I am somewhat of contrarian. If everyone agrees on something, I'm usually the one to take the opposing view.
If I'm talking to my politically right-wing family, for example, I tend to bait them with the obvious benefits of universal health care, legalization of drugs and illegal immigration. If I'm with a bunch of left-wingers, on the other hand, I've been known to advocate the death penalty, abolition of the entitlement programs which keep the poor in their place, and deregulation of business.
It's healthy to have an opposing thought occasionally just to make sure you aren't falling into the trap of group think.
But does that work in marketing?
For the last couple of years, electronic marketing has been the rage - enewsletters, Adwords, social media, etc. I've sat through countless presentations on these subjects. Which got me to thinking....
If everyone else is running to electronic marketing, should I start a direct mail campaign just to stand out?
I don't get a lot of direct mail advertising in my mail box anymore. I don't get much of anything in my mailbox anymore. Most of my bills are handled electronically now too.
But it's just so easy to just hit the Delete button. My enewsletter goes to 2,400 email addresses every month. About 26% of those get opened up which is a little over 600. I'm told that's pretty good. But that means that around 1,800 never see it.
If I were to send a direct mail piece to that same list of 2,400 people, how many of them would see it? Now this isn't a list I purchased. This is a list of people with whom I have had some contact in the last few years. I bet the percentages would be just the opposite - 74% seeing it and 26% lost or thrown away before being seen.
I am most interested in business services since that's what I do. My clients are companies that lease office space. As a tenant representative, I represent their interests when searching for space and negotiating against the landlord. I do this primarily in the Dallas area especially in far north Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Richardson and Carrollton.
So what do you think? Is direct mail dead or has its time come? Have you tried direct mail in the last 2 years? If so, how often do you send something? What have the results been?
This may sound trite, but it's true. If you don't look around for whatever product or service you need, you probably won't get the best deal. How likely is it that the first quote you get will be the best option?
Notice I didn't say the lowest cost. Low cost is not always the best choice.
This is particularly true when dealing with an incumbent. Your current landlord is an incumbent. The landlord knows that it's far easier for tenant to simply renew its lease than move. Moving costs are avoided. Production doesn't go down due to the disruption of a move. So the incumbent landlord usually quotes a rental rate that is higher than what they might give a new tenant.
So when your office lease renews, shop the market for other options even if you really want to stay where you are. This gives you other points of reference. It also tells your incumbent landlord that you have other options and are willing to leave if you find a better deal.
The other recommendation is that you hire a Corporate Real Estate Advisor or Tenant Rep. This will sound self-serving since I am one of those, but when I was a landlord I found that the building owner usually got a 10-20% better deal if the renewing tenant didn't have a broker. The landlord assumes that the tenant isn't shopping the market if they don't hire a broker. Since the broker doesn't cost the tenant anything, there is no downside to having representation.
So shop. For space. For phones. For movers. For contractors. And enjoy the savings or at least the confidence that you got a good deal.
Most of my business comes from referrals. From past clients. From members of networking groups of which I'm a member. Occasionally, from other real estate agents - both commercial and residential.
Referrals are great. I rarely have to compete with other brokers for the business because the prospect already knows I'm qualified, competent and trusted. So I'm clearly a great fit for them.
But are they a great fit for me? Watson, we have a problem....maybe.
As a Corporate Real Estate Advisor or tenant representative, I represent companies which lease commercial space for their company use. My ideal client is a company which already leases space in a multi-story office building in North Dallas, Plano, Frisco and Richardson which have 10 or more employees in that office. I have underlined the key characteristics of the ideal client to be sure they can't be missed.
This is who I most want as a client. It is to these prospects that I will spend time and money marketing. I never spend time or money marketing to a non-ideal client. Ever.
So what do I do when one of my referral partners or past clients refers me to a company which wants to lease a warehouse or shopping center? Well, just because a prospect isn't the ideal doesn't mean I can't help them. It just means that I won't go out of my way to seek them out or spend money to find them. It also means that I will think long and hard before taking them on as a client. I have to ask myself, "am I the best solution for this company's needs?" If the answer is no, then I refer them on to someone who is a specialist in the service needed by that company.
