For real estate companies with a leasing or brokerage division, commission management can be a complex, multistage accounting process that consumes a lot of staff time and resources. If you’re involved in brokerage and consolidated financial activities and looking to make these processes more straightforward and efficient, consider combining those operations with property management on one platform.

Inefficiencies With Separate Platforms

Historically, property management and brokerage operations have been performed on separate operating systems. This scenario can produce several inefficiencies. For example, calculating complex agent commissions for each deal requires much manual data entry into the property management and accounting system, with agents moving across split plan tiers and different tier structures within a deal.

Invoice processing and commission splits often are entered into the property management and accounting system long after the fact. Yardi clients have reported that up to 25% of commissions they calculated manually were incorrect.

Additional complexities include:

• Commission variations due to the type of transaction, such as a lease, sale or fee.
• Brokers’ custom commission structuring can vary by region.
• Cash vs. accrual accounting methods.
• Commission invoicing and receipt.
• Distribution calculations and payments to agents.

Executing all these operations accurately and keeping detailed accounting records is crucial not just for staying compliant with tax regulations and monitoring a company’s financial performance but also for providing transparency to the agents.

Handling property management and broker activities separately also prevents executives from obtaining a complete, real-time financial picture of what’s happening across the business.

When a broker transaction generates an invoice, for example, that invoice wouldn’t be visible for months until the tenant moved into the building. An open receivables report would show upcoming property management fees and rent payments to be collected from tenants but not brokerage activity or what agents were owed from that income.

CommercialEdge Commissions: Simple and Sophisticated

Is it possible to manage property management and brokerage activities from a single platform? One that synchronizes accounting and property management to deliver a consolidated financial image more accurately and with less staff labor? Yes, and that is where CommercialEdge Commissions comes in.

The CRE solution, part of CommercialEdge and fully integrated with Voyager Commercial and Yardi Elevate, connects agents, operations and accounting processes by centralizing all deal data, documents, invoice dates and commission splits. It tracks invoices, monitors due dates and automates even the most complex commission distributions.

CommercialEdge Commissions provides complete commission and back-office solutions for brokerages and leasing teams by streamlining operations, elevating productivity and boosting revenue with automated workflows powered by real-time business analytics.

Equally important, Commissions brings property management, brokerage and commission generation into one system. All activity is recorded in Voyager in real-time and can be configured to support cash or accrual basis transactions.

This centralization is much more efficient than tracking brokerage transactions with spreadsheets outside Voyager, then repeating those transactions to keep Voyager up to date. There is no more unnecessary manual data entry and manual calculation of complex commission splits among agents and brokerages.

Yardi clients find Commissions simple enough for busy brokers yet sophisticated enough for small, medium or large enterprises, as Susan Olinsky, senior VP of finance for Colliers Philadelphia, notes:

“CommercialEdge Commissions has automated what we were doing manually, which was prone to error. It can handle all transaction types, so to me, that’s the highest recommendation you can get — that it can handle your business needs.”

Susan Olinsky, Senior VP, Finance, Colliers Philadelphia

Managers can view commissions, rent, property management, receivables and more and gain a real-time, consolidated view of the enterprise in Voyager, with the added convenience of being able to pull the data into Yardi Forecast Manager. Commissions can also accommodate the accrual accounting favored by most brokerages.

CommercialEdge Commissions eliminates siloed data, provides a deal data repository, generates custom-branded invoices, calculates broker distributions, provides transparency to agents on their earnings and commission calculations and supports accrual, cash and hybrid accounting methods. The complete integration with Voyager provides consolidated financials for a real-time understanding of business health and broker performance.

Conclusions

Real estate business operators are discovering they can standardize operations on a single connected solution, with Voyager and Elevate on the property and asset management platforms and CommercialEdge for revenue lifecycle and brokerage operations.

With tools for marketing, listings and syndication, pipeline and deal management, legal and research and market data, the CRE software is a one-stop solution that saves time, costs and staff labor.

The post Key Tools for Simplifying Brokerage and Financial Management appeared first on CommercialEdge.

Enabling brokers to send information quickly and ensuring that their messaging and branding are standardized can be challenging. But leveraging a marketing platform that provides email automation tools empowers brokerages to help their team send key information promptly to clients and prospects while providing assurance that all communication is on brand.

Below are six examples of commercial real estate email marketing messages that can be optimized through automation. The list is organized based on specific examples for listing and tenant brokers.

FOR LISTING REPS 

1. Sending Availability Updates

Listing reps can send vacant properties and spaces to tenant reps via newsletter-like emails that keep potential clients up to date about availabilities. An effective marketing tool streamlines the process through automation and leverages a centralized database to ensure consistency across listing data, marketing collateral, branding and contact details. 

For instance, a listing broker working with CommercialEdge Marketing is notified of spaces soon to become available. Before these spaces are listed, the marketing team reviews all space and property information to make sure everything is up-to-date and accurate. Then, using the email marketing tool, the listing rep can easily pull the listings into an email — even before the spaces are listed — and send it out to a pre-built list of tenant reps to let them know of spaces coming on the market. 

