All of the Above

I know that we’re most of the way through the year, but it’s never too late to ask this question. If you could get more of one thing for your business, would you want:

a.      More market expertise

b.      More solid client relationships

c.      More earnings

d.      All of the above

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take D. Knowing more is great. Knowing more people is great. And having more money is great. I hope you all agree!

There’s a way that you can make all three of these things happen all at once. And I’m going to share that secret with you.

Focus on doing formal proposals for listings or for tenant representation engagements. And do them whether or not they’ll turn into listings and whether or not you really need to do them. Here’s why:

1. You will get more market expertise. Every time that you look at a real owner’s rent roll and P&Ls, you get access to up-to-the-second information on what tenants are actually paying and what operating expenses actually cost. Furthermore, if you are working in a finite area and a specialized product type, you can quickly become the leading expert in your market by doing enough of these.
2. You will form more solid client relationships. First, the simple act of giving you this type of information on their properties actually makes clients trust you more as their psyche looks to justify sharing private financial information for you. Second, most of the clients that we work with will appreciate the hard work that you do on their behalf. Third, the entire process means that you spend more time with your client, which should be a net positive. And, finally, doing the proposal puts you in position to give your client the best possible advice, and many will respect, if not appreciate, your candor.
3. Finally, proposals lead to listings, listings lead to contracts or lease LOIs, contracts or LOIs lead to closings and signings, and closings and signings lead to paychecks.  And while it’s possible for some of you to get deals without doing a proposal, some of you really need them, and all of you benefit from having it done. After all, getting what you need to do a proposal is a good test of seller or landlord motivation, and that information should position you to market the property at the right price, increasing its likelihood of closing or being leased out.

So, that’s the deal. If you want all of the above, do more proposals. Best of luck for the rest of 2019 and in 2020 and beyond!