MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

8 Essential Marketing Tips for Commercial Real Estate Agents

702.498.85482733 N Power Road Suite #102-131Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

702.498.85482733 N Power Road, Suite #102-131

Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

1. Don’t depend on a broker to handle your marketing. You are your business. If you decide to leave your firm, your personal marketing plan should follow. Most brokers and firms provide a marketing platform to work from, but it’s up to you to take the reins.

If you’re lucky enough to have a firm with a marketing department, please remember for whom they work. Most Commercial Real Estate (CRE) marketing departments are more interested in leasing and selling your listings than promoting individual agents – after all, that marketing department is paid by the firm, not by one agent or team. The firm wants to turn around listings as fast as possible to generate revenue; the marketing department isn’t interested in generating prospects, following-up and turning them into leads – that job is reserved for sales agents.

Despite popular belief, cold calling isn’t the only way to generate leads; it’s simply the cheapest. Never treat cold calling as the one-and-only lead generator. There are many other marketing activities that can be used to establish leads. We will discuss additional ways to warm prospects in tip #4.

Working within branding standards. Please note that “not depending on your brokers for marketing” does not equate to fighting against the branding standards of your firm. Larger firms require you to use certain colors, styles, and layouts. Keeping to the standards is for brand recognition – getting people to know, like and recognize the company – the standards should not be set aside for your personal marketing campaign. Your individual marketing campaign can fit easily within a set of branding standards; it’s your message that’s unique.

2. Build your message. First you must ask yourself, “Who am I?” My name is ____________________________ and I am a/an ____________________________ specialist in ____________________________.

Who do you want to work for? If the industrial district creeps you out, stay away from any manufacturing specialities. If you enjoy the shopping district, think about specialising in retail. Although most of your essential materials will be (ideally) provided by your firm, one thing that you can control is your title. Be sure that your speciality is plainly stated, i.e. “Industrial Specialist.” Don’t get sucked into generalities – when you market to everyone, you sell to no one.

Never use the age old title, “Sales and Leasing Specialist.” There are two reasons why:(1) Client perspective. If clients do not understand your title, they’ll choose an agent who

states his/her speciality plainly. Let’s say you own a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro that you want to sell – which sales agent would you choose? A “Classic Car Specialist” or a “Car Specialist?” Do you even know what a “car specialist” is? You can’t specialize in every type of car in the world!

(2) Reception distribution. Your firm’s receptionist will transfer potential leads to the agent that he or she feels will meet the needs of that business. If a client calls and asks for an agent to sell his land, do you think the receptionist will forward that call to a “Sales and Leasing Specialist” or a “Land Specialist”? You may take on quite a few land deals, but because your title is generic, you lost a hot lead.

You’re on your own. ...It’s a good thing.

MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

702.498.85482733 N Power Road, Suite #102-131

Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

3. Finding prospects within your target market.

This is where a lot of agents stall. I’ll walk you through exactly how to find prospects within your target market and how to collect contact information.

Since it’s very costly to advertise to tenants, landlords and investors, I suggest you choose one. Otherwise, you’ll find your marketing plan may get expensive rather quickly.

Finding Leads with Reonomyhttps://reonomy.com/

Reonomy’s Lead Generation tool is great for filtering by location, specific industries, building types, and more. Once you’ve found your list, easily export them into a spreadsheet.

Check out this information gathered from a simple Reonomy search:

Read the Full Tutorial on using Reonomy to gather leads:https://www.calicomarketing.com/reonomy/*Shows you how to export up property owner contact info into a spreadsheet!

Now that you have a list of contact names, addresses, and so on, go through this prospect list with a fine toothed comb. Be sure to weed out multiple entries of the owner or tenant, chains that are exclusive to a competing CRE firm or any business that doesn’t quite meet your criteria. A thorough cleaning of your prospects will save you money and prevent wasted advertising efforts.

MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

702.498.85482733 N Power Road, Suite #102-131

Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

4. Marketing Yourself SuccessfullyYour firm will ideally provide you with the following: business cards, a corporate brochure (which explains a firm’s available services and expertise), a listing brochure template, a sales package (OM) template and signage. The purposes of these materials are to sell/lease listings, not necessarily to promote you or turn prospects into leads. You’ll need a few additional items for yourself.