2. Responding to Space Inquiries 

When a lead comes in, it’s imperative to promptly get in touch with potential clients to move deals forward. After a phone call to review options and availabilities, the prospect or tenant rep generally requires more information and will request an email summary from the listing rep.  

That is when, instead of having to pull together different brochures and ask someone to update them, the listing rep just clicks a few buttons in CommercialEdge Marketing, selects the spaces they want to share and quickly sends out the email. These messages can include brochures, virtual tours and other engaging marketing collateral.  

And, since the marketing tool is connected to the listing database, all listing data is synced, up-to-date and on-brand, ensuring that the broker only sends out the most accurate information. 

3. Qualifying and Nurturing Leads

Sending follow-up messages is key for qualifying and nurturing leads. Using a comprehensive email marketing platform to send follow-up emails with specific questions is a great way to filter leads and eliminate poor-quality ones. Depending on asset type, questions can pertain to the intended start date of the lease, business specifics, number of people in the company, space preferences, specific requirements and more.   

Consider sending follow-ups to keep prospects engaged during periods of slow activity or after important milestones such as tours or client meetings. Staying in touch with prospects is not only essential for keeping them motivated but also a great way to demonstrate your commitment and willingness to assist.

FOR TENANT REPS 

4. Prospecting for New Clients

A targeted, research-driven process helps tenant reps narrow the prospect pool when prospecting for new business. Tailor-made emails are more likely to engage and prompt action, so it’s essential to communicate based on the specific needs and interests of potential clients.  

Certain factors can help identify the most qualified person when deciding whom to contact with this top-of-the-funnel message type. Contact the right people directly and personally considering: 

• Role and seniority within the organization 
• Level of authority (e.g., they can make budget-related decisions) 
• Prior positive experience/familiarity with your services 

For example, a tenant rep specializing in retail and restaurant space in a specific market puts together a curated list of restaurant operators in that area. Using the CommercialEdge email marketing tool, with just a few clicks, the broker creates a bespoke, branded email that introduces themselves and highlights their market knowledge. This is a great way for listing reps to present their unique perspective in a specific real estate sector and offer their services to potential clients who might be looking to open a new location, relocate or renegotiate their current lease and so on.

5. “Tenants in the Market” Mailing Lists

When working with a tenant with very specific space requirements, tenant reps can use various tools to serve their clients better. For instance, a tenant rep has researched listing marketplaces and has gotten in touch with listing rep brokers but has exhausted all availabilities without finding a space that would meet their client’s requirements. 

A solution, in this case, is using marketing tools that bring this information to the market and uncover space opportunities that cannot be found through typical means. With the CommercialEdge email marketing tool, brokers can create emails encompassing their clients’ needs, and with just a few clicks, send them out to a list of owners and landlord rep-focused brokers in their client’s target market to uncover unlisted availability that meets a unique client requirement.

FOR LISTING AND TENANT REPS 

6. Nurturing Client Relationships

Once a deal is closed, broker-client relationships may not require frequent communication. Still, a proactive approach and occasional check-ins can benefit the parties involved and contribute to building a long-term partnership.  

As a listing rep, consider sending recurring informative emails to a mailing list of existing tenants in the properties you represent. Relevant information can include building-, space- or area-related updates, industry news, market trends and so on. 

As a tenant rep, keep in touch with clients to develop long-term relationships and ensure future collaboration. Consider sending emails in the early stages of the lease term to let tenants know of your availability to assist. Later, send a reminder before lease expiration and offer to discuss the next steps, such as potential lease renewal, extension or finding new space options.

• As a general best practice, we always suggest including a compelling call-to-action and ensuring that your contact details are visible and accessible. In addition, consider including a headshot, which adds a personal touch and contributes to ensuring a brand-consistent experience across your messaging. 

How Commercial Real Estate Email Marketing Tools Help 

Whether you are a listing rep or a tenant rep, an effective marketing plan coupled with a powerful CRE solution can maximize your email marketing strategy — CommercialEdge Marketing optimizes communications through powerful automation. Powered by a single database of real-time property and space information, the marketing solution ensures consistency across your marketing collateral, branding and contact details. 

The CRE solution syncs email marketing processes with your CRM for seamless access to your contact database. And, since segmenting contact lists is an essential step in any commercial real estate email marketing strategy, the CommercialEdge tool allows you to build custom contact lists and group relationships by specific criteria such as market, asset type, lease term and more. This makes it easy to craft more targeted, prospect- and client-facing emails. 

The CommercialEdge Marketing email tools empower you to: 

• Auto-populate email templates and brochures 
• Customize content with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor 
• Automate email sending and scheduling 
• Track and assess performance with real-time email analytics 

What’s more, email and brochure templates are optimized for different devices, from mobile to web browsers, ensuring your content is adapted to and visually appealing on every platform.   

CommercialEdge Marketing is available standalone or fully integrated with Yardi property management software. For Yardi clients, property and space information is in sync with Voyager Commercial to ensure that only the most accurate and up-to-date information is marketed to prospects and clients. 

The post 6 Ways Brokers Benefit from Commercial Real Estate Email Marketing appeared first on CommercialEdge.

