sundancecompany

May 22, 2018May 5, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

The Evolution of Communication

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs throughout the Boise Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime locations in the Boise metropolitan area. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

May 15, 2018April 2, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

In the Flexible Space Market, One Size Does Not Fit All

When the co-working concept was first introduced, it was to the advantage of the growing number of startups that were giving rise to NYC’s Silicon Alley, as those spaces served as much-needed incubators for the companies that had yet to graduate to independently leased offices. The success of companies in this line—most notably WeWork—helped to launch the concept of what we know today to be the sharing economy, which has given us such iconic brands as Uber, Airbnb and Rent the Runway, among an ever-growing list of others spanning dozens of business lines.

In the office market specifically, the sharing economy has resulted in the proliferation of what is known as the flexible space market—offices and meeting rooms meant for short-term use by individuals and companies alike. The flexible space market can be broken down into three primary segments, each offering a different product and value depending on the building and the clientele being targeted.

“When I’m looking to bring flex space into a building, my top priority is to determine which operator makes the most strategic sense, in terms of the amount of space needed and how it will be used—not every operator makes sense for every building,” said Michael Rudin, senior vice president of Rudin Management, which has worked with a number of flexible space providers, from WeWork to Breather. “When we’re introducing flexible spaces, we want them to be used by our tenants as well as others. It’s of the utmost importance to evaluate the existing tenant mix and long-term vision for the building, so we can ensure the operator we sign on is a fit for the most logical use of the space.”

Providers have also noticed a paradigm shift among office landlords. “Recently, we’ve seen landlords starting to view flexible workspace differently, as a way to attract new tenants and capture different users,” said Hank Jonap, director of real estate at Breather. “Tenants, meanwhile, are listening to employees and adjusting to today’s needs—they understand the that flexible space provides a convenient option and an overall space solution for today’s workforce.”

So, what is it that the various flexible space models offer? And, how can landlords and clients determine which is the best fit for them?

Co-Working: For the Young (Company) at Heart

The co-working model offers freelancers and startups the opportunity to share large spaces with a number of other companies with the goal of fostering a collaborative, creative and vibrant environment conducive to long-term growth. Champions of this model include the likes of WeWork, Regus and Knotel, which places a particular emphasis on providing companies with headquarters spaces.

These companies lease large floor plates and tend to be best suited to young companies that have not yet matured (or hired enough staff) to fill an expensive office. Typically rented on a monthly basis, co-working spaces are viewed as a long-term space solution. While this is the norm, it should be noted that there are exceptions to the co-working rules as more and more enterprise clients look to co-working space solutions for their business. This occurred most notably late last year in WeWork’s landmark deal with IBM to manage the tech giant’s 70,000-square-foot space at 88 University Place.

The primary advantage for landlords is that the co-working sector is one of few that is still hungrily leasing huge office blocks, making these operators the perfect fit for buildings where there is a lot of contiguous space available. On the flip side, these spaces have a high impact on building resources, including utility usage and foot traffic.

For co-working clients, these spaces can offer a great place to establish a footprint for growth that fosters a sense collaboration and camaraderie with other companies and offers well-designed spaces that would otherwise be out of budget. The disadvantage is that it can be hard to find quiet spaces to focus, as by nature co-working spaces are louder, more bustling environments than the typical office.

Offsite Meeting Room Providers: When You Need a Flexible Change of Scenery

The real estate industry took note of the offsite model in 2017, elevating the level of space and options available to companies looking for dedicated space to host team brainstorms, client meetings, small events, focused individual work, product sprints and spillover space. The leading operator in this space is Breather, which in 2017 saw more than 200,000 square feet added, taking its portfolio to 500-plus distributed meeting rooms across its 10 markets.These providers offer truly short-term solutions, secured and paid for on an as-needed basis, for durations ranging from one hour to a few weeks to several months. Breather notes that the sweet spot—so far, at least—is around one to two days at a time but continues to expand its product offerings.