#1 Website. Did you know 80% rely on the Internet for their commercial real estate information? Don’t miss out on this important segment. Buy your domain name today - whether its your company name, team or your full name, lock it down before someone else does. Even a simple, single page website is better than nothing. Be sure it’s mobile friendly and responsive. Google punishes nonresponsive websites with a lower ranking. A nice combination of photos, animations and content will set you apart from the masses of terribly designed commercial real estate websites. More info on websites.

#2 White Paper. Agents can get too caught up in sales figures, companies they once worked for, certifications or other bragging rights. Most prospects don’t want a resume; they want an expert in a particular field, so write something helpful that your target market will want to read. Giving it a quantifying factor (10 tips, 5 easy steps, etc.) won’t give people the impression that it’s a ‘self-promo’ piece.

Some ideas include:• Planning your warehouse space in 5 easy steps• 3 Ways to calculate how much office space you need• Attention doctors! 5 Reasons to buy a medical condo

instead of leasing• Finding high-end retail locations with 5 easy tricks

Your personal brochure should be around 5-10 pages of pure and honest advice. Leave the last page for your contact information and a little summary about you and your qualifications but don’t go overboard! You want people to like you, not to think that you’re a publicity hound.More about White Papers.

#3 Email Follow-up. In this business, it’s common knowledge that follow-up is king. However, very few agents and brokerages utilize any follow-up systems. But why do so many fail at follow-up when it’s so important? It’s safe to say everyone in commercial real estate wants his or her own personal newsletter, but the time, energy and technical expertise to fulfil that need can be lacking. Email newsletters aren’t what they used to be - a simple text based email with a few links. Now-a-days potential clients are expecting photos, catchy headlines, responsive designs (53% of emails are opened on a smartphone), and information tailored for their interests. Even for a brokerage with a dedicated marketing team, this is a tall order. Setting up a solid email follow-up system like a “Thank you for downloading my White Paper” followed by monthly newsletters tailored to your target market will set you apart from the herd.

No time to write?I got you covered.

I have 3 white papers pre-written for your customization.

MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

702.498.85482733 N Power Road, Suite #102-131

Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

#4 Direct Mail Follow-up. Diversifying isn’t just for investors. You should diversify your marketing with multiple mediums. When adding a direct mail component to your email follow-up strategy, it will reinforce your message and prove you are serious about your business. Mailing addresses can be gathered on your website when visitors download your White Paper. Match up your postcard info to correspond to the email newsletter. A 3rd follow-up with a phone call can be a great way to break the ice, “Did you get my newsletter and postcard?”

#5 Direct Mail Prospecting. Remember those leads you pulled from Reonomy? Use your Reonomy leads as a base and add your follow-ups monthly. This will keep you top-of-mind whenever your potential client may need your services. See our Direct Mailing Packages.

#6 Blog Writing. Starting a blog can win you leads and get your website a higher rank in the search engines. Google loves new, original content! Focus on articles your target market would want to read. For example, if you focus on retail, consider writing about leveraging an online presence to increase in-store traffic. Put yourself in your client’s shoes. What issues are they concerned about? What keeps them up at night? These are the subjects you should be focusing on. Give honest, thought-provoking advice and you’ll be rolling in leads. Our SEO Packages include Blog Writing Services.

#7 Social Media. Utilizing social media in a way that translates to growing followers and revenue is a learned skill. Free services like Hootsuite can automatically post into three difference social media outlets. To succeed in social media, you have to create content that ignites and engages an audience. Also, visual content can act as a “gateway” to more valuable content I.E. sign up for the newsletter / download white paper / or visit blog article. See our Social Media Package.

#8 Backlinks. Google and other search engines rank on variety of factors, but a powerful ranking stat is a website’s number of backlinks. This means how many industry related websites are linking to your site. You can create backlinks by posting on industry blogs, providing guest articles for local media outlets, and even sponsoring charities. Our SEO Packages include Backlinking Services.

#9 Optimise your Website. The least you should be doing is downloading a plugin like Yoast SEO and ensuring each page has a unique header and description. You can optimise this further by matching keyword strings “Commercial Real Estate San Diego” to your page titles, header and write it into your copy. Make it easy for Google to match your page with searched keywords. Our SEO Packages include Optimization.

MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

702.498.85482733 N Power Road, Suite #102-131

Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

5. Advertising locally

Claim your business. To get views on the different maps and review sites, you’ll need to claim your business in popular search engines. Here are a few to get you started: Google | Yelp | Bing | Yahoo! . You will be filling out all the information for your commercial real estate brokerage. Company name, address, website, etc. Even a basic amount of information is better than nothing. This minimum amount of work will get you in the local results if someone is looking for a “commercial real estate agent near me”.

Associations. Chamber of Commerce, NAIOP, Better Business Bureau and your local university will all have local events. Meeting fellow business owners and independent agents doesn’t have a great conversion rate, but the outside socialization will make you a happier person. Get to know people outside of your industry and make some friends!

Charity. Social involvement in churches, schools, universities, and other non-profits can bring more word-of-mouth leads. Charitable donations are often rewarded with linking your business website with theirs. This is a big deal with SEO since .org link-backs are Internet unicorns – very rare and difficult to get. However, you’ll usually be shelling out some bucks to get that boost in search engine ranking as most charities will maybe keep your link for only a fiscal quarter.

Networking. Industry conventions are one of the best places to network. NAIOP, CCIM and ICSC has some great events. There also may be some local conventions in your area to join. Also, consider what your target market may attend. Attending World of Concrete may sound horrible, but if you specialize in developers, consider going.

6. Cold-calling in the 21st Century

Mass Texting. Did you know 26% of text messages are read? It’s a great way of keeping in touch with your current clients and leads. Texting is a perfect way to advertise your properties. “Hello! Just letting you know about a new 10,000 SF Retail Shopping Center for Sale in Glendale. Click the link below for the LoopNet listing.” Also works with potential clients. Learn more about Mass Texts.

Direct to Voicemail. This is a completely ringless service – it skips the ringing and accesses voicemail directly. The software runs your pre-recorded message into hundreds of phone numbers at a click of a button. Most people won’t even know you’re using it – making it look like you’ve done an old-fashion cold call. Yes, it works with cell phones AND landlines! Even works on direct business numbers. Learn more about Direct to Voicemail.

Hate cold calling?Shake-it up with some new methods!

MCALICOMARKETINGMarketing for Commercial Real EstateC

8 ESSENTIAL MARKETING TIPS

702.498.85482733 N Power Road, Suite #102-131

Mesa, Arizona 85215CalicoMarketing.com

7. Keep it growing

Google AdWords: If your target market is searching a particular keyword string such as “lease rates in downtown Austin”, you’ll want your website to be the first listing. I won’t lie; Google AdWords is extraordinarily complex. To help gain some clarity, pick up my favorite book on the subject, “Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords” by Perry Marshall.

Website banner advertisements: Are there certain websites that your target market frequents? See if those websites would allow banner advertisements. Advertising your personal website will bring in a greater number of leads. In most cases, this is a fairly inexpensive way to advertise.

Press Releases: Gather PR contact emails from local newspapers, real estate publications, CCIM and other real estate related magazines. Search their websites for editor contact information. Most of the time, there will be an email address provided. If there is no information, call the office number and ask to whom you submit press releases. Writers like getting information directly from sources, so it’s unlikely they’ll turn you away. Learn more about Press Releases.

8. Putting it together Start out with your basic marketing plan. Once you have it down to a science, start growing your brand with additional marketing tools. When you first start out, keep it simple – growing too fast and too soon could cause confusion and prevent you from focusing on your main goal, which is to turn prospects into leads.

When you have a basic marketing plan, additional opportunities will easily fall into place and as time goes on, you’ll find that marketing gets easier and easier. Keep with it, stay consistent and watch your leads fall into place!

Hi, I’m Brandy. Owner of Calico Marketing.When I started in commercial real estate, the only lead generation advice for agents was “more cold-calling”. I got so sick of hearing about cold-calling that I started Calico Marketing with a mission to bring additional marketing tools to the commercial real estate industry. These tools include Internet Marketing, Website Design, Brochure Design and Do-it-Yourself Templates. Check out more advice on my Blog!

Want to get started marketing your business? Let’s talk!