Tools to Be a Successful Commercial Real Estate Agent

The commercial real estate world is always changing. What defines success in today’s real estate industry has evolved significantly over the past decade. With the rapid rise of AI-driven solutions, the prevalence of social media, and advancements in AR/VR technologies, commercial real estate brokers must harness these cutting-edge tools to thrive in their profession.

To empower you in this dynamic field, we’ve curated a comprehensive list of seven categories of tools tailored to the needs of commercial real estate professionals. These tools span a wide spectrum, addressing critical aspects like network expansion, social media analysis, precision geomapping data search, and efficient document generation.

The Best Commercial Real Estate Agent Tools

Within the myriad of commercial real estate tools available on the market, it is very easy to get lost and choose solutions that don’t fit your brokerage.

To simplify the searching process, we’ve categorized proven solutions and compiled results into a table.

Networking is a key stone to succeed in commercial real estate. Brokers can use such tools to expand their network and identify potential opportunities. Here are a few examples of commercial real estate agent tools that help in prospecting:

ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is a valuable tool for expanding commercial real estate networking. By providing access to a large database of companies and professionals, insights into companies and professionals, contact information for key decision-makers, and data on companies and industries, ZoomInfo can help brokers to identify new leads, qualify leads, build relationships, and track market trends.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium LinkedIn subscription that provides users with advanced tools for finding and connecting with potential clients.

Besides basic functionality (lead nurturing, relationship management, and prospecting), LinkedIn Sales Navigator also offers a number of features that are specifically designed for commercial real estate brokers, such as: Property Insights, Lead Builder, TeamLink.

Followerwonk

Followerwonk is a social media analytics platform that provides users with insights into their Twitter following. Commercial real estate agents can use Followerwonk to identify potential clients and partners who are following them on Twitter.

CRM Software

Many successful commercial real estate brokers invest in a powerful and robust CRM system that can help them save time, improve relationships with clients, and streamline their workflows. Examples below are proven to meet mentioned-above needs.

AscendixRE CRM

Built on top of Salesforce, AscendixRE is a brokerage CRM, perfect for tenant and landlord representatives, investment sales, commercial mortgage banking brokers, land brokers, and property managers.

AscendixRE has been recognized by many brokers as a top solution due to its advanced Contact/Lead/Deal management facilities, searching functionality, robust reporting, and high level of customization.

In addition to CRM functionality, the platform offers commercial real estate brokers 3 added modules:

• Ascendix Search – advanced searching & filtering tool for Salesforce data, that includes many custom filters (e.g. radius search), Salesforce geo mapping, related lists, and more
• Composer – a powerful publishing tool enabling your users to generate professional quality brochures, flyers, property tour books, lease comp reports, sale comp reports, and owner reports for listings
• MarketSpace – property listing platform & secure deal/collaboration rooms.

Buildout

Buildout is a comprehensive platform that can help CRE brokers manage all aspects of business, from lead generation to deal closure to portfolio management.

Buildout has 3 core products – CRM, Marketing, and Insights. Every solution is sold separately. Among basic CRM functionality, Buildout CRM can be integrated with a variety of other software platforms, such as marketing automation platforms and email marketing platforms.

RealNex

RealNex offers a suite of integrated tools and solutions designed specifically for the commercial real estate industry. RealNex offers clients 1 core solution – RealNex Navigator and 4 products: CRM, Transaction Manager, MarketEdge, MarketPlace. Whereas RealNex Navigator includes all the listed solutions, these can be purchased separately as well.

AI Marketing Tools

As AI is continually disrupting real estate, agent and brokers leverage how to use this technology and get the most benefits. The following AI-based commercial real estate tools has gained a lot of popularity and were highly rated by thousands of industry experts.

ChatGPT

Since its official launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has blown CRE minds. Brokers started using this tool in many businesses cases: from writing property descriptions to summarizing long documents into short abstracts.

Recently released ChatGPT 4 became one of the most powerful AI-based tools for brokers. Yes, you still need to check the information ChatGPT generates, but with the right prompts, you can “educate” the tool, saving you time significantly. In 30 seconds, it can write entire email drip sequences, property descriptions, ad copy, e-books, or anything else you’d want to write.

