Do some of these things, make a lot more money!
Word of mouth!
- Ensure your family and friends know exactly what services you offer, enlist them to help spread the word.
- Ask clients to tell their friends and colleagues about your services. Be sure they know you’re taking new clients, some assume you’re not (especially if you complain about being busy).
- Offer free consultations and site visits for referrals.
- Leave flyers or business cards pinned up at your local coffee shops and post offices.
- Don’t be shy! Mention your services to baristas, that person you met in the grocery line and anyone else who seems interested.
Email Campaigns
- Generic services email (outline your offered services) with links to your website. Have this on file, send to website and phone inquiries you receive.
- Email newsletters keep you consistently in front of clients and leads. Consider sending monthly or bi-monthly.
- Recent listings emails to clients, agents, and industry professionals.
- “Welcome New Tenant” emails to clients, agents, and industry professionals.
- Big change announcements – like price reductions or promo deals.
Mailers
- Gather a list of commercial real estate property owners or tenants from LoopNet Property Records .
- Sales letters written to your target market can be sent to your gathered list of CRE property owners or tenants.
- Send attractive postcards with listing information to potential lessees (leases) or property owners (sales).
- Mail a cover letter and company brochure to potential lessees or property owners.
- Send attractive postcards announcing your services to potential clients.
Advertising
- Purchase Google AdWords that target your prospects. You can narrow this range quite a bit! Example: I want my ad to show to Las Vegas residents searching for “best commercial real estate agent” or “available industrial suites.”
- Ads in local industry magazines or business gazettes.
- Banner ads on popular industry websites.
- Exchange links with popular industry websites.
- Send clever holiday greeting cards to your clients and prospects.
Social Media
- Comment on industry blogs to draw prospects back to your website.
- Blog to show expertise and bring in more people to your website.
- Keep up with Twitter and post on popular tags such as #CRE.
- Build a Facebook page and post your newest listings and congratulate new tenants.
- Announce new blog posts on Twitter and Facebook to bring people into your website.
Associations
- Join an industry organization and get listed.
- Join local NAIOP chapter and participate in functions.
- Join local Better Business Bureau and participate in functions.
- Join the local university (even if you’re not an alumni) to mentor or be a guest speaker.
- Offer to be a guest speaker during an organization’s meetings.
Charity
- Social involvement in churches, schools, universities, and others can bring more word-of-mouth leads.
- Offer services for free to charitable organizations of your choice.
- Donations are often rewarded with linking your website to the charity’s web page.
- Give discounts to referrals from charitable causes.
- Participate in events and hand out cards or promo items.
Promos
- Buy quality pens, hats, and shirts. Promos are of no use if they’re thrown away!
- Pass promo items out at events, offer them to charity, and bring them to networking factions.
- Offer to hire a photographer at industry events. Have the photographer place your business card with printed photos.
- Pass out flash drives of your information to industry professionals. After they’re done looking through the files, they can still use the branded flash drive.
- If you insist on the cliché flashlights, make sure they actually give off light. If the flashlight isn’t quality, it becomes the most discarded promo item. “Brighten your Investment Portfolio with…”
Networking
- Industry conventions are a great place to meet new leads and fellow professionals.
- Participate in trade shows that your target prospects may attend.
- Enter yourself into local or national “industry professional” awards.
- Cross promote with other industry professionals. “I’m an industrial agent, but is an excellent retail agent.”
- Make friends with a powerful contender that’s not interested in your target market and pass each other referrals.