How to Market Commercial Properties

Landlord Reps, it’s time to raise your game. The number one mistake I see? Treating every tenant the same. Putting up a sign, listing on CoStar, and occasionally answering the phone isn’t “marketing.” That’s just showing up. And it doesn’t set you apart. Here’s what I teach my agents to actually win deals: Do the Homework – Start with demographics. Tools like Esri’s Tapestry Studies provide a clear picture of who’s in the market. Pair that with ChatGPT to brainstorm businesses that fit those profiles, then run a Gap Analysis to identify your target tenants. Make the First Move – Don’t wait for the right tenant to stumble across your listing. Use NAICS codes, research trade associations, and build a proactive list. ChatGPT can also help generate strategies to reach these targets. Pick Up the Phone – It may seem basic, but many deals are lost simply because the listing agent didn’t answer. I’ve won countless opportunities by doing the simplest thing—being available. Why share this? Because most won’t even take the first step. But if even one person raises their game, the industry as a whole improves. Let’s set a higher standard together.

Cold Calling is the trend of 2024?! Starting from the end of last year, most queries I’m getting from my corporate clients are about secondary market operations. Owners and company CEOs are overseeing market trends and understand that focusing solely on off-plan sales and feeding sales teams with leads from social media campaigns will not suffice when the market eventually shifts. Nowadays, it’s not only about selling ready properties - completed, tenanted, or owner-occupied. There is significant potential in building relationships with investors whose properties are about to be handed over and who are returning to the market as sellers or landlords. Despite all the technological progress over the past five years, people buy from people. No chatbot can communicate value and convince a landlord to list their property with a specific agent. Working with sellers requires a completely different sales process. Agents accustomed to quick 7% commissions from developers will be the first to leave real estate unless they master a new set of skills. Here is the plan I teach and implement with my current corporate clients to establish a secondary market division: 1. Developing a Value Proposition: Create a company value proposition that is unique and fits the seller’s needs, answering all questions on why they should list their property with your company and pay an additional 2%. 2. Step-by-Step Area Study Plan: Equip agents with a precise plan to become area specialists. 3. Mindset and Communication Skills Training: Transition from “Hi - Are you interested in selling or renting your property? Please save my number” to engaging conversations where the seller sees the agent as a trusted advisor, not just another annoying real estate person. 4. Creating a Sales Structure: Nurture leads through effective follow-up systems that are easy for agents to execute. If this resonates with you, and you or your company could potentially benefit from a more comprehensive approach to finding listings and developing the secondary market, send me a DM so I can share more resources with you. Or comment below with your questions. #RealEstate #SalesStrategy #SecondaryMarket #ClientRelations #CorporateClients #RealEstateTraining #ValueProposition #AreaSpecialist #CommunicationSkills #SalesStructure #LeadNurturing #MarketTrends #InvestorRelationships #BusinessDevelopment

I have negotiated hundreds of leases building Pure Green. Here is the one lesson I wish every first-time franchisee understood. The best deal is the one you are willing to walk away from. Early in my career, I lost deals because I would not bend on economics. I thought I was being too aggressive. I was not. I was being disciplined. And the deals I walked away from saved me more money than the deals I closed. Commercial real estate is a negotiation market, not a retail market. The posted rent is not the real rent. The tenant improvement allowance is not the real allowance. The free rent period is not the real concession. All of it is a starting point. What most operators get wrong is they negotiate from a place of need. They have already picked the space. They have already imagined their sign on the door. They have already told their family the opening date. The landlord feels that. The broker feels that. And the leverage quietly shifts. Here is how I approach every deal now: Have three sites in play at all times. Know your walk-away rent before you tour the space. Never let the landlord know which site is your favorite. Be willing to lose the deal to get the right deal. Real estate is the single biggest fixed cost most operators will carry for the next ten years. A bad lease is a ten-year mistake. A good lease is a ten-year asset. Treat it that way.

