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As a commercial real estate broker for many decades, I have never faced a confluence of events on the industry like we have at hand now. This got me thinking about what the role of the real estate broker will be going forward. Is the broker even going to be needed in the future?
First, the basics are just that — basic. This situation requires that you push the boundaries of your knowledge base and deliver more to your client. The reason real property professionals exist is to provide the expertise and actionable information required to facilitate a transaction. This means brokers must constantly keep themselves informed on changes to the marketplace. Informed on what? Well, that all depends on where you are and who your clients are.
Essentially, the professional should be a conduit of useful information that enhances the transaction. Imagine this scenario: A potential buyer sees a for-sale property that they have no connection with. They decide to contact the owners to see what’s going on. They send out the normal marketing intro package, feeling good, only to receive no answer from the property owner. Why? Well, why should the owner have taken the time to field this request? Did the potential buyer provide any true value?
The approach here is for brokers to share the byproduct of your professional study and experience for the customer’s gain. That requires you to study up quite a bit, as these are not the days of old. With numerous new regulations and practices, the ability to produce value, convey real property at a fair and reasonable price, or purchase to utilize for other productive uses is at stake. Your clients need to know the lay of the land, and you are the guide. Get a map.
One thing you can do with a new contact is show them a new perspective on their property. They may know what they have, but do they know what it can or will be in the future? With the pandemic, the concept of highest and best use has taken a hiatus. Now is time to send in the reconnaissance teams. That’s us, the brokers. Clients don’t know exactly what to expect right now; they need us to inform them of the impacts of these events with information that relates to their properties.
Now is the time to contact your clients, take their pulse and offer to look into any concerns that touch your area of knowledge. You must also expand your area of knowledge in order to better field these client questions. Make reading a consistent part of your daily routine. Read various types of materials on diverse subjects, not just your tradecraft, for perspective. This helps in evaluating needs and uses for space.
The concept of social distancing alone will bring the best use of the property into consideration. Let’s say you have a 10,000-square-foot building and with a pre-pandemic occupancy of 100 people. Reopenings are upon us and now many buildings’ occupancy has been cut down, but not the rent. What do you do? This applies to vacant buildings that are on the market as well. After the pandemic, what's the occupancy limit? It's hard to know, but you are the professional — you need to start knowing.
As a broker, you need to find new ways to engage your long-standing and new clients. Provide clients and prospects with information on the development potential of their sites to yield more income. Provide situational and specific information on the development potential of their parcel(s). This includes all incentives being provided by localities and other information that gives the client a reason to see you again. I use a Los Angeles-based land use data and development services company called Brick+Work for this type of information. There are many providers of information that can give you an edge in marketing and capturing new business, so seek out your local providers.
Have a plan for your business that benefits your clients. You will also develop the habit of onboarding new information to share and reinforcing what you currently are working with. If information changes, you make changes so that your client can benefit.
As to the question of whether the broker is needed in the future, I believe the answer is yes. It's by taking these steps that brokers can preserve their value and ensure every client believes the answer is yes, too.
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