Lease Creation: A Fraught Process 

When executed manually, commercial lease documents comprise numerous Word templates for leases, amendments, addenda and exhibits that are stored separately. The legal department’s staff must then manually populate the draft lease with information about the property and space occupied, start and end dates, rent amounts and increments, insurance and other terms applicable to the deal under negotiation. 

Clauses and legal language are often manually copied from other documents or websites into the draft lease. And because different property management companies might be involved for different regions, lease documents might be managed differently with different language. Amending the draft and circulating it for review can be akin to restarting the process and entering new data. Communication is often executed via email, with the document downloaded, edited and uploaded again; in some cases, the parties edit a shared document. In any case, there is no formal tracking of versions or approval steps. 

As an added complication, the leasing team often has no means of knowing the document’s status, so members must query the legal department for updates. What’s more, determining which clauses need to be in the lease, drawing them from documents stored on a shared drive and then manually copying them to the new lease document can add more opportunities for error. The process might also prove costly as it can require hiring outside counsel or a staff paralegal to amend terms from an old lease document with terms of the current deal. 

This scenario holds true for options as well. As with clauses, options require the legal team to confirm with the leasing agent what was discussed with the tenant, back-and-forth email negotiations, phone tags, video conferences or other channels that lack the capability for tracking approval steps or versions. 

The whole process can be time-consuming, costly and slow down the deal. 

CRE Solutions That Provide an Edge 

Fortunately, CRE platforms that use automation dramatically streamline lease document creation, making the process easier, faster and more accurate at every step. In addition, these solutions centralize template organization and storage, enabling the auto-generation of single or multiple documents that can be separated or combined. 

Lease documents can be created from fewer templates while containing accurate data for any number of lease and property types, regions, markets and other criteria. Additionally, terms, clause additions and signature blocks are automatically populated based on the deal under negotiation. 

CommercialEdge Legal, part of the CommercialEdge revenue solution suite for CRE, is a Deal Manager module that eliminates the time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly legal aspects of lease creation through powerful automation. The CRE tool makes finalizing lease agreements much simpler by automatically generating lease agreements with customized approval workflows, document templates and sophisticated formatting capabilities, ensuring that prospective tenants get the proper documents faster and without manual intervention.  

Lease Creation at the Click of a Button 

With the Legal module, custom terms can easily be populated into a template, along with basic information such as the tenant’s and building managers’ names, space to be leased, security deposit and lease start and end dates.  

The system also contains a library of lease- and property-level clauses — sections covering conditions such as janitorial service, common area maintenance, repairs and lease terminations that are specific to certain tenants — grouped for easy insertion into the appropriate section of the template and automatically included into the tenant record.  

With all information populated into the draft, the lease document, including all applicable clauses, can be created at the click of a button with 95% accuracy, with only a few minutes’ worth of tweaks remaining to be made. The document is then ready for automated online routing to legal counsel and others for review and revision. 

Simplified review 

From that point on, any changes to the draft are made within the centralized system, with multiple versions tracked and maintained throughout the process. The Legal module makes it easy to upload and compare redlined versions following internal and external reviews.  

With a powerful approval workflow, the documents can be reviewed and approved before being sent to the external party. As a result, there’s no need to send emails with separate documents and different versions.  

Easy electronic signing 

The last but crucial step — getting signatures on the final document by using proprietary electronic signature capability within CommercialEdge Deal Manager — is just as easy and efficient. The system configures default signers, sends multiple copies in a single envelope with document visibility control, and regulates signer changes based on deal square footage or total rent as a threshold.  

Benefits of automation and centralization 

The automation and centralized storage in the Legal module make lease completion vastly simpler and better organized than chasing documents through different versions. The solution can also reduce the number of templates a property management company needs to maintain. The Legal module users have documented the following results: 

• Lease documents produced in 5-10 minutes 

• Elimination of rekeying and duplicate entries with automated data flow to the Yardi property management system (Yardi Voyager) 
• Easy assembly of the template, deal term data and clause/option information into one document 
• A clause library created and maintained with the latest lease language to embed data points from the deal into the clause language seamlessly 
• Clause group creation to organize clause language that’s relevant to, but not limited by, property, lease type or market 
• Effortless redlining and revision tracking and built-in version comparison with lease agreements populated by information from the finalized proposals 

• Enhanced online editing capabilities directly within the application 
• Full transparency so the entire leasing team can see each step as it happens 
• Staff efficiency enhanced by leasing teams’ ability to access versions on their own, without the Legal department’s assistance or added legal services costs 
• Expedited signing with built-in, secure electronic signatures that sync with Yardi Voyager 

Additionally, efficiency comes from bulk editing clauses in one screen, with immediate rendering in the document. This keeps the entire process in one platform instead of scattered across emails, Word docs and PDFs. 

CommercialEdge Legal provides a straightforward and efficient approach to lease document creation. If you are looking to eliminate the challenges of putting together a lease agreement through manual effort, consider using an automated CRE solution that reduces lease creation to a few clicks. 

The post Lease Creation in Just a Few Clicks with CommercialEdge Legal  appeared first on CommercialEdge.

This approach boosts efficiency and allows each team member to leverage their own specific skill set in a CRE environment that encourages professionals to share best practices, implement better strategies for clients and develop innovative solutions to common challenges. 

