The concept of targeting a market is where many commercial real estate agents stall. Most are terrified that if they call themselves “retail specialist” they’ll be out of every industrial, office and land deal. The purpose of marketing is to identify exactly who wants your services and advertise to those people; it doesn’t mean you have to turn work away.
When we’re dealing with target markets, the answer, “everyone is my target market” is not valid. It’s easier to hit a target when you aim, almost impossible when you’re shooting blindly.
Targeting by Industry
This is the most common and easiest way to identify your target market. The most successful people in commercial real estate choose from the following: office, medical office, retail, industrial, land, or multi-family.
Retail: store managers and store owners within an area
Industrial: plant managers and manufacturing business owners within an area
Office: insurance agencies, law firms, accountants within an area
Medical Office: doctors, dentists, surgeons, or nursing services within an area
Land: investors, land acquisition departments for real estate developers, or home builders within an area
Multi-family: landlords, owners of apartment complexes within an area
Targeting by Location
If you insist on being a jack-of-all-trades, consider advertising to a limited area within your city. This doesn’t mean you have to turn down business in other areas, but you should only be focusing your advertising on a small area like a master planned community or within specific areas “Northeast <City>” or similar. This will keep your marketing costs low and your target specific. Most agents that go this route choose an area close to their work or home to lower their travel time and cost.
Targeting by Client Type
Focusing on client type is how a lot of people get rich, but it can be a risky move. When you target by client type it’s usually focusing on 4-5 clients with large real estate portfolios. These people need someone who can manage the entire life cycle of a real estate deal from acquisition, filling vacant space, managing the property and finally selling it years later.
The biggest issue with this model is your entire business depends upon the whims of a few people. If they pass their real estate portfolio onto a family member, or decide to go with someone else, you’re out a big client very quickly. Proceed carefully with this one, as losing one client can have you pivoting into a different target.
Targeting will make you Happier
Ideally, your target market is who you want to work with, so why not? Remember, just because you’re advertising in a certain target market it doesn’t mean you have to turn down clients that don’t meet those criteria. Make money where you can but advertise to the people you want to work with.
If you need some help targeting your market, check out the Ultimate CRE Kits. The kits contain easy copy-paste templates, step-by-step video tutorials, and everything you need to market your commercial real estate business easily. You don’t have to do everything alone. Let the kits help you attract the target market you’re looking for.
Providing you with the kits you need to grow your commercial real estate business is just another way, I’m taking the “broke” out of commercial real estate brokerage.
