and it may say I know five people.” He does not use LinkedIn as a
“silo,” he explains; rather, it’s integrated within his system.
understanding where tenants are going and why,” adds Henderson.
“We also focus on vacancy, absorption, available direct, and available sublease.
“That’s the value of the cloud [storing data on the internet and
linking multiple computers and servers], pulling in the relevant
information,” McGowan continues. “Within the Sales Force, if you
put in the property you can contextually show it on Google Maps.
You don’t have to click out to it.”
Barker also data mines using social networks. “I’ve had a
couple of instances where I’d go to Linkedin, put in a company
name, and get at least three or four people in my relationships who
do business with ‘ABC’ company. I’ve asked them if they can help
me get in front of them,” he says. “It’s been a phenomenal tool
for us.”
McGowan says he also tracks inbound calls. “It’s amazing; I
can see that I talked with a certain developer on such a date, and
I can review my notes,” he says. “As I set up a transaction, I also
get full visibility into my pipeline—how many options I need, the
client’s needs, space requirements, etc.—all in one place.”
“We have our data segmented by zoning,” says Klein. “If it’s
rail-served, what city is it located in? If it’s on a major boulevard,
what size is it? I’ve attached every tenant to a building by square
footage, so I can narrow the market down to that level.”
This year, Klein says he has integrated his data into a GIS
mapping program. With the program, “I can get all the informa-
tion visually as well as in database format,” he says. “Also, for the
rail-served property, which I can’t find elsewhere, I take the GIS
information and match it to all the rail lines in LA, so I get
every building that’s next to a rail line.”
“Tenant migration patterns have been
extremely helpful in
Trial and Error
For SIORs about to become more deeply involved in data mining,
McGowan has the following advice: “A lot of it is about experimen-
tation; there’s no one way to do this, no manual,” he asserts. “I’m
constantly reading articles about what other people are doing.”
There is one area, however, where McGowan says the path is
clear. “I do think you have to get onto the cloud—storing data on
the internet and calling in other services and types of data,” he says.
“When you start to bring data together and link it on the internet it’s
much more powerful.” Finally, he adds, “If you do not know how to
do it, get someone who is willing to experiment and listen to you as
you go along.”
“I would lean heavily on research people whose job description
fits the bill for ‘data mining,’” Henderson advises. “Do what you
do best, which is making deals, and leave the mining to people who
make their living at it. However, always, always make sure there is
quality control, because any information you send out will have your
name on it!”