Collaboration Fuels Team Productivity 

By expanding the concept of teams to a regional and national level, the same benefits can be achieved on a wider scale, which helps promote greater accountability and provide a stronger support system for brokers and agents. Through regional and national teams, CRE brokerages can create a more diverse and collaborative environment that can lead to greater success and enhanced revenue. 

The utilization of a team approach can contribute to higher employee retention by ensuring a productive work environment where each broker’s individual strength contributes to a collective expertise that can lead to greater employee satisfaction and performance.  

The importance of a skilled workforce is evident in the most recent Fortune/Deloitte CEO survey as well. According to the study, many CEOs expect that one of the main external factors impacting their business strategy over the next year will be finding and retaining skilled workers. More specifically, most respondents (71%) believe that the overall talent shortage will continue.  

Technology Drives Further Growth 

Encouraging team members to stay connected through various platforms that are specifically designed for seamless collaboration can also increase efficiency. Enhanced internal communication helps better shape common goals, while team productivity-based rewards incentivize brokers to seek more business opportunities.  

What’s more, brokerage workflows can be further optimized with technology that provides valuable functionalities such as automated and transparent CRE commission tracking, invoicing and distribution. 

How CommercialEdge Commissions Empowers Teams 

CommercialEdge Commissions, a complete back-office and commission management solution, makes it easy to track everything from a single location by centralizing all deal data, paperwork, invoice due dates and commission splits.  

Reports for current and previous receivables are automatically generated, streamlining day-to-day operations. The CRE solution allows brokers to generate their own reports at their own time and pace, without having to put in requests and then wait for someone to be available to compile and distribute reports. 

Commissions streamlines the entire process of setting up teams, managing and expanding them, while team managers can access data across the entire group. At the same time, the CRE solution includes flexible permission settings that allow companies to be highly specific about who can see and do what. Commissions also provides options for various levels of hierarchy. 

For larger regional and national brokerages, some organizations using Commissions have set up teams by market, while others have seen success when organizing single market brokerages by unit. 

CommercialEdge Commissions is a CRE solution tailored for pure brokerages and the brokerage divisions of full-service real estate companies. The CRE tool streamlines operations and enables effective team collaboration by leveraging powerful automation and real-time business analytics. 

The post Leverage Team Collaboration Across Your Brokerage to Boost Efficiency and Revenue  appeared first on CommercialEdge.

Many CRE property owners have discovered that optimizing occupancy requires shortening the lead-to-lease cycle. Achieving that goal calls for technology that eliminates manual processes and integrates marketing with the entire leasing workflow in a single connected solution. So, where to start? 

Maximized Listing Exposure for Effective Marketing 

Effective online marketing begins with assembling the right information in a single, connected system. This system should then power as many marketing channels as possible, like property and company websites, listing sites, brochures, email content and so on.  

Managing all marketing content in a single system makes for easy publication on listing portals, with the goal of displaying your availabilities as high in search results as possible. The CommercialEdge marketing module does just that, with centralized and automated listing management and effortless syndication that maximizes listing exposure. 

With CommercialEdge Marketing, listings are not only published on your website but also on leading marketplaces and the rapidly growing CommercialEdge Listing Network, which includes CommercialCafe, CommercialSearch, PropertyShark, Point2 Commercial and 42Floors. These listing sites rank on the first page of Google and generate hundreds of thousands of qualified leads annually. 

What’s more, users of Yardi property management software can sync spaces, properties and key lease information, including expiration dates, directly with CommercialEdge Marketing. Those key lease dates can then be used to notify the marketing and leasing teams of space coming available, an automated process that saves brokers the manual effort involved in updating websites and listing services. 

CommercialEdge also forges the link between listings and deals, with leads from client- and public-facing sites pushed directly to CommercialEdge Marketing and Deal Manager for further negotiations. 

Email, a Key Component of Optimized Marketing 

Email is another popular marketing medium that can be simplified with the right tools. Email marketing is a powerful resource for advancing CRE timelines through professional and responsive email campaigns and automated email and brochure creation. 

CommercialEdge Marketing is an example of a platform that automatically pulls in property and listing information and transmits emails to a contact or a list of contacts — without having to update the information through different fields and filters manually.  

Ready-to-use email templates can easily be saved for later use, enabling information to be displayed for as many properties and future leasing cycles as desired. When a template is applied for a property or space, it pulls in tags that map to various data points, including the property type, size and pricing information. Email templates are then automatically populated with current property and listing information. When emails are ready to send, they can be distributed to individual contacts or curated contact lists directly from the CommercialEdge CRM in Deal Manager. By using dynamic templates, the whole team is enabled with email automation that stays on brand and provides accurate information.  

Customized brochures can be created, updated and dispatched in a similar fashion. CommercialEdge Marketing allows for easy brochure generation, with branded templates that can be applied for any property and automatically populated with real-time listing information. Once created, brochures are always ready to use, either in email marketing or on listing websites. Furthermore, any changes made to the listing details in the CommercialEdge Marketing tool are automatically shown in any saved brochures or emails generated in connection with the respective space or property. 