While specialization in offsites is a more recent invention, the concept of hosting meetings outside of the usual office environment isn’t a new one. In the past, companies relied heavily on hotel conference rooms and restaurants to serve this function. But what the founders of Breather noted was that these spaces tended to be dark, outdated and lacking in consistency from one property to the next. Offsite operators were founded in answer to both the bustling co-working model and the outdated conference room options—providing a well-designed, quiet, tech-enabled space to focus that is completely private.

These providers lease smaller floor plates than their co-working counterparts, focusing on identifying niche areas in buildings where they can elevate the landlord’s offering in a low-impact way—serving as a building amenity that also provides revenue.

“While there is an audience for each flex space offering, what makes Breather stand out is our hands-on approach, our design and management of each space, which allows us to provide a consistent experience for our clients on a global level,” explains Jonap.

Peer-to-Peer: Making Use of Excess Space

The final piece of the flexible space puzzle has provided welcomed assistance to companies with excess space looking to offset their real estate costs. Peer-to-peer operators like LiquidSpace have, in a sense, become the Airbnbs of the office market.

As companies increasingly seek to consolidate space, and as the remote workforce continues to grow, firms are often left with unused space that can easily be monetized to help counterbalance overhead costs. These models allow companies to place their unused space on a centralized site, which individuals and companies can rent on an as-needed basis. Price points for these spaces tend to be lower than other options, though the quality of spaces being offered will vary widely, as will the level of privacy available.

“Each model has a place in the market, as this is not a winner-take-all industry. Companies can really take advantage of the flexibility to find what best suits their needs,” said Rudin.

Jonap agrees, noting that “by offering companies the chance to tailor their spaces to their needs, not just physically but through agreements which offer long term-flexibility without long-term commitment, Breather has created a truly flexible, space-as-a-service option for evolving companies, the value of which cannot be overstated.”

This article originally appeared on the Commercial Observer website.

May 8, 2018April 2, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

7 Techniques to Remember Anything

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May 1, 2018April 2, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

18 Ways to Generate Commercial Real Estate Leads

The most robust real estate marketing strategy in the world means nothing if it cannot effectively generate leads.

In commercial real estate, it’s critical that both marketing and sales efforts are 100% aligned to help create visibility, capture interest, and fill your funnel with warm leads that you can nurture and close.

Let’s take a closer look at 18 proven tactics to generate commercial real estate leads today.

Build a List from an Existing Commercial Real Estate Database

Mining your existing contact list is a good place to start and try to segment your contacts based on interest, profile type and level of prior activity. Even contacts that have been inactive for several years may prove to be potential opportunities as their needs may have changed alongside what you can offer. Reach out via email, phone, or LinkedIn to reengage these older contacts.

Research Contacts from Online Databases

Beyond your existing database, you can also create curated databases of potential leads from listing sites like Loopnet Property Records. Below is an example of how you can target building owners for a specific property and gain direct access to them and start filling up your contact list.

Use Prospecting Tools like ProspectNow

ProspectNow has a predictive algorithm that helps you identify properties that are most likely to be listed for sale in the next 12 months. The way the algorithm works is it looks at hundreds of data points each week on properties that are actually selling and then they apply the characteristics of properties that just sold to properties that have yet to sell.

Research Leads on LinkedIn

Use Linkedin’s people search to find prospects by location, industry, current company, and degrees of separation. You can then send direct messages to open doors and start your outreach efforts. If you want to get more serious about your lead generation, then check out Linkedin’s Sales Navigator tool. It is one of the most effective social selling platforms for CRE professionals that want to engage brokers, tenants and investors at scale.

Generate Leads Through your Website

The foundation of any inbound marketing efforts is a website that can be easily found and help successfully capture, engage and converts visitors into potential leads. No matter who your target is (investors, tenants, landlords) building an effective website is the single most important marketing asset of any lead generation effort.