Lumi AI

Lumi AI is another great AI-based commercial real estate tool that helps brokers facilitate marketing activities. A broker can use this tool for lead nurturing by sending them personalized emails and other content.

Lumi AI can segment leads based on their interests and send them the most relevant content, such as blog articles about market trends or case studies of successful deals.

Many brokers recognized Lumi AI as a trustworthy real estate marketing assistant.

Addressable

Addressable is a data-driven AI platform that can help brokers identify new opportunities, target the right leads, and close more deals.

Addressable provides brokers with access to a comprehensive database of commercial real estate properties, as well as data on tenants, investors, and other relevant parties. Brokers can use this data to generate leads, identify potential buyers and sellers, and track market trends.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

Your listing must be visible and promoted to the targeted audience to get the best offer when selling commercial property. That’s where the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – a database of properties for sale or lease – comes into play and gives CRE agents a competitive advantage.

MyEListing

MyEListing is a free, online resource to find and post available commercial real estate for sale and for rent. It is the largest and most comprehensive free commercial property listing site to help you sell your commercial real estate or find your next commercial property purchase.

MyEListing allows users to search for commercial real estate listings by location, property type, price, and other criteria. Users can also create and manage their own listings, and contact property owners and brokers directly.

CityFeet

CityFeet is a commercial real estate (CRE) MLS that provides brokers with access to a comprehensive database of commercial properties for sale and lease in major metropolitan areas across the United States.

CityFeet’s database includes millions of commercial properties, including office space, retail space, industrial space, and land.

LoopNet

LoopNet is a commercial real estate (CRE) MLS that provides brokers with access to a comprehensive database of commercial properties for sale and lease in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. LoopNet also offers a variety of tools and resources to help brokers manage their businesses more efficiently and effectively.

LoopNet’s listings are updated in real time, so brokers can be confident that they are seeing the most up-to-date information.

Lease Management

In commercial real estate, lease comparables – “comps” – help analyze and predict current market trends in lease rates, terms, occupancy compared with similar properties in the area. Access to lease comps is one of the most vital commercial real estate resources among landlords, lenders, brokers, and appraisers. To get the maximum value of this data, you need a solution that stores and organizes options for data details.

Here are examples of well-known lease management software that you may consider:

Leasecake

Leasecake is a cloud-based software platform that helps tenants and brokers to manage their leases throughout the entire lifecycle, from negotiation to renewal.

It provides a centralized repository for all lease-related documents and data, such as lease agreements, amendments, and invoices. Leasecake also allows users to track key dates, such as rent due dates, expiration dates, and renewal dates.

Yardi Breeze

Yardi Breeze is a cloud-based property management platform that includes a variety of features for lease management, such as lease tracking, lease accounting, and rent collection. It also offers features for property maintenance and tenant management.

Yardi Breeze is a comprehensive solution that streamlines property and lease management processes, making it a popular choice for landlords and property managers.

VTS

VTS is a valuable lease management tool that provides a centralized platform for lease tracking, document management, analytics, and tenant relationship management.

VTS is a multifaceted tool. From the lease management perspective, the platform offers data analytics and reporting tools to assess the performance of lease agreements and property portfolios. Users can gain insights into occupancy rates, rental income, and other key performance indicators.

Geomapping Search of Data

CRE professionals are always in a process of searching. Geomapping tools allow CRE agents to visualize data on a map, which can help them to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities.

To perform geomapping search of data in CRE, professionals use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, online mapping platforms, or specialized CRE software with built-in mapping capabilities.

Let’s briefly overview tools for geomapping data search.

Reonomy

Reonomy is a powerful geomapping tool tailored for CRE professionals. It specializes in providing data-driven insights by mapping and analyzing property and market information.

Users can visualize property data on interactive maps, making it easy to analyze property locations, trends, and market dynamics. The mapping feature allows for custom overlays and filtering, offering a clear visual representation of property-related information.

Maptitude

Maptitude is a desktop mapping and analytical software that is specifically designed for business intelligence and analytics. CRE agents can use Maptitude to create maps of property listings, market data, and other relevant information. Maptitude also offers features for geospatial analysis, such as spatial queries, spatial statistics, and spatial modeling.

