Whenever you’re pursuing a commercial real estate listing, it’s important to understand whether or not you have a legitimate chance to even get the listing, or whether another broker or brokerage team will probably end up getting the listing, and you’re just being used to make your listing presentation. Especially within the corporate arena, the people making the real estate decisions may be told to sit through 4-5 listing presentations from brokers in order for the company to do its due diligence, but in reality the broker who will be getting the listing may have already been determined in advance. So rather than take all the time and energy to put together both your listing presentation and your package, wouldn’t you like to know if you’re just being used before you ever agree to move forward and make your listing presentation?
Keeping this in mind, here’s a question that I recommend you ask in advance before ever agreeing to move forward and give someone your listing presentation:
“If we do a good job during our listing presentation, and you like what we have to tell you, will you then be moving forward and listing your property with us?”
Then just sit back and listen to their response, and if you’re sitting down right in front of them, watch their body language, too.
If they immediately then move forward and say, “Yes, absolutely! If we like what you have to tell us during your listing presentation, we will be moving forward and listing the property with you”, this is a good sign. But if they hesitate, seem uncertain, and look or sound like they’re squirming in discomfort, this is an indication that you may just be getting used to make your listing presentation, so that they can then check that off on their list, and put your presentation package in the pile along with all of the other presentation packages from the other brokers.
In addition to this, there may be additional questions that you may want to write down in advance and utilize also once you hear their response to the question that I’ve suggested, in order to have them get even more specific about their true intentions with you.
So in addition to asking the question that I’ve recommended, this comes down to how good you become at reading people, too, and this is definitely a skill set that you will want to master at the highest level imaginable throughout your brokerage career.