CommercialEdge Marketing provides a comprehensive database for storing published, unpublished, off-market spaces and so on, making it easy to select specific spaces from a certain property and market them to prospects based on their exact needs. For instance, in case a property owner isn’t marketing all availabilities but would like to show a “pocket listing” to a prospect, having a system that stores all marketing content across spaces and provides easy access to data in one place is imperative. That way, an effective email marketing tool streamlines the entire process by enabling the user to email out spaces that may not be marketed publicly with minimal effort. 

Complete Portfolio Visibility and Real-Time Availability 

Desired marketing outcomes are most easily attained when marketing and leasing are not only integrated but also connected to the property management and accounting system used to manage the properties. That lets agents list properties as soon as they’re available and avoid late and inaccurate listings. 

CommercialEdge Marketing helps market commercial spaces by automating listings based on actual availability through integration with property management and accounting systems. With all marketing elements managed in one place, the platform provides complete visibility into every managed space, organized by lease expiration and the spaces marketed. 

Moreover, the platform can distribute listings to other marketplaces, saving the time and inconvenience of manual entry and data transfer, and automates the change of each stage from off-market to unpublished to published.  

So, if you’re looking for a CRE solution that reduces leasing cycle times and boosts revenue at the same time, consider moving your business forward with a full-service marketing platform such as CommercialEdge Marketing. 

The post Put CRE Marketing on Autopilot with CommercialEdge  appeared first on CommercialEdge.

Friction in the leasing process, however, can arise from the need for more efficient, timely data sharing. To illustrate this point, let’s consider a lease opportunity scenario.  

How Resource Discrepancies Stall Leasing Flows 

A leasing team pursuing an opportunity uses market leasing data, budgets, historical leases, comps and more. But it’s difficult to reach that information when it is stored in folders on multiple desktops or in a file cabinet. With vital details not coming together quickly enough, a prospective tenant might elect to lease space elsewhere. That means a lost commission or a smaller year-end bonus for the leasing agent, while the asset manager is left with vacant space and a missed chance to secure a rent-paying tenant.   

Going a step up from a single transaction, we can see similar issues when an asset manager compiles data for a budgeting and forecasting cycle. Brokers often track their deals and pipelines on separate spreadsheets. In pipeline reviews with the leasing teams, the asset manager must understand each spreadsheet and analyze the data. There is no easy way to compile each team’s update into one standardized view without manual effort from the asset manager. This makes it challenging to get real-time budgeting and forecasting pipeline information.   

One Platform for the Entire Lead-to-Lease Lifecycle  

How can the scenario of a missed leasing opportunity or delayed budgeting and forecasting be preempted? By avoiding siloed information systems and manual data imports that produce inconsistencies throughout the deal cycle. And by relying on technology platforms that house all deal information in a single connected solution.  

This approach avoids error-prone, time-intensive data transfers and relieves staff of manually tracking leads and tours. It also provides a reliable system for tracking activity at the top of the funnel, such as leads or property tours, giving leasing teams and executives complete pipeline visibility. They can see if there are sufficient quality leads downstream to maximize revenue on the property and compare a deal to the annual or underwriting budget in real-time.  

Property management technology providers are making deal management more accessible and efficient with platforms that house all deal entry, tracking and approval. If you’re in search of a deal management system, look for one that:  

• Ensures a consistent process for gathering, managing and reporting deal information.  
• Encompasses NER calculators, LOIs, deal sheets and lease documents. 
• Allows automatic comparison to budgets, prior leases, and other relevant benchmarks 
• Provides access to all parties needing to see detailed tenant information and expiring rent.  
• Automatically imports expense information.  
• Enables a lease to be automatically abstracted directly into the property management system.  
• Includes a sophisticated approval workflow that avoids email tracking or printing deal sheets for signature.  
• Offers access from any device.  

One advanced system is Deal Manager, part of the CommercialEdge suite of revenue-focused solutions. Deal Manager transforms real-time data from the Yardi property management and accounting platform — which has complete data on upcoming lease expirations, tenant options and encumbrances — into complete deal pipeline visibility. It also enables full deal oversight, approval functionality and comparison of proposals against the approved budget. Furthermore, it makes revenue assumptions more accurate by seamlessly adding deals to Yardi Forecast Manager. 

“Deal Manager’s holistic tie back to Voyager was the biggest selling point; rent rolls are always up to date, which means deal metrics are always up to date. Document transfer as well from Deal Manager to Voyager was huge — it allows us to efficiently aggregate info from essentially pre-leasing to translate to tenant files in one fell swoop which saves leasing and property management time,” Kelli Walter, partner of asset management for Partners, explained.

Immediate Pipeline and Productivity Improvements 

Such systems centralize prospect files for easy reference, eliminate duplicate data entry with full integration with the property management and accounting system, enable side-by-side deal comparisons and automatically populate forecasts with deal data. They can also accommodate complex commission structures and provide full details in approval emails, with approval or rejection done within the email. As a result, brokers can spend their time engaging prospects instead of entering data.  

“Technology like Deal Manager gets folks out of email, organizes deals and data exceptionally well, simplifies the credit underwriting process for leasing, which makes it faster to get deals done, and provides extremely valuable transparency into the deal curation process that can be used to analyze the effectiveness of your leasing and asset management teams,” Walter added.

