Hunt's Commercial Real Estate / "The Power of the Brokerage Community"

Q: We have been trying to sell our building for over six months, but we have not had many showings by brokers. How do we get noticed by brokers, and get our building shown? A: While no one broker makes a substantial percentage of the real estate deals on Long Island, the brokerage community, as a whole, is responsible for nearly all commercial sale and leasing activity. So, any successful marketing plan must be designed to harness the tremendous power of hundreds of experienced and knowledgeable salespeople who can introduce your property to potential buyers or tenants. There are many reasons to appoint an exclusive broker to market your property, but chief among them is your exclusive agent's ability to reach out to the entire brokerage community. Whether you "go at it alone" or appoint an exclusive agent, here are the six most important elements of leasing or selling your property efficiently and quickly through the power of the brokerage community: 1. A complete "Fact Package" should be available to brokers at any time. A "Fact Package" can take the form of a brochure, but it should include as a minimum: complete specifications of the property, a floor plan, a site plan if applicable, photographs, and a map. This brochure or package should be available at all times - distributed by mail, fax, Internet, and at all appointments. 2. Your marketing materials should be sent by mail to the entire brokerage community. On Long Island there are over 100 commercial real estate brokerage houses, each with a roster of agents. Your exclusive agent should have a database of the houses, and a separate list of all their agents, and their email addresses. 3. Look for a way to stand out. A typical brokerage house on Long Island has over 2,000 listings of available properties and your property can easily be overlooked. Your materials should be complete and compelling. Color photographs, email with graphics, and a website with downloadable information will put you far ahead of your competition. 4. You MUST have an open house for the brokerage community. Do not expect that potential buyers or tenants will attend. The sole purpose of the open house is to have as many brokers as possible walk through your space. No broker, no matter what his background and experience, can sell property effectively from a paper listing. As brokers and salespeople walk through your property, they will naturally start to think about the prospects that may be interested. You will attract more of a crowd with a free lunch and raffle prizes. 5. Be flexible when it comes to inspection appointments. In a perfect world, an agent would schedule all his appointments with a week's notice. In reality, it may have taken him a week to get a prospect to agree to meet with him an hour later. If the agent wants to control the showing let him; he does it for a living. 6. After consulting with your exclusive agent, come up with an attractive and fair compensation schedule for the brokers. A broker has a right to know when and how he is going to be paid. And more important, the broker is always going to drive a deal to a landlord or seller who compensates him fairly. There are some important differences between industrial and office compensation, so check with your exclusive agent to make sure you are equal to, or preferably, better than your competition. You can always tell which landlords have a great relationship with the brokerage community: They are usually rented! Make sure your property is sold or leased quickly by tapping the strength of the brokerage community in the same way. David Hunt, MCR, CCIM, SIOR is the president of Hunt Corporate Services, Inc., Syosset, N.Y.