The commercial classroom: "I'm too busy..."

I am too busy to prospect; I have all the business I can handle. Really! At times we are busier than other times. Sometimes we are so busy we feel overwhelmed. But, good management of our business requires we build for the future, everyday! You may be exceedingly busy and go on to sell every listing you have, lease each space you have. Then what? You are kind of back to start, prospecting full time and a business gap develops; your cash flow (or rather lack of it) is a problem. Your business is in jeopardy. A successful real estate brokerage career requires balance of activities. Yes, we must service current clients and customers, finding, selling or leasing them property, but we must also develop new opportunities. You need to prospect each and every day to insure a steady stream of new business. How do I prospect for commercial property? The easiest way is to systematically ask your previous clients and customers for assistance. Take a few moments each day and write a small number of these folks a letter (5-6) letters a day. Remind them you are in the commercial and investment real estate business and ask them if they know anyone you may be of service to. The key to this program is to then call these folks a week later and ask them if they thought of anyone you could help. While you are on the phone make sure you get their e-mail address. Start an electronic newsletter; this does not have to be very fancy. A simple quarterly or monthly publication can just be an e-mail with community business news "Did you know a new shoe store will be opening in town..." At the end of your "newsletter" add, "By the way did you think of anyone I may be able to assist with their real estate needs?" The best prospecting is person-to-person. Get out in your community, "knock on some doors." Stop by local businesses and introduce yourself. Be honest and proud of what you do. Complement their business; find out how long they have been located there. Determine if the business owner owns or rents, when is their lease up? If they own, are they interested in other investment property. Give them a couple of your business cards, "one is for your records and please pass the other to someone you think I may be able to help." Join the local Chamber of Commerce and/or Service club. This is where you will meet the same business owners or managers you met canvassing. But, don't just be a member, go to the meetings, volunteer to serve on committees and events. Become a part of your local business community and you are prospecting! Edward Smith, RECS, is the Long Island metro regional director of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Eastport, N.Y.