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Most of us have seen how the business world reached a point somewhere between panic and everything is put on pause for weeks. Given this new reality, I sat down with my team and tried to figure out how we as a real estate brokerage can press forward, find opportunities now and prepare ourselves to be in a more positive position when the world starts to get back to normal.
First and most important is to stay positive. In my experience, this tends to be the best advice for any salesperson. If you dwell on the negatives, it’s easy to drop into depression.
But there are still deals to be completed. Those deals that were somewhere in the transaction process and need to see completion are the deals that need your intent focus to be taken over the finish line. It becomes your job to keep everyone else focused on the task at hand. These deals are too far along to give up on them. They also have clients involved who need to be ready when the world unpauses.
Decision-makers’ lives have also been paused. They may not currently be in a position to start or proceed with a sale, but they are likely available to talk. This is the time to build relationships. You may not be discussing a specific deal or transaction, but you and your client could begin by discussing their thoughts on how the business world will come back to life or when they expect things to get better. This would be an ideal time to talk about how your new contact is readying their company to react to these major economic changes. This is the time to develop business relationships that may not only pay off for the next 12 months, but also pay off for years to come after that.
Databasing can be another productive way to pass this slow sales period and, most importantly, get your brokerage ready for when business picks back up. In commercial real estate, that means putting together those lists of potential clients, building owners, and potential sellers and buyers. As we reach out and try to build those relationships, we can also enter correct contact info and make notes about the people we are speaking with.
Meanwhile, there are still opportunities in the market. Someone always needs to sell and there is always a buyer looking for a deal. Many sellers wouldn’t have lost their reason for selling. The market may pause, but people who determined they want to sell prior to this crisis are likely still looking to do so. Other people might want to sell now to raise cash to supplement other investments, or they perhaps want cash in strong investments to look for new opportunities. Many buyers may sit on the sidelines while we await more information, but since there are likely to be real opportunities, buyers are likely to get back in the market before long.
As we practice social distancing and our new reality in which many of our kids are out of school and we’re working at home, we must stay calm and carry on. If navigated correctly, the impact of this downtick can be kept to a minimum and you can position your brokerage for success when things return to normal. The best advice here is to work harder now than when things are moving along and be ready to get back to business as usual in the future.