Capture Your Blog Visitors

A blog provides high value content to prospects, as well as a new avenue through which they can find your website. Articles covering topics related to local real estate, commercial real estate in general, state and local laws and financial news, and editorial insights on recent events establish you as a thought leader and will generate new traffic for your website. Offer your visitors a simple way to subscribe to your blog by providing invaluable information.

Include Lead Generation Forms on Your Website

Contact forms are vital to capture user information when they are looking for for general questions, a consultation or sales call requests. Optimize your forms to be accessible on all devices while capturing all of the information you need. Some of the best practices for capturing visitors’ information is to minimize friction when filling out forms: include fewer form fields (3-5 is optimal), link to your privacy policy and pay attention to design and strong call to actions.

Create Gated Documents

In addition to your contact forms, you should have gated content in the form of eBooks, white papers, checklists, case studies, and other documentation. These gated documents, also known as lead magnets, can be promoted on relevant pages of your website, linking to forms that capture user information before they can download the content.

Target Prospects with Google AdWords Campaigns

Google AdWords is a massive advertising platform that allows you to reach people through pay per click campaigns. By targeting the location and property-specific keywords like “office space Chicago” your prospects are searching for, you can rapidly expand your reach and drive people to your website or landing page to convert them into leads. Google AdWords is expensive though, and in our previous post we analyzed the most expensive commercial real estate keywords, so you’ll need to carefully calculate which keywords you can actually afford to get a positive return on investment.

Advertise on Facebook

Facebook ads allow a social alternative to Google, with targeting based on demographics, location, and interests as indicated in Facebook Profiles. You can also target by Page (ex. anyone following CBRE, JLL, Colliers, etc.) , audience segment, or retargeting from previous visits to your websites. A well-optimized Facebook ad campaign can also be at times less expensive than Google’s larger platform. The goal of the ad is to drive a bigger audience to your lead generating page where they can download a piece of useful content or sign up and share their email with you.

Advertise on LinkedIn

More expensive alternative to Facebook ads are LinkedIn ads, that also allow you to target a very specific audience based on their job position, company, location, interests and skills. For example, if you are leasing a large bio/pharma space, you could launch a campaign and have your Ads show to any C-level executive in the Pharma industry in San Diego, CA.

Exhibit at Conferences and Events

Exhibiting at national conferences and local events exposes you to a large audience of potential prospects, opening up new networking and partnership opportunities, along with direct lead generation opportunities. Prior to the event, you can research who will be participating and setup as many meetings as possible to optimize your time while you’re in town.

Participate at Local Events

For events at which you cannot exhibit, attending and networking offers similar benefits. Local small business meetups, real estate seminars, or local conferences are all ideal locations to engage with prospective leads and partners as you build your personal and professional network. Again, make sure to setup meetings well in advance before the day of the event and remember that follow-up is the key to convert those business cards into opportunities.

Get an Event Attendee List

As an exhibitor at a conference, most conference organizers will provide at least a partial attendee list with the option to pay for access to the full list. Take advantage of this opportunity to access already warm leads with whom you have a direct connection from that event. Combined with both the inbound and outbound tactics mentioned above, you can drive new leads rapidly after a successful event.

Host a Networking Event

To ensure maximum exposure at an event, you can host it yourself. The focus of your event should be on providing value to attendees with a large turnout and ample opportunities to network with each other. The exposure you gain alone is enough to generate new interest and produce new leads.

Reach Out to Your Personal Network

Your personal network is a prime resource you can tap to spread the word about what you do and is oftentimes an overlooked “quick win”. While they may not represent potential commercial real estate sales leads, they can help to share details about your services, your listings, and may be able to provide referrals or new contact information for parties who are interested.

Ask for Referrals

Your most valuable list of potential leads is the one you’ve already converted to clients. Existing clients are most likely to recommend you because they are familiar with how you do business and can trust you. Never overlook the value of reaching out to existing clients and ask for referrals.

