucrative to those that choose the career path. Property leasing underpins the investment aspect of commercial sales. In other words, a great lease will help a future sale. If you lease a property well, it is quite likely that you will be invited back to sell the property when the time comes.

Every property or tenancy lease should therefore be negotiated with the investment in mind. The landlord will have some targets and the lease should be created to match that landlord plan.

To be very successful in commercial real estate sales and leasing you should be prepared for extensive hard work and systemised marketing. You will have to know these people in your territory and market to tap into the property churn and spin:

• Landlords
• Tenants
• Investors
• Business Proprietors
• Owner occupier businesses
• Solicitors
• Accountants
• Planning Officers
• Buyers
• Sellers

All of these high level contacts have to feature in your database of activity. Build your business on constant contact prospecting with the people that invest, own, rent, and sell commercial property. Whilst implementing the necessary contact build your knowledge in commercial property types, methods of sale, and methods of lease, negotiation, and marketing. Your career in commercial real estate will gain traction very quickly. Success in the commercial property industry is based largely on the performance of the individual, and has little to do with the office you work in or for.

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.

When it comes to the average commercial property sale, the high values that form the elements of the negotiation are seldom beaten or excelled by any other industry. Some properties sell for millions of dollars or pounds (depending on your currency), and the parties to the deal are very aware of the potential to make the wrong choices or early choices without all the facts. It is not in their interest to open up on all ideas and demands too early in the negotiation.

If mistakes are made in the negotiation then the financial impact can be great on the parties to the deal; the impact of a poor choice can be felt for years. Good real estate negotiators understand the pressures of the final moments of negotiation, and carefully examine the signals coming from all the parties.

The more deals you do as a professional salesperson the easier it gets to read the signals of the negotiation coming from the parties. There is a single golden rule to negotiation that is worthwhile remembering in all the negotiations that you do; everything that is said is only a part of the full story. Look for more twists and turns to the negotiation; look for other motivations and outcomes. Look for the secret outcome or solution. Find their point of ‘property pain’ and you will find the negotiation solution.

Here are a few clues to reading the parties in the negotiation:

1. Observe the placement or zone the person is negotiating from at the table or in the room. Are they away from others or are they in close proximity? If they are remote then they are trying to preserve their position and may not play all the negotiation cards at first request. They do not want to connect yet.
2. As you ask questions watch their eyes and head positions as they respond. If they are responding and looking directly at you then you know they are fully in the negotiation and their comments are real. If they are not responding to you, but generally to the space in the room, they are not playing all their cards and ideas yet. They have secrets they have not told you yet.
3. Are they agitated or calm? Movement will be a giveaway sign of some anxiety and worry. If you ask more questions at this point you will usually find out what is at the centre of their feelings and concerns. This strategy is what they call a ‘Freudian Slip’, and all good negotiators use it as a tool or tactic to get to the real negotiation point or problem.
4. The words and dialogue they use are important in a few ways. The speed of speech, the tone of voice, and the flow of conversation will all send out signals.
5. Gestures and postures in the negotiation will send further messages about the dialogue or words they speak. Are they leaning into the conversation or leaning out or away? This is a real sign of connection or disconnection and will have value in the negotiation.

Negotiations do not have to be hard or difficult. We all have a natural skill to interpret other people; you simply need to watch and observe.