Get New
Business Now!
By Greg Schenk, SIOR, CNE
In today’s uncertain economic climate companies are simply tired
of being sold. Therefore, if you want to get new business, you
may have to do a few things differently. I've highlighted the most
important characteristics to adopt in order to be successful and
generate business.
To begin, don’t just be a salesperson, be an advisor, or consultant—someone your clients trust. Be a consultant first and a “
resultant” second. This means finding out about their needs, short and
long term goals, and exploring what their true priorities are for
2012. We use our client profile form that you can view at ireptheten-ant.com (under "Getting Started"), which is a question and answer
form to learn as much about them as possible. Most agents are just
trying to sell someone something whether that means getting a listing or a tenant rep assignment. If you come across as a consultant
thinking long term and looking at the bigger picture more prospects
will become clients and consulting clients. Recently a client of ours
did not know whether to lease or purchase a new facility and they
had tried to make a smart decision on their own for two years. We
came in and did a lease v.s. buy analysis for them, showed them
options for both, and found them the perfect solution very quickly.
We didn’t’ try to sell them on one option or the other, we let the
options and market speak for itself and only gave our opinion when
asked or needed. This can be especially important when dealing
with big ego CEOs and CFOs. Once we understand their true goals
we can discuss expected results and then become a “resultant” by
doing just that—whether that means doing a lease buyout, renewal,
or relocation to lease or purchase.
In order to excel as a consultant you must work on your listening skills. I suggest you adopt the famous proverb, "God gave us
two ears and only one mouth, that we should listen twice as much
as we speak." If you are talking, then you aren't doing a good job
listening, and you will never fully understand your client and what
he or she needs. As your clients’ advisor, you need to be their ultimate service provider. Seek first to understand, then be understood,
meaning learn as much about the client as possible. Most agents are
trying to sell themselves or their firm, and are not putting the focus
on the client where it should be. Clients really don’t care about your
awards, company size, etc, they want to know that you understand
the market, know the process and care about THEM! Once they
believe this then you can tell them about yourself and your firm. I
believe learning to excel in the skill of listening without the need to
reply is one of the most important lessons I have learned throughout
life and have helped me to succeed and reach my goals and dreams.
Live with an attitude of gratitude and get motivated. Most people
take much of life for granted. In an instant things can change very
quickly; a death, illness, divorce, or injury. I have been through
them all and for a long time didn’t live with this saying. I recently
heard a great motivator, Dr. Kevin Elko (see www.drelko.com),
who, during the dark gray days of winter, gave my attitude the
nudge it needed. His words of encouragement to never quit, be open
minded, and to keep your eye on the prize (goals), hit a nerve with
me to continue to preserve no matter how hard the day or struggle.
This helped me beyond belief! My biggest client transaction ever
took me five years to get in the door, five years of being persistent, keeping up with various groups in one firm, until I finally got