Team members who need to know about a deal’s progression are automatically notified, letting all team members see each step’s impact on the forecast immediately, rather than days later. In addition, the degree of data capture possible with such a system offers a clear look into revenue potential. 

Deal management capabilities are enhanced with a mobile app that enables fast entry of leads and tours, ensuring those crucial details are always up to date. Brokers can scan a QR code and log a tour. Users can smoothly manage prospects and oversee each stage of the deal flow while automatically comparing deal economics to approved budgets and prior leases.  

“With all information at hand in real-time, our team can evaluate and approve without back-and-forth phone calls and emails,” said Richard Hickson, executive vice president of operations for Cousins Properties, an Atlanta-based REIT. “Our leasing, asset management and legal teams communicate more efficiently with Deal Manager, and that makes us quicker. That’s the largest impact of Deal Manager for us.”  

Consider also the advantages of having all these capabilities in a single connected system instead of pulling together information from disparate systems. That’s a formula for getting deals done and never missing an opportunity.  

The post Eliminate Siloed Data and Streamline the Leasing Process  appeared first on CommercialEdge.

Despite the constantly changing digital world, there are several strategies that property owners and listing brokers can use to maintain their competitive edge and successfully market their CRE listings. To assist brokers in more effectively interacting with clients, we have broken down our top digital CRE marketing tips below.  

1. Create a Dynamic Website  

Create and manage a website that will be the hub for all your digital marketing activity. Whether you’re a solo commercial broker or part of an organization, a website is vital for ensuring your presence in the digital landscape and it is like an online visiting card.  

Make sure your commercial offerings are easily accessible and directly linked to your brand. Consider using CRE software that allows for dynamic space and property marketing. Such tools ensure that all your listing content is up to date, both on your site as well as across all your commercial real estate marketing collateral like brochures, client emails, digital tour books and other client-facing assets. 

In addition, a well-organized website must clearly and aesthetically display recent sales, contact information, your profile, a mission statement, client testimonials and market research. And of course, make sure it’s mobile-friendly, too!  

2. Emphasize SEO  

Your SEO strategy should be closely connected with your website and blog. Keep in mind that search engine optimization is a long-term effort, but the results are worth the wait. With a carefully planned strategy, you can reach clients that use search engines to find businesses like yours. Users tend only to go as far as the first page, which is why an optimized lead-generation technique is vital for exposure.   

3. Create an Advertising Strategy  

Social media platforms, CRE marketplaces and search engine ads (more on that below) are excellent for connecting with a precisely defined target audience. Increasing brand recognition through well-managed social media marketing and highlighting featured listings on well-established listing sites paves the way for high-quality lead development. These personalized campaigns allow you to precisely choose which members of your target market will see your ads, as well as when and where they appear. 

4. Establish a Paid Search Engine Marketing Plan  

An efficient strategy for increasing listing exposure on well-established search engines like Google is paid advertising. This approach promotes select listings in a paid ad space on a search engine’s search results page for a set time period in order to increase traffic. Since this strategy is more cost-intensive, factor it into your company’s marketing budget. At the same time, ongoing commitment is vital for this method to yield long-lasting results. It’s also critical to thoroughly monitor your ROI to decide whether paid advertising is a viable choice for your business needs.  

5. High-Quality Images Are a Must   

First impressions are made in just a few seconds in a fast-paced digital world. Therefore, high-quality, captivating photos are essential for potential clients to stop scrolling and have a look at your content. Once they do, they are much more likely to visit your website. Also, remember the importance of having an up-to-date headshot to feature on all your social media channels.   

6. Virtual Tours Are Here to Stay   

Appealing virtual tours are a must for successfully marketing your commercial property nowadays. First, familiarize yourself with the technology and design specifics that ensure an immersive client experience. There are many options available for producing virtual tours. While costs vary depending on your selection, you could potentially buy a 360-degree camera to record tours yourself. 

7. Make Social Media a Priority 

Include social sharing buttons in your emails, content and website to make it easy for potential and existing customers to share your content, information and insights. Before you do, ensure your profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc., are up to date and in line with one another.  

Social media is a great networking tool, perfect for meeting new people and sparking insightful discussions, so consider joining professional social media groups like the ones found on LinkedIn. This can increase listing visibility through exposure to specific groups of people, where you can connect with leads more likely to move down the funnel. 

8. Ask for Client Testimonials 

A satisfied client review will greatly help when promoting your services. In the digital era, leasing professionals can do that with the help of online reviews. So, as soon as a deal is completed, requesting a review should be among your top priorities.  

To make it simple for your client to recommend your services, provide a dedicated link that leads directly to the review entry form. Your company’s legitimacy and credibility only stand to gain from a list of positive testimonials. Additionally, reviews can also improve the SEO ranking of your website.   

9. Start Blogging  

Share your point of view on the CRE industry through insightful blog posts. Maintain an upbeat, professional and consistent approach. To increase website traffic, respond to customers’ frequently asked questions, discuss current market trends and integrate SEO keywords.  

Your readers are more likely to see you as an authority on the subject and give you their business if you provide market insight and are seen as an authority within the industry. Additionally, you can distribute blog entries through email marketing campaigns and your social media accounts to further expand your reach. 