This is the new rule for Saudi real estate developers. Be ready fast, or be overlooked. The reason why I’m saying so is that companies are walking away from prime office space because it can't be ready in 30 days. Five years ago, that wouldn't have happened. Tenants signed 10-year leases for empty floors and spent six months on fit-outs. Today, they want plug-and-play. Fit-out done. Internet running. Furniture in place. Move in next week. The shift isn't subtle. Tenants are treating office space like a service, not a long-term asset decision. They want flexibility to scale up or down quickly and they're ready to pay premiums for turnkey solutions that eliminate the headache of coordinating architects, contractors, and IT vendors themselves. Riyadh's office market hit 98% occupancy with rents up 15% year-over-year. Demand is strong. But that demand is increasingly flowing to landlords who understand they're competing on speed and convenience, not just location and price per square meter. Raw shell-and-core space made sense when tenants had time and capital to customize everything. That market still exists for large corporate headquarters wanting brand-specific environments. But for the majority of tenants, especially companies setting up regional offices or expanding quickly, turnkey wins every time. Developers need to start thinking like service providers. That means carrying fit-out costs upfront. Managing vendor relationships for furniture, technology, and design. Offering flexible lease terms that don't lock tenants into rigid commitments they're increasingly unwilling to make. The economics shift when you operate this way. Higher upfront investment. More operational complexity. But faster lease-ups, higher retention, and rental premiums that justify the additional cost if structured correctly. If landlords are still leasing empty floors and expecting tenants to handle everything themselves, they're competing in yesterday's market. The tenants moving fastest are choosing providers who removed obstacles, not the ones offering the cheapest base rent. Plug-and-play is the new standard for commercial leasing.

£600pcm → £950pcm in 30 days. Most landlords assume they need a full refurb to increase rent. Not always. Sometimes the problem isn’t the property. It’s the presentation. We recently onboarded a single let where the previous tenants had been paying £600pcm. Not because that was its true market value... but because the property had never been positioned properly. Unloved. Weak marketing. No strategy. No story. Just… listed. Here’s what we did and it wasn’t rocket science: • Light spruce up (fresh paint and a clean - no major spend) • Professional photography that actually made the place look like a home • Retargeted marketing aimed at the right tenant profile • Advance referencing reports + proper vetting • Clear communication with the landlord so decisions were fast, not dragged out And here’s what happened: We repositioned the property properly. We lifted it out of the bargain bin category. We marketed it like it deserved to be marketed. Result: £950pcm achieved. A £350pcm uplift. And yes, all done within 30 days from onboarding the landlord to tenant collecting keys. No heavy refurb. No months of voids. No chaos. Just standards → systems → results. Because we source investment properties, we know exactly how to manage them. We understand what tenants want, what the market responds to, and what actually moves the needle on rent and demand. Most rental properties aren’t underperforming because of the asset. They’re underperforming because of the process around the asset. When you fix the process, the numbers follow. If you want more of these breakdowns make sure you follow along.

In commercial real estate, opportunities don’t pop up every day. A tenant might sign a 3, 5, or 10 year lease, and unless they need to sublease or renegotiate, that’s it. A landlord might have vacancies every year or only every few years. Buyers and sellers aren’t always in the market, but when they are you want to be the first call. When I first got into CRE, I had way more time for networking and business development. And since most people I met didn’t need help immediately, I focused on making a solid first impression, explaining how I could help, and making sure they remembered me when the time was right. I wasn’t pushy. I wasn’t throwing out a hard sales pitch. If anything, it was the opposite: more relational and more passive aka making deposits in the relationship bank. Do that long enough, and eventually, you start seeing the results. Just last week, I got a call from someone I met 3–4 years ago. We hadn’t talked in at least two, but when they needed tenant representation, they remembered our conversation and reached out. That kind of thing happens all the time. But staying top of mind isn’t just about waiting for the phone to ring. It’s about adding value without being annoying. Some of the best ways I’ve found: Landlords: Sending leasing activity updates or active tenant requirements, helping them stay up to speed. Tenants: Sharing lease comps or rent trends so they know where they stand before renewal. Buyers & Sellers: Reaching out when the market shifts, especially when a new comp could impact their property value. Anyone: A simple “Saw this and thought of you” whether it’s a deal, a data point, or an opportunity. CRE is a long game. But if you do it right, the long game starts to take care of itself.

Commercial Real Estate Brokers Ask Yourself: How well do you know your market? Most brokers say they understand their territory. But when you look closer, they are only skimming the surface. - They pull a CoStar report. - They read a few comps. - They call it “research.” Anyone with a login can do that. Clients expect more. The real edge comes from proprietary market knowledge. Information you earn by digging deeper than everyone else. Here’s the distinction: 1) Commodity brokers rely on the same public data as everyone else 2) Authority brokers know the real numbers and the real reasons deals happen Bob Knakal once sold a development site for $77,000,000. Every broker in the market was quoting it as $350 per buildable foot. But Bob had done the work. - He accounted for tenant buyouts - He accounted for light and air rights - He accounted for a first right of refusal The true comp was $428 per foot. He walked into pitches with precision. Everyone else walked in with assumptions. That is what proprietary research gives you. Authority, credibility and the edge to win business. If you want that advantage, build these habits: - Track leasing activity and tenant movement - Walk your territory and document every property - Call principals after every transaction and learn the details - Study capital markets and understand how deals are being financed The more granular you get, the more valuable you become. And those are the brokers who will win biggest in 2026.

