Starting out in Real Estate is not for the weak at heart. This is one tough business, and the highs and lows of income can be fickle, frustrating, and stressful. Those who persevere in this business often fall in love with it and are the ones who can successfully build a brand. Building a strong brand in commercial real estate takes strong market presence, a great reputation, strong market knowledge, specialization and consistent prospecting. Let’s discuss these brand-building tips for both the newcomer and reminders for the seasoned pro’s:

1. Market Presence

Building a market presence takes time. Those who will thrive in this area commit to being involved and exposed. This is create this in a multitude of ways to include:

–Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Website
–Community: Charities, Chambers of Commerce, EDC, Planning and Zoning,
Trade organizations
–Press: Press releases, Interviews, Speaking Engagements

2. Reputation This might be the strongest asset you have.  Before people even know who you are, they are aware of the name you have made for yourself and will interact with you based on what that is. This means that the decisions you make in every situation are consequential to your reputation. If possible, make these decisions before you come to intersections, to prevent any sort of wavering on your part. In terms of reputation, your Integrity, work ethic, expertise and results will establish you and your business faster than anything else.

3. Market knowledge

To gain control of a market, you must know about it. There are many ways to gain knowledge of the commercial real estate market:

-Become an expert not only of the listings in your farm market but also of the sector   you specialize in.
-Be Aware of all your Company’s local listings first
-Run Reports from CoStar and Loopnet
-Watch property movement and centers in your area
-Work towards specific designations within your areas of discipline
-Get in the habit of reading journals, papers, news circuits, etc…

You can do these things in a co-productive way in looking for good material to share on social media. There are many good tools and apps out there today they make this a non time intensive task.

4. Specialization is key in the Commercial Real Estate market. When you have heart problems you go to a Cardiologist rather than a Family Practitioner, and it is no different in CRE. Working in a specific sector allows you to hone your skills and become an expert. Your income will go up as well because this breeds confidence with prospects because you are an expert and all your training and efforts are focused on ONE discipline.

 5. Prospecting
Get in the habit of prospecting and data mining. This is the gold you are after. Those in the industry that are committed prospectors are the ones who year after year are in the upper echelon of brokers. Discipline in this area will result in you a steady increase in earnings and more frequent occasions of homerun deals. Time block your day to prospect, make sure that each day has time for you to prospect and be committed to this practice and I can assure you that magic will happen.

There are certain disciplines that the GREAT do every day and it distinguishes them from the pack. I believe that brand building is definitely one of these disciplines. I plan to blog more on the subject and expand on some of the thoughts and ideas here.

Certainly comment and share your success stories in this area. How do you build your brand?