Top Soft Skills All Commercial Real Estate Professionals Should Have

Destry Witt
2 min readNov 23, 2021

Working in commercial real estate, there are a lot of hard skills you need to have. From knowledge of local real estate laws and contracts to leasing and buying processes and more, there are a lot of facts and knowledge to learn before embarking on this career path. However, perhaps more importantly, there are critical soft skills that need to be developed as well. Keep reading to learn more.

Active Listening

If you want to maintain good relationships with your clients and provide the best possible service, you need to be able to listen well to what they need from you. You know the properties you work with and the various features they have to offer–your clients may just have a vague idea of the kind of space they want. You need to listen closely and make inferences about what is important to them and what they need from you.

Negotiation

Being a good negotiator is another crucial soft skill for commercial real estate agents. You need to have a firm understanding of what you can offer your clients, when you need to stand your ground, and how much you can compromise. Negotiation skills are important not only when it comes to money matters, but also contract or lease terms, time frames, and more.

Clear Communication

Similarly, you need to be able to communicate clearly and tactfully. As a real estate agent, there are a lot of small, technical details involved in your line of work. Most of your clients won’t have the same level of understanding as you do. You must be able to communicate processes and delays clearly, in a way your clients will understand. Long, wordy, technical explanations will only leave most people confused and frustrated.

Patience

Many real estate processes take a long time. Additionally, sometimes your clients will waiver in the decision-making process, hesitant to commit. As a commercial real estate agent, you need to wait patiently and not let yourself get frustrated by delays. Waiting is part of the process, and patience is key to making sure no mistakes or hasty decisions are made.

Originally posted on DestryWitt.com on November 23, 2021

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Destry Witt

Destry Witt, of Vancouver, WA, is an entrepreneur and investment professional http://www.destrywitt.net