The Importance of Online Presence for Commercial Real Estate Brokers

People hire those who they know, like and trust.

That message was so powerful when I first heard it. The old school method of building business for commercial real estate brokers was to cold call and cold call again.

I have my starting line up and, you’ve guessed it, online presence is a big part of it. Similar to baseball, every position is critcial. That’s why I try and be cover all my positions. That way, no matter where the ball is hit, I have a strong defender in place.

Starting Pitching: For me, my starting pitcher, my Ace is my website, Marietta Commercial Real Estate. Here I can give up to the minute updates on topics important to my potential clients, such as the latest in the Atlanta Industrial Real Estate Market.

But you can’t expect a starting pitcher to go 9 innings. You need a bullpen. For me, that is other sites such as my website builds and foundation links including the local MLS, so that no matter what a potential client is searching, I show up.

First Base: Networking. For me that is local business associations, industry business associations and the local chamber of commerce.

Second Base: I get a disproportionate amount of business from local referral partners, a lot of whom are residential real estate agents who trust me enough to refer their clients when needing commercial brokerage help, such as renting office space for their company.

Third Base: Google Ads. JLL, Marcus and Millichap and CBRE all use them. So do I. No easier way to interject yourself into the conversation.

Short Stop: Converting sign calls. Anyone who calls me off a sign already knows I’m active in the same market as them so trust is already built and they can see how I market properties. Every sign call is a potential for a deal on the building they called on, or to represent them for their needs. Because of this, I only take listings I’m okay doing more business in the same geographic area.

Right Field: Direct Mail. I send a LOT of very valuable information to property owners each month. This costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time but is invaluable in terms of building a market reputation.

Center Field: Targeted Cold Calls. An example of this is if I have a building for an urgent care, I call every urgent care operator nearby.

Left Field: Targeted Outreach. If I go into a business or perhaps use them in my day to day life, I ask about their commercial real estate needs. Try this. You already have a leg up on how their business works and what they need.

Catcher: Social Media. I saved this specifically for the catcher position as it calls the game. In real time I can see other deals that are announced, hear from market participants as to current needs and interject myself into the conversation.

How are you approaching your business to make sure your lineup is strong?