If you’re just starting out or simply need a few more leads to add to your list, I’ll break down seven great ways to gather a commercial real estate leads list.  I will point out both free and paid options.

1. County Records Department.  Most counties will have an online parcel search tool that will allow you to find owner information of a property.  Remember, the owner of a building is public information.  Your county will have contact information for that property available.  Smaller counties may require you to come into the records department to access their mapping tools.  Either way, this is a great tool to find potential contacts that’s 100% free.

Although, clicking individually on parcels and Google searching business entity will be time consuming, I want to reiterate that it’s free!  Expect this method to take a few hours per week until your list is complete.

2. County Records Department – List of Changing Hands.  When I was a marketing assistant, about once a month I would, (1) Call my local County Records Department and request a print-out of properties that have changed hands in the last 30-days.  Call first, sometimes this takes a few days.  (2) I walked into the county records department and pay the lady $1 per page for this list.  Usually costing me about $5-$10.  (3) My agents would use this list for Landlord Rep and Property Management leads.  These are people who have recently closed on a property, and they are looking to fill vacant suites, and perhaps someone to manage the building.  Great resource!

3. Reonomy.  Reonomy has a great platform that allows you to draw a section of a map, select filters, and weed-out unwanted contacts – leaving you with a clean list!  The property owner information is extremely clean and can be exported easily into Excel for cold calls, mailers, and email lists.  Starting at $50 a month, it’s a great way to started.

4. InfoUsa.  Is tenant rep your game?  One of the best, low cost, ways to get contact information is InfoUSA.  Filter by business type (restaurant, insurance, automotive) and pull a list directly from their software, or work with a representative who will help you.  Personally, I found you can get the best deal when working with a sales rep.  InfoUSA also provides Email Lists for those interested in cold emails campaigns.

5. D&B Hoovers.  D&B Hoovers is one of the best tools…if you have the money.  Its Lead Builder tool allows you to select criteria including location, industry, company data like InfoUSA.  But they also provide additional information such as financial stability, rankings in S&P and Forbes, and more.  Easily export your leads list into Excel for cold calls, mailers, and emails.  Starts at $90 a month.

6. CoStar.  With CoStar Tenant, you can find current and prospective tenants.  Check out their lease expiration dates, space history, current terms, building type and more!  Great resource if you’re in the tenant rep sector.  Although, CoStar ain’t cheap.  While it starts at $35 a month, the features rack up quickly.  However, a side-benefit to Costar is beautiful comparable print-outs!

7. LinkedIn Sales Navigator.  If you’re specialized (automotive cre deals) then using LinkedIn is a great way to gain those specific leads.  Search by geography, industry, keywords, title, role, and more.  Starts at $65 a month.