10. Invest in Becoming a Thought Leader 

Consider writing for an industry journal or contributing to a local publication. This can entail writing a monthly piece or sponsoring industry events. Having your name published in a well-known publication can considerably elevate your reputation. Contributing to CRE publications along with local and national trade association news feeds allows you to simultaneously reach potential clients and build your industry reputation. Additionally, this approach can also direct more SEO-boosted traffic to your website. 

As digital solutions continue to elevate the CRE industry, leasing professionals focused on successful dealmaking will embrace the latest innovations in real estate technology. And, as digital marketing evolves, organizations and agents who embrace technology will boost their commercial real estate marketing strategies and remain ahead of the curve. 

The post Top 10 Digital Commercial Real Estate Marketing Tips for Brokers appeared first on CommercialEdge.

In a CRE landscape of changing tenant expectations, leasing specialists who emphasize consistency and quality across their marketing content and branding are well-positioned to close the best deals. By centralizing their listing information, marketing professionals ensure a seamless and quality experience for prospective tenants. That way, prospects interact with consistent listing content across every marketing channel they access. 

Listing Content Consistency and Branding Are Key 

Marketing space is an elaborate process from the initial steps required to create a property listing to promote the asset to a wide audience. Heightened listing visibility ensures substantial top-of-the-funnel activity, which in turn increases the potential of generating qualified leads and closing more deals.  

And when it comes to brand consistency, for owners looking to stand out in the market, branding is critical. Ensuring that logos, fonts and other essential branding elements are consistent across marketing channels is key to ensuring a powerful brand presence. 

While CRE professionals were once required to separately add their listing information on various marketing platforms to increase exposure, that doesn’t have to be the case today. Technological advancement has accelerated the process with CRE tools that provide powerful automation, significantly reducing manual effort and changing the way listing content is kept up to date. 

Listing information can be entered into one data source and then distributed across multiple marketing channels with ease. Syndication services streamline the distribution process by sharing listings across multiple channels, so it is paramount to choose a syndication platform that encompasses leading marketplaces and internet listing networks that guarantee exposure by being present in top search results. 

Automation and Centralization for Next-Gen Leasing 

Automated distribution and centralized data eliminate the risk of inconsistent branding, quality and listing content across databases. To keep all marketing collateral consistent across every platform, centralization ensures that updating listing data on one platform instantly refreshes the information on every channel. This prevents scenarios where listing content might show up incorrectly or outdated across various platforms. 

Just a few clicks will update content on the company website, research sites, ILSs, emails and brochures, etc. This eliminates conflicting information spread across multiple platforms that can be off-putting for prospective tenants interested in a specific space. 

Another essential aspect to keep in mind is the possibility to integrate marketing platforms with existing property management and accounting systems. This synchronization significantly reduces upkeep by automating the publishing and unpublishing of spaces based on availability. More specifically, a space is automatically published when a lease term is approaching expiration, and conversely, a space is unpublished when a new lease is signed. 

How CRE Tools Power Consistent Content and Branding 

The CommercialEdge marketing platform, for example, centralizes all marketing content and syncs it across a client company’s website, listing websites, emails, brochures and more. This automated listing management ensures consistent property and space information and branding, along with the same level of quality across marketing channels.  

The CommercialEdge API customizes all content by capturing a firm’s branding and generating a consistent look and feel across the board. That way, leasing professionals can easily manage all their marketing content in one place, while prospects have access to the same, reliable data on every resource they browse. 

What’s more, companies with large portfolios and affiliated brands can use white-label technologies to create branded websites for their property listings. White-label websites reflect each respective firm’s unique branding with its distinct design, structure and content while increasing brand awareness and enhancing prospects’ experience. 

As space requirements continue to shift, tenants are not only searching for quality space but also expect a streamlined experience throughout the entire process. The current market conditions are shaping leasing strategies and highlighting the demand for creativity and innovation. This, coupled with purpose-built CRE solutions, is transforming the leasing journey from lead through the signed lease. 

The post How Consistent Is Your Listing Content and Branding Across the Web?  appeared first on CommercialEdge.

The right approach to deciding if and when to adopt new CRE tech should involve a thorough evaluation of the challenges faced by your organization and how digital tools can increase resiliency and strengthen your operations. Below, we explore the key steps businesses should consider when deciding on the implementation of new tech solutions. 

• Assess Your Needs and Challenges  

First, make sure to evaluate your internal needs and the challenges your business is facing, then try to answer the following questions: How are these needs and challenges expected to shift in the coming quarters and years? How are your existing tech solutions performing? Which areas are impacted by productivity bottlenecks? What do you do better than your competitors and how would new tech help optimize your operations in order to stand out? 

• Evaluate Products and Involve Key Personnel  

After taking stock of your position, the next step is to conduct an analysis of potential solutions that would be a good fit for your operations and your team. A strong emphasis on intelligent technology investments is paramount, a trend underpinned by the most recent JLL survey on the future of work, which found that 45% of respondents intend to accelerate investment in technologies to optimize their workplace. 

An essential factor at this point is to involve key leadership and back-office personnel in the decision process. When demoing the solutions on your shortlist, involve someone on your team that will work directly on implementing and monitoring the new software. Keep track of feedback and focus on the pain points each tool helps solve, on the benefits these add to your operations and prioritize them in your decision-making. 

