Given the anxious state of sellers and the relative scarcity of buyers today, a big deal is being made over the far-reaching marketing programs one commercial broker can offer over another. National networks, multiple listing services, glossy brochures, branded ad campaigns – they’re all aimed at generating the greatest amount of exposure in order to bring buyers to the table. And to be sure, the ability to mass market, to leverage technology and maintain a visible presence in the commercial real estate community is essential. However, in many situations, success depends on a more tailored approach.
Last year, for example, we brokered $50 million in commercial property transactions, but we’d be hard-pressed to trace many deals back to the MLS, direct mail or similar mass-marketing initiatives. Meanwhile, our biggest deal of the year, the sale of a retail/mixed-use portfolio in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, resulted from a private offering that targeted all of two potential buyers.
The notion that ‘less can be more’ may seem counterintuitive, especially in today’s challenging market, but it is one of the important realties of commercial real estate sales.
Target marketing didn’t always show its value during the “list-it-and-they-will-come” days when buyers were plentiful and sellers could, in effect, auction their property to the highest bidder. Of course, those days are long gone. But a lot of brokers are still marketing like it’s 2005, relying exclusively on the MLS to generate traffic and dragging through every self-proclaimed buyer, qualified or not.
The fact is every marketing assignment is different. Therefore, your marketing program must be appropriate to your specific property type and target buyer. In some cases that means marketing to the masses. In others, it means fixing your sights on your most likely prospects and going after them aggressively.
While mass marketing is an important part of a comprehensive sales strategy, it is our experience that the best leads still come from persistent and creative prospecting.
Today, selling commercial real estate is as much about knowing where to find qualified buyers and helping them see a good opportunity as it is about maximum exposure. And sometimes that means a marketing approach that’s much narrower in focus than what many sellers (and brokers) are used to.
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