ken wayte ⋅ Costa Mesa, CA General Electric ⋅ 30 years experience

Jin, I asked a professional in the industry who has been highly successfull. Here is his reply.

The submarket you are working in has variables in vacancy and absorption. Know the inventory base, vacancy factors, absorption. Know this in your product lines what ever your specialty you choose.

2) Read all of the industry trade magazines and periodicals

3) Know all of you competitors and take them to lunch. See how they are approaching the business

4) Find a mentor

5) Know all of your legal forms and LOI drafts

6) Understand how a development Performa works. know your math on all leases

7) Go to a title company and understand how a title report is generated and how the escrow are handled

8) Understand your marketplace inventory. This is what you have to sale or lease. The building do not move so know the ownerships and who the tenants are in the buildings. Create a farm.

9) Specialize in something and become the expert in it so people come to you for your knowledge. You have 2 things to offer early in your career “ TIME AND INFORMATION”

10) Remember when you are with a customer let them do the talking. Find the book SPIN and develop those techniques for your bases of cold calling because the more calls you make the more opportunity you will have to meet with people.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you

Kevin Wiley ⋅ Kingston, WA Ameriprise Financial ⋅ 4 years experience

Jin,

I would recommend getting heavily involved with your local Chamber of Commerce, they no everyone of the businesses in your area and can help connect you to all of them. That way you can get to know who is coming, going, and moving.

Hope this helps,

Kevin Wiley
Financial Advisor

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
2011 NW Myhre Road, Suite 301
Silverdale WA 98383
Office 360 613 1975
Fax 360 613 1992
TF 800 447 6021
Kevin.wiley@morganstanley.com

Gerald Danko ⋅ Fort Mill, SC ⋅ 25 years experience

Jim, I've been selling Industrial real estate for 25 years while serving in the Guard and Reserves. Industrial (warehouses and manufacturing plants) is a unique market, which depending on where in the economic cycle we are, can be really slow or flaming hot. Mostly it is luke warm.

I agree with most of the prior answers except meeting and getting to know competing brokers. I've found that time to be pure wasteful as they'll either be bragging about themselves or wallowing in self pity. Neither will help you be successful. The one advantage would be to determine which brokers you admire and attempt to interview with their firm. Starting with an established firm which doesn't eat their own is about the only way to break into a market. Then do as suggested and specialize with a segment and go door knocking to meet and learn about the existing businesses and owners.

Best of luck!

Jim Brown ⋅ Slidell, LA Keller Williams Realty Professionals ⋅ 33 years experience

I can send you a draft of a book I have been writing on becoming a successful real estate agent. While it is written more for residential sales, many of the same principles apply to commercial real estate sales. Would need your email address to send it. You can contact me at JimBrown@gymbeaux.com