• Communicate Clearly and Concisely 

Communicate often and precisely with the team members who are directly involved in the implementation process. Outline and emphasize the benefits of a new solution and tie them to specific pain points of key individuals in your organization. Making the connection between pain points and benefits can ensure the overall success of the adoption of new technology. 

• Set Realistic Goals and Timelines 

For a successful acceptance and implementation process, consider financial costs as well as training timelines in addition to involving key members of your front and back office. Make sure to have a comprehensive overview of your budget, a timeline estimate of the training process and a clear understanding of how much time and resources your organization can save by implementing new tech. 

• Keep in Mind Employee Satisfaction 

Lastly, consider the vital role technology plays in personnel retention and well-being. Digital solutions can strengthen your employees’ skill sets, which in turn stimulate performance and amplify productivity. For instance, CRE tech solutions that provide advanced features and amenities enhance the workspace and provide a more welcoming, efficient and secure office environment.  

Conclusions

The most recent McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook underscores the importance of technological advancement and the fundamental role it plays in bolstering industries and businesses, while also contributing to the well-being of the general public. 

Therefore, businesses focused on their bottom line and intent on remaining competitive in the current dynamic CRE landscape should consistently evaluate their tech stack. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, businesses should keep a close eye on innovation and the numerous ways technology can optimize operations and maximize revenue streams. 

The post When Is the Right Time to Upgrade Your Tech Stack?  appeared first on CommercialEdge.

Typically, real estate agents operate under a brokerage as independent contractors, which means they are not compensated through regular paychecks like an employee. As a result, knowing the difference between various tax forms is essential when reporting earnings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taking a closer look at the W-9 and 1099 forms, we highlighted the key features and differences below. 

What Is a W-9 Form? 

Intended for tax filing purposes in the U.S., the W-9 is a basic tax form used to collect key information such as the taxpayer identification number (TIN) or Social Security number, name, address and entity structure. The information provided on this form is important for the business owner to determine the contractor’s status and whether the business owner must file a 1099 tax form with the IRS.  

The 1099 form (more on that below) is usually not required when the party receiving the compensation is a corporation. However, any individual or business working with an independent contractor must collect a W-9 form and submit an informational return to the IRS disclosing payments. The independent contractor is required to fill out the W-9 form and return it to the individual or business they are receiving payments from. 

The 1099 Form Used by CRE Players 

A 1099 form is used to report non-employment income and there are a total of 21 information returns or 1099 forms. Each type is used to report a different kind of payment or transaction, including income earned as an independent contractor. For the latter, the two most common forms used are 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC. 

Reporting payments on 1099 forms ensures the IRS that independent contractors file the required documentation to report their income properly. Entities employing the services of independent contractors are responsible for filing a 1099 form with the IRS when the individual or business (payor) pays compensation of $600 or more and the following conditions are met, with the $600 payment disbursed: 

1. during a tax year 

2. to an individual who is not an employee 

3. for services provided by the individual  

4. during the payor’s trade or business. 

Real estate brokers are required to file 1099s for real estate commissions, referral fees or other types of compensation paid to broker associates, cooperating brokers, sponsored sales agents and other similar categories of professionals who provide services to the broker’s business. 

Brokers must issue a Form 1099-MISC to real estate agents who received payments of at least $600 in the corresponding tax year. “MISC” stands for “miscellaneous” reporting and is necessary for filing tax returns and determining how much tax an independent contractor owes. The 1099-MISC tax form must be issued at the completion of the tax year, listing a summary of total commissions earned throughout the year. 

1099-MISC vs. 1099-NEC  

Until 2020, the main 1099 form used for independent contractors was Form 1099-MISC. However, as of 2020, the IRS reintroduced Form 1099-NEC as well, which had been used in the early 1980s to report any income earned while self-employed. Form 1099-NEC was initially replaced by Form 1099-MISC in 1983 because the IRS added an extra box on the existing 1099-MISC for businesses to report payments made to self-employed individuals they worked with during the tax year.  

The new version of Form 1099-MISC covered non-employee compensation and other payments including prizes, awards and medical payments, rendering Form 1099-NEC unnecessary. The change, however, created confusion because businesses were required to report payments through Form 1099-MISC on different deadlines for self-employed individuals (by Jan. 31) and all other payees (by Feb. 28). To eliminate this uncertainty, the IRS reintroduced Form 1099-NEC in 2020, with a due date of Jan. 31. 

The primary distinction between Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC is that a business will only use a 1099-NEC if they are reporting non-employee compensation but will use a 1099-MISC for reporting other income, including rents, prizes, royalties, awards paid to third parties, and in the case of CRE specialists, payments made by real estate brokers to agents, as stated above. 

An important aspect to keep in mind is that, unlike an employee who receives a W-2 form, independent contractors must account for taxes due and are responsible for withholding and paying their own taxes. Therefore, the W-9 and the 1099 forms are essential for both sides in terms of gathering, tracking and reporting accurate earnings and paying taxes at the end of each calendar year. 

The post W-9 and 1099 Forms: What Every Real Estate Professional Should Know  appeared first on CommercialEdge.