As a real estate professional specializing in the dynamic world of commercial Real estate “retail”, I understand the unique challenges and opportunities this sector presents. If you're looking to excel in the retail real estate industry, here are the top things you should focus on: * Know Your Market: Understand the local retail real estate market inside out, including trends, demographics, and competition. * Build Strong Relationships: Cultivate connections with retail property owners, tenants, and fellow professionals to expand your network. * Stay Informed: Keep up with industry news and changes in retail to offer informed advice to clients. * Offer Creative Solutions: Find innovative ways to attract tenants, enhance property value, and optimize retail spaces. * Market Expertise: Showcase your knowledge by sharing valuable insights and analysis of the retail real estate sector. * Embrace Technology: Utilize digital tools for property management, marketing, and data analysis to stay efficient. * Customer-Centric Approach: Put the needs of clients and tenants first, offering personalized service and solutions. * Negotiation Skills: Hone your negotiation abilities to secure favorable deals for both parties. * Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt to changing market conditions and client requirements. * Continuous Learning: Invest in ongoing education and certifications to stay at the forefront of your field. #RetailRealEstate m #commercialrealestate

CLOSED Flex Industrial Deal. Most brokers would have walked away from this deal. Picture this: A pet retreat facility on 5.37 acres in Shawnee, Kansas. The property had been sitting on the market for over 200 days with no serious interest. The reason? It wasn't just a commercial property, it was a maze of complications that would make most brokers run. The challenge stack was brutal: ❌ The lease structure wasn't a true NNN deal 🛣️ The commercial property shared a parcel with the owner's personal residence and barn, with no proper access separation. Every potential buyer wanted clean, institutional-grade net lease investments. What they found instead was a property that required engineering solutions, easement negotiations, and lease restructuring. Here's where it got interesting. After the initial launch, we took a different approach. We pivoted to a value creation opportunity. First, we went directly to the tenant (backed by a major private equity firm) and negotiated lease modifications that would satisfy buyers. Then we tackled the access issues, coordinating to design new access points and negotiating easement agreements that would properly separate the commercial and residential uses. We literally had to build a new road. The marketing strategy was equally unconventional. Instead of generic property flyers, we developed what we call our "Two-Phase Spotlight Strategy." We created educational content that helped buyers understand the difference between single-net and NNN structures. We positioned this not just as a stable cash-flowing asset, but as a strategic land play in a growing market. We launched multiple iterations of our marketing materials, each targeting different investor profiles. Some focused on the 8+ years of remaining lease term with a PE-backed tenant. Others highlighted the redevelopment potential of 5.37 acres in a prime location. The breakthrough came in December. After months of educating the market and solving structural problems, we found a buyer who understood the value we'd created. They were looking to close before year-end, and we delivered exactly what they needed: a clean, financeable deal with institutional-quality documentation. Final numbers: $1,150,000 sale price at an 8%+ cap rate. Multiple offers. 30-day close with regional bank financing. But here's what I'm most proud of: We took on a deal that major national CRE brokers passed onand executed, The lesson here isn't about pet facilities or net leases. It's about the difference between order-taking and value creation. While our competitors were chasing easy listings, we were in the trenches solving problems that others wouldn't touch. Complex deals don't need simple solutions. They need expert solutions. What's the most complex deal you've ever closed? I'd love to hear the story.

6 Leases. 4 Days. 3 Properties. 90% Revenue Growth. Four months after closing a central Arkansas office building, I faced every broker's nightmare: We had to remove the anchor tenant from our 6,600 SF property. Revenue? $5,000/month—barely covering expenses. Prospects? Zero. Then one inquiry changed everything. A growing business just down the road needed space. As I toured them through the property, I saw it: their needs aligned perfectly with our existing tenants. What if we orchestrated a complete office reshuffle? The domino strategy: → New tenant takes anchor space at market rate → Existing small tenants relocate to the vacated building (same rent, no pushback) → But we'd still have 50% vacancy at the second property The solution? Old-school door-knocking. After a day of rejections, I found a local business in crisis mode—their building was being sold and they were about to be displaced. Two problems: extremely particular requirements and they bring their dogs to work daily. Most brokers would've walked. I had 72 hours to make it work. The result: • Revenue: $5,000 → $9,500/month (90% increase) • Occupancy: 100% across repositioned portfolio • Happy parties: 6 tenants, 2 property owners, 1 broker The lesson? Creative problem-solving beats conventional marketing every time. This was a fun one.