Be sure you know who your ideal client is so you know who to ask your referral partners to send you. You can't serve everyone so be sure to serve the ideal first. If you have time left over, you can serve a few others occasionally.
Schedule your email. Stop multi-tasking. Eliminate distrations.
Don't I wish. Easier said than done, right? These are just 3 of the 7 things highly productive people do according to an article by Ilya Pozen on Inc.com (http://www.inc.com/ilya-pozin/7-things-highly-productive-people-do.html).
As service providers, it's almost unthinkable to let a ringing phone go to voicemail. Or to check your email only 2 or 3 times a day. But how can I really get things done if I answer every call and check email every 15 minutes?
I'm no expert and have decidedly not implemented these steps fully or at all in some cases. I've tried time blocking and other methods to get more organized and efficient, but I have an uncanny ability to postpone things or allow priorities to get adjusted when something should be done that I don't want to do.
Time Management is a term we have all heard for a long time. But I think it's a misnomer. No human can manage time. Albert Einstein played with time, but eventually was the victim of it (he's dead).
The real issue is Priority Management. I am in charge of my priorities. I can decide what I'm going to do first, last or never. So at any point in time I should ask myself, "what's the most urgent thing that needs to be done right now?" Then I should do that thing. How often do you think that hitting the Send/Receive button in Outlook will be the top priority?
One of the best things I have done is start using the Task List in Outlook. This allows me to keep a list of things I need to do and assign a date and/or time to do them. But the best thing is that if I don't get that item done (unlikely since I never procrastinate...yeah, right!), it automatically rolls over to the next day. I can't get rid of those pesky To Do's unless I purposely delete them or mark them completed. I have some peace of mind knowing that I'm not letting things fall through the cracks. I'm just widening the cracks for fit more To Do's which I may or may not complete at some indeterminate point in the future. But at least I'm aware of them and have to consciously choose to do them or not.
So I'm curious about what you have done to become more efficient, effective, and prioritized. What tools, tricks or techniques do you use to get things done and not walk out of the office at the end of the day wondering what you accomplished?
Creativity is nice, but from a tenant rep's perspective, I want the basics done right before anything else. First, make sure that you have good marketing collateral - property brochures and as-built floor plans on all vacant spaces. Make sure the as-builts are prepared by an architect and not just hand-drawn. But I’ll take hand-drawn over nothing. And be sure that the file size isn’t so big that it can’t be emailed.
Second, have the property data kept current on all the commercial listing services - Costar, Xceligent, LoopNet, etc. - and be sure all marketing collateral is attached to your listings on those sites as well. If I'm doing a search at night or on the weekend (which I do frequently) and I can't get the brochure or floor plans because you have been too lazy to list them there, I couldn't care less about your creativity. Your creativity won't solve my problem.
One more thing about your listings, please be sure to have the rental rate or purchase price shown. Leaving that space blank or just entering "Negotiable" is incredibly annoying to tenant reps. Those listing services are set up to help us get to the properties which meet our clients' criteria quickly and avoid bothering you (the listing agent) with a client that can't afford your rates. Trust me, you aren't that good of a salesperson to be able to talk a tenant rep into adding your property to the list of options if it's priced out of our client's reach.
Third, make it easy to do business with your landlord. Quote market rental rates, expenses and tenant improvement allowances. Have a reasonable lease document which you will send me as an unprotected Word document so I can review the document and share comments with the tenant and its attorney more effectively. Respond quickly. Show up to property tours or at least leave the space open for us. When I ask for something in an RFP, respond to it. Don’t just ignore it as if it doesn’t exist. I have asked for it for a reason.
Finally, I'm happy to come to your broker party, eat your food, take your give-aways, and hopefully win a trip. But it won't make any difference when it's time to actually do a deal. I am a fiduciary to my client and no amount of wining-and-dining or bonus commissions will detract me from that responsibility. Parties and give-aways should be seen by landlords as a way to get brokers into their buildings. It’s simply a way to raise awareness of the property. It's not likely to get leased directly because of that party. And it's certainly no substitute for the basics.
Okay, that turned into a rant. Sorry about that. I was a landlord for 20 years before becoming a tenant rep so I know it’s just not that hard to make life easier on those who bring you business.
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Corporate Real Estate Advisor, Tenant Rep, Office, warehouse and retail properties
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