Making the Right Sales Pitch in Commercial or Retail Property Listing

When you work in commercial real estate, the presentation or pitch process for the listing is something that happens just about every day in one form or another. Given that you are up against other agents also pitching with the one client (in most cases), your sales pitch or presentation model has to be very good and relevant to the local property market.

The common rule in presenting or pitching is that 90{bc1e42e53d8565163e9cec719c82f5e0892e054fb5d628f08363879e07731a2f} of the focus has to be on the property and the client. The leverage you can obtain and use in the presentation is gained from knowing what the ‘property pain’ is for the client. When you know that fact, you can provide solutions.

Here is a checklist of some key things in for preparing for the property presentation or sales pitch:

1. Inspect the property before you make the pitch. If possible do that inspection with the client. You must know the property intimately and thoroughly. Devise a plan as to how you would take people to the property and inspect the property. This strategy can be part of your recommendations to the client.
2. Research the surrounding area and property by taking a walk in the streets concerned. It is remarkable how this will add to your perception and dialogue when you talk to the client in the presentation.
3. Understand the history of the property to see if it contains any perceptions or hurdles that require remedy. As part of that process make sure you review the tenant history in case it contains challenges such as environmental or heritage impact.
4. Know how the property can be accessed by occupants and tenants. This will be a selling point or consideration in your marketing campaign.
5. Local services and amenities at the property will have impact on the sale or lease strategy as the case may be. Use these factors in your overall strategy.
6. The branding or image that the property gives the sale or lease should be refined to one or two main factors for the target market. That will feed into your advertising process and campaign.
7. Your advertising campaign has to be specific and not generic. It has to creatively connect the property advantages to the local businesses and investors.
8. Determine a key target market that would find the property relevant and attractive. How are you going to market to them? When you know the answer it becomes a focus of the presentation.
9. The selected method of sale or lease is a base factor around which the property promotion will be built. Always choose the best method and let the client know exactly why you did so.
10. Make the clients property the feature of your presentation in all respects.

As a final note in preparing your presentation, a great way to show the client that you really know where the property is headed is to put together a PERT and GANTT model of expected progress and strategy. This powerful series of graphical displays can become a feature of your presentation or pitch.