Time wasters can leave commercial real estate agents feeling robbed of something valuable. (iStockphoto via Getty Images)
Now that it’s the season of giving, we’ve moved past Black Friday and Cyber Monday and turned our thoughts and plans to the iconic fall holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Time with family and friends is so precious this holiday season. December’s calendar is almost full of parties, luncheons, and get-togethers. But he has three reasons why I’m writing this article today. It’s therapy, education, and personal memories.
As commercial real estate practitioners, we only sell two things. Information and time. Our level of information is available to the world as a commodity, but the time we are given is only 168 hours a week. That’s all.
Nowadays, you can layer expertise on top of the basic data level, but it doesn’t create any more time. I know that’s a cliché, but bear with me here. Avoiding wasting time in commercial real estate is like locking your house at night. Otherwise, you may be robbed.
I mentioned three reasons in the preamble, so I’ll explain them here.
treatment
Without a doubt, I’ve encountered (and unfortunately been forced to engage in) more time wasters this year than I can remember in my 40-year career.
And I am proud of my qualification skills. We were unable to meet some of the requirements and had to renew our lease. Some requests were lengthy, including proposal processes, market research, tours, and owner education, all with the same result. There was no revenue.
There’s no return on the time invested – a death sentence for commission salespeople. Before you get sick and feel sorry for me, please stop. There are a million reasons why I’m the most blessed person on the planet, but I’ll save that for another column, but maybe you can learn from my mistakes this year.
education
OK, part of this is brokerage 101. But let me explain it for you.
—Working while being in control is fundamental, isn’t it? But how many people make this mistake? I say to the young people here, “Working without control is like drunk driving.” You might get away with it, but you won’t get caught. When you do, and you get caught, the consequences are severe.
—Earn your qualifications, earn your qualifications, and stay qualified. Preliminaries are continuing. Don’t forget to qualify “throughout the process”, not just the front end of the transaction.
–Let’s think about “anti-movement.” Let’s be honest, traveling sucks! It is destructive, time-consuming, counterproductive, inefficient, and expensive. It’s like a knee replacement, painful but sometimes necessary. Be upfront with residents about the downsides of moving. If things get tough in a deal, and they will, you can relay your arguments and remind your client why the transition makes sense.
—Get the client to be satisfied. How many people have ever thought, “I want to buy a building”? I always ask my clients, “Why do you want to do that?” The answer is obvious!
–Be careful of the “local guy” in the company. OK, they can be your biggest advocate or your time-wasting champion. Is the local going to give you full access to the “real decision maker”? Or realize his dream location that has no chance of becoming a reality or passing corporate screening? Are you trying to do that?
— Please note that the process will be long. The decision about who to hire is rarely determined by the outcome of the thickest proposal binder, the best PowerPoint, or the most complete response to an RFP. They are generally summarized as “relationships”. What a concept!
–I have to return the favor someday. My mother taught me that relationships are 50/50. Why should this be different in a real estate transaction? Find out how much you are giving and how much your client is giving in return. This can be as simple as responding to a timely phone call, email, or text message, or as complex as determining strategic direction.
–Out of state, insane. Has anyone ever dealt with an out-of-state company that is very responsive when you’re face-to-face, but becomes less responsive once the plane leaves the tarmac? Frankly, I still don’t understand this. I have not!
personal reminders
Trust your gut! If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, has wings, and flies south for the winter (and you’re not in Eugene, Oregon), commercial real estate could be a waste of time.
Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is president of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. Contact him at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104.