Ascendix Search

Ascendix Search is focused solely on commercial real estate. The platform provides search capabilities for properties in your Salesforce from multiple locations by drawing geometric shapes on a map. Brokers and agents can convert the lists of required properties to a map to showcase the best properties to clients.

Being an industry-tailored geomapping tool, Ascendix Search provides a dynamic map interface that allows users to visualize properties, including their location and key details. This feature is particularly valuable for property search and evaluation.

Tools for Branded Property Documentation

What can stand you out as a successful commercial real estate agent among others? Branded property documentation such as reports, flyers, and brochures, of course.

Utilizing branded templates is a real estate agent must-have tool. Investing in that means investing in a personal brand that increases customer loyalty. Moreover, you are to win more listings and close more deals in the long run.

MarketEdge by RealNex

MarketEdge by RealNex is a comprehensive and specialized software solution that enables users to create professional property presentations and investment packages. These presentations can be customized with branding elements, property details, financial data, and more.

Conga Composer

Conga Composer is a Salesforce-based solution for document generation and management. Conga Composer leverages the Salesforce platform by pulling data from across Salesforce objects.

Users can create templates for commonly used documents. This is especially helpful in CRE, where there are standard templates for lease agreements, property listings, and other documents. Templates can be pre-designed and standardized for consistency.

Composer Online

Composer is one of the tools for brokers you need. It helps to generate branded CRE brochures, property tour books, availability, lease, activity reports, owner’s reports, PDFs, and HTML websites within a few clicks.

Composer Online is integrated with AscendixRE CRM, making it easier to generate any marketing collateral, send it to target audience, or manage the documents associated with each deal in your pipeline.

How to Succeed in Commercial Real Estate

Before answering the main question of this passage, I’d like to narrow down the query and start with the basic question: “How to be a commercial real estate broker? To be more specific, let’s take the US commercial real estate market as an example.

Every state requires commercial real estate brokers to be licensed. Requirements vary by state but generally, candidates have to be at least 18 years old, complete a number of hours of real estate or college courses, and pass a licensing exam.

When the first three steps are covered, the next step is to analyze the competitiveness of the market you’re in.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 518,800 jobs in the real estate and CRE industries. On average, about 47,500 openings for real estate brokers, commercial real estate agents, and sales agents are projected each year. As the industry is sensitive to economic fluctuations, the employment rate varies accordingly.

Having analyzed market competitiveness, you need to create a robust strategy for your professional development that includes:

• Setting realistic goals
• Defining the target product type
• Researching inventory of the targeted product type
• Calculating an average sale price
• Defining the market that makes sense to you
• Determining the number of closings required to hit your goals
• Building a database of Properties and Clients
• Defining a set of software, you’ll need to work as CRE broker

And that’s the basis for gaining success in CRE.

What is worth mentioning separately is networking. CRE business is based on a robust networking and personal relationship with clients.

If you want to get ahead (I’m sure you want) and turn leads into clients – you need to know how to network. Meet with different people regularly, contact them via social networks, make valuable posts on your pages to attract new followers.

Your audience isn’t only prospective clients but your fellow commercial real estate agents, either. So, connect with them to introduce yourself.

Don’t hesitate using tools for expanding networking that we’ve mentioned in this article: ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Followerwok, and others.

Another great way to widen your networking is to join commercial real estate associations. It increases your credibility with clients and gives your career a boost.

Here’s the list of the biggest CRE associations to join:

• Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR): 3,200 members across 36 countries
• CCIM Institute (Certified Commercial Investment Member): 13,000 members in North America
• International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC): 70,000 members
• Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW Network): 12,000 members
• Urban Land Institute (ULI): 40,000 professionals

By joining the listed-above associations, you’ll get access to the most successful commercial real estate brokers, resources, professional insights, priceless experience, and continuing education opportunities.

Use these tips as a roadmap and persist in implementing them week after week. If you do, it won’t be long before you become a successful commercial real estate broker.

In case you need assistance with tools for brokers, contact our managers. We’re here to help enhance your journey toward becoming a successful commercial real estate agent.