Our specialist search assists property owners in finding a commercial agent who specializes in working within their specific land use. Coupled with our commercial brokerage analysis, these tools provide a solid foundation for choosing a commercial brokerage firm (and specialist within that brokerage) that will best meet your needs when the time comes to sell your commercial property.

In the increasingly competitive world of commercial real estate, we believe that brokerage firms and their agents must specialize in specific land use areas in order to meet the needs of buyers and sellers. We specialize in working with commercial property owners to help identify top producing agents and brokerage firms that have demonstrated success and a high level of specialization in a given property type. Most importantly, by taking advantage of our brokerage analysis and specialist identification, owners minimize the risk of making two common mistakes when selecting their brokerage. The most common mistake made when selecting a commercial brokerage firm is rooted in what we refer to as “the first call dilemma”. The second most common mistake made during the selection of a brokerage firm (and is often linked to the “first call dilemma”) is best described as the “Jack of all trades” approach.

The first call dilemma arises when a property owner is thinking about selling and begins the initial search for a commercial brokerage to assist in the sale. Often times, the first call made to a brokerage firm (even simply to ask for information) creates certain perceived obligations between the agent answering the phone and the property owner. In most cases, once you speak with an agent you will find yourself some what committed to working with that specific agent should you select their brokerage firm.

The obligations created during the first call can be problematic if the agent contacted has little experience in working with your property type, or perhaps has only recently begun their career working with commercial real estate. Consider a situation in which a mobile home park owner places a call for information to a well known commercial brokerage and speaks directly with an agent. Given the diverse mix of commercial land uses, there is a very high probability that the agent does not specialize in mobile home park sales. Unfortunately, the property owner might ultimately find themselves with someone who knows nothing about mobile home parks, or at a minumum has significantly less knowledge than a mobile home park specialist.

Often as a result of the “first call dilemma” property owners may find themselves working with an agent who has not taken the time to become specialized in a specific property type. The “Jack of all trades” style agent will have several listings (likely acquired as a result of the first call dilemma) that run the gamete of land uses.  This can be problematic for a property owner because the “Jack of all trades” style agent is rarely as competent as a specialist in dealing with the intricacies of your specific property type. By taking advantage of our specialist identification and brokerage analysis, property owners can avoid the risk of accidentally contacting a “Jack of all trades” style agent and being caught by the “first call dilemma”.