There are many aspects involved in starting a commercial real estate brokerage. You need to apply for your license, gather your savings, find a great location, get insurance, and recruit agents—among others. But what about the tools you’ll need?
Starting a CRE brokerage can be really challenging, especially in terms of managing your daily operations effectively and efficiently. So, check out our list of the top tools you will need to leverage as a new brokerage in order to be successful in the industry. Note: this is not an exhaustive list!
When establishing your reputation as a new brokerage, a professional website is key. You will need a well-designed site that is clear and easy to navigate; can be easily found; and helps successfully capture, engage, and convert visitors into potential leads.
On your website, be sure to include up-to-date property listings, testimonials with client stories, social media icons for easy sharing of your content, gated documents that provide value to your audience, a staff page that showcases your team, and lead-generation forms to capture visitor information—to name a few.
When you consider the fact that brokers and other CRE professionals should be using a CRM on a daily basis, it becomes obvious that every commercial real estate brokerage needs to invest in a powerful and robust CRM system that can help you save time, improve relationships with clients, and streamline your workflows.
A good CRM is designed to help you run your business more efficiently and allows you to track and organize your interactions with your clients and prospects in one easy-to-use system. Look for a CRM system that integrates with other leading commercial real estate services and allows you to work from anywhere.
It is evident that the commercial real estate industry is becoming more and more mobile every day, which is why brokers need to leverage technology that allows them to operate remotely. But it is important to note that there are two types of apps to look at: broker-specific apps and general apps that can boost operations.
For general applications to boost operations, be sure to look into DocuSign, Evernote, and Scannable; and for broker-specific applications, you’ll want to look into Compstak, Virtuance, and LoopNet. You’ll also want to leverage commission tracking through deal management applications—where you can track your entire pipeline and manage all your deals in one place.
Whether you choose to utilize one or many of these applications, each will help you increase organization, maximize time, and improve efficiency.
Consistent branding across all of your marketing collateral allows you to stand out among your competitors while also boosting your customer loyalty. And when you utilize templates to streamline your marketing documents, you are investing in your brand while saving both time and money.
At the very least, you’ll want to streamline the process for creating common commercial real estate materials such as proposals, BOVs, brochures and flyers, offering memorandums, and owner’s reports. Although it will require some work up front, you’re sure to win more listings and close more deals in the long run.
In the commercial real estate industry, social media marketing has proven to be an effective way to advertise your brokerage, establish and build your reputation in the field, and promote new properties. However, many brokers and commercial real estate professionals are not taking advantage of CRE-specific social networks.
As a new brokerage, you’ll want to be active on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But you should also check out social networks designed specifically for commercial real estate agents, like RealConnex. Networks like this bring agents, buyers, and investors together to simplify the process of making introductions and discussing deals.
If you are looking for tools or software that will elevate the way you work, Buildout can help with many of the things you need to get started and be successful as a new brokerage. Request a demo here to learn more about how Buildout can power your entire brokerage!
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