Connect with Current and Former Colleagues

The people you work with now and have worked with in the past are a prime resource for accessing a wider audience of potential leads. They can help to share information about your newest listings and may be personally interested in pursuing a conversation either for their current company or on behalf of a client.

This article originally appeared on the Sharp Launch website.

April 24, 2018April 2, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

Three Ways Millenials and Gen Z are Changing CRE

Although tech adoption has increased in recent years, the commercial real estate industry is still pretty old school. But that won’t be the case forever, and from the industry age gap to changing preferences in the workplace and market, Millennials, and Generation Z are already making waves throughout the industry.

Many segments of the CRE world are in need of young talent. The latest National Association of Realtors Commercial Member Profile said the median age of a commercial realtor was 60 years old. That dynamic is pushing companies across the industry to hire younger workers, and when it comes to work/life balance and commercial space needs, America’s younger generations have different expectations than their predecessors.

From a growing demand for remote work to market changes impacting future space needs, Millennials and Generation Z are forcing the industry to evolve.

Remote work

More than any previous generation, Millennials are pushing to work remotely. Deloitte’s 2017 Millennial Survey said 75% of Millennials want remote working to become an acceptable practice in their workplace. And while Millennials value the flexibility remote working offers, they also think it boosts productivity.

Given that Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce and many are taking on higher level positions, it’s only a matter of time before remote work becomes a feature across most industries. And as telecommuting technologies continue to get better, making remote work more and more feasible, it’s likely Gen Z will also expect to be able to work remotely at least part of the time.

This trend promises to change corporate culture across the CRE industry. It could also drastically reshape demand across office markets.

That’s because, as remote work becomes more mainstream, companies will need less space per employee. That could trigger a drop in demand for traditional office centers as organizations begin to reassess their space needs.

While this change may threaten some brokers, it’s an opportunity for those who manage to get ahead of it. So rather than relying on outdated strategies, consider creative solutions like flexible workspaces when thinking about how this trend will impact your market.

Technological fluency

Millennials are the most technologically advanced adult generation in history. But that’s changing as more Gen Zers enter adulthood and join the workforce.

Gen Z covers people born in 1995 or later, and while Millennials can remember dial-up internet and AOL, Gen Z grew up with smartphones. As both generations increasingly join the ranks of CRE professionals, the industry will feel even more pressure to speed up tech adoption as employee tech fluency increases. That’s good news for an industry that’s struggled to keep up with technology, but it could exacerbate generational challenges in the workplace.

As companies feel more and more pressure to up their technological game, it’s critical to find a balance that fits both young workers and older workers. That’s especially true in the CRE world, where many high level, high performing workers are older and not as familiar with technology as their younger counterparts.

Many brokerages are tempted to rush into the latest technologies, and although the right technology does make a huge difference, it’s important to make sure nobody gets left behind. That’s why, especially as younger workers become more commonplace across the industry, it’s essential to take the time to teach every employee how to use new technology.

Sloppy tech integration widens the technological divide and makes generational challenges worse. So as Millennials and Gen Z push the industry deeper into technology, make sure your organization takes the time to ensure all employees know how to use it effectively.

Redefining space needs

When they aren’t working remotely, Millennials and Gen Z have different space needs than older generations. From creative retail concepts to open offices that focus on collaboration, younger generations are forcing the industry to rethink how space is used faster than ever before.

The open office is the most obvious example of this, but the trend extends beyond the office sector. Nordstrom’s new Los Angeles inventory-less store is a great example of how space needs are also changing in the retail sector.

Nordstrom’s new store offers experiences rather than inventory, which fits perfectly with younger generations who take e-commerce and two-day shipping for granted. Much smaller than a typical Nordstrom store, Nordstrom Local measures only 3,000-square feet and aims to bridge the online experience with the in-store via personal stylists, espresso and beer.

It’s too early to say if Nordstrom’s strategy is working, but it’s clear this type of concept originates from shifting commercial space needs. Millennials and Gen Z are the driving forces behind these changes, and whether it’s new commercial space preferences or changing technological fluency in the office, organizations and individuals who manage to get ahead of these trends will reap the rewards.

This article originally appeared on the Apto Commercial Real Estate blog.

April 17, 2018April 2, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

How to Make a Good First Impression

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April 3, 2018March 1, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

How to Stay Focused If You’re Assigned to Multiple Projects at Once

Few people today have the luxury of working on a single project at a time; most of us are juggling the demands of many teams at once. In theory, this system of “multiteaming” offers a number of upsides: You can deploy your expertise exactly where and when it’s most needed, share your knowledge across groups, and switch projects during lull times, avoiding costly downtime.

The reality, though, as we found in our research over the last 15 years, is a lot more complicated. For many people, getting pulled across several different projects is stressful and less productive than theory would suggest. Switching attention between tasks takes time and saps your focus and energy. Moving between teams, you probably also need to adjust to different roles — you might be the boss on one but a junior member of another, for example — which changes not only your level of accountability but also your ability to juggle resources when a crunch time hits. Different teams encompass their own unique cultures, including relationships, routines, symbols, jokes, expectations, and tolerance for ambiguity, which requires energy to handle. And unless you carefully plan and negotiate your contribution on each team, you may end up doing repetitive work instead of pushing your own development.

How can you manage your time, stress, and development if you’re on multiple teams? And how can you stay focused on what’s most important? Start with some up-front planning and follow a few simple rules:

Prioritizing and Sequencing Your Work

Get the big picture. Focusing narrowly on a given day’s work puts you in a reactive, firefighting mode. Schedule a regular status check on all your projects to note milestones. By proactively identifying crunch times when multiple projects have high demands, you can better manage your time and set expectations. The speed and demands of your projects determine the ideal frequency of check-ins, and the management style and seniority of your stakeholders sets the tone for establishing priorities when push comes to shove.

Sequence strategically. Pick one task and focus on it intensely, rather than juggling. Start with the task that requires the greatest concentration and give it your undivided attention. Decide on a distinct set of must-achieve outcomes, define which actions are necessary to achieve only those results, and ruthlessly stick to them. Research shows that attention residue — thoughts held over from a project you’re transitioning from — takes up valuable mental space, so the fewer switches you can make in a given day, the better. If you must multitask, then coordinate and group any compatible duties. For example, if you know you are going to need to answer phone calls at random intervals, work on another task that can be interrupted at any time.

Setting and Communicating Expectations

Protect yourself. When you’re focused on a high-priority task, buy yourself a mental escape from unnecessary intrusions. For example, when I’m writing — my highest-concentration task — I put an automatic reply on my email telling people I’m not checking messages till a certain time of day, and offering my mobile number in case of an emergency. By telling people not to expect an instant reply, you buy yourself some time to focus, while reassuring them that you will pay attention — later. Including your phone number signals your willingness to respond but also makes people think twice about whether their request truly needs immediate attention.

Document and communicate progress. Seeing momentum helps your team leaders feel empowered and in control. Be up front when problems arise. The earlier you say, “I’ve got a conflict and might have trouble delivering 100%,” the more leaders will trust you. One seasoned team member in our research said many of his responses to team requests are simply two words: “On it.” Even this super-brief response tells colleagues that he received their request, so they know he’ll follow up when he can provide more details.

Optimizing Your Development

Know thyself. A big downside of multiteaming is the truncated exposure to experts from different areas, reducing both your chance to learn from them and your ability to create an impression. Under time pressure, the temptation is for each person to contribute where they already have deep knowledge, rather than investing in members’ learning and growth. You need to own your development goals and your progress toward them. Figure out who else on the team you want exposure to. Make your development goals explicit, to both your team leader and those experts.

Force thyself. After identifying your development goals, block out time for actual learning. Research shows that a critical determinant of learning is time spent reflecting on and integrating new information. This is a challenge, because multiteaming forces us to jump between projects with the express goal of reducing downtime. Therefore, you need to intentionally and explicitly schedule time for reflection. Obviously, you can’t go overboard and become a bottleneck just to carve out contemplation time, but make sure team members see reflection as “real work.”

Across the world, the significant financial benefits of multiteaming mean it has become a way of life, particularly in knowledge work, despite the stresses and risks it can pose for people working across multiple teams at once. As one of those team members, you can manage the trade-offs of working in an overcommitted organization and reap some of the benefits yourself.

This article originally appeared on the HBR website.

March 27, 2018March 1, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

7 Speaking Habits that Will Make You Sound Smarter

March 20, 2018March 1, 2018 sundancecompany Uncategorized

Don’t Write Another Email Until You Read This

Emails. Gotta write them. Gotta send them. But the person who gets them doesn’t have to do a single thing. They can ignore, delete, or just let them linger in inbox purgatory.

Which isn’t that encouraging, because after you spend all that time writing just the right message to a prospect, the last place you want it to go is in the trash.

So how do you write emails that get read—and even better, get a response? Today we’re sharing our top tips for writing must-read emails.

Make your subject line a slippery slope

Think of your subject line as a “slippery slope”—a phrase that makes your prospect want to click and read more. If you can’t pique their interest with this short sentence, then forget about the email itself. It’s not going to get read.

Here are three tips for a great subject line:

Put the important words up front. If people are reading your email on a smartphone, the subject line will get cut off at some point. Space is precious here—don’t waste it. Your subject line should be 6-10 words long.

Keep it simple and clear. What will the person get from reading this email? Say it up front. Don’t write something vague like, “Do you have a moment?” or “Good time to talk?”

Use the person’s first name. Research suggests that people are more likely to click on emails that use their first name in the subject line.

Don’t do what everybody else does

Everybody else fills their emails with reasons prospects should work with them. And all of their emails sound the same: I’ve done this, I’ve done that, I’ve been in this industry for 20 years, I’d like to talk.

Don’t do this. Instead, make your email about your prospect and their challenges or opportunities. For a refresher on how to do this, check out our related post on how to turn “me”-centered language into “you”-centered phrases people are more likely to respond to.

Only ask for one thing

Ever get an email and think, “Huh? What does this person want me to do?” That’s probably because the sender was so eager to tell you about everything that they forgot one very important thing: never ask for more than one thing in an email!

Decide what you want your email to do. Do you want people to check out a listing? To look out for your phone call? To set up a meeting? Then, ask clearly for just that one thing. It makes it simple for people to respond with, “Yeah, sure, let’s do this!” instead of wondering how to respond at all, and then letting your email languish in their inbox unanswered.

Put a timeframe on it.

Whatever your ask is, put a timeframe around it. For example, “Let’s connect this week—I can give you a call on Friday.” Or, “Send me a quick ‘yes’ now if you’re interested, and we can figure out the details this week.”

People appreciate when you let them know how much time they have to take you up on an offer, get a special perk, or simply respond to say they’re interested. It transforms your email from an ambiguous ask to a concrete action item, making it more likely that people will respond.

Give the freedom of choice

Now that you’ve made it clear what you want your prospect to do, give them the freedom to do it. Collectively, studies done on over 22,000 people show that they’re way more likely to take you up on your offer if you tell them, “But you are free to [insert action here].”

So tell them: “You are free to choose” or “I’d love to meet, but the choice is totally up to you” or “I think this would be extremely useful, but of course you are free to decide what’s best for you.” The exact wording doesn’t matter; it’s the spirit that those words convey that matters most. Even saying something like “don’t feel obliged” will work.

Slash it in half

To quote the late great American novelist Elmore Leonard, “I leave out the parts that people skip.”

Once you’ve written your email, go back over it and start hitting “delete.” Omit every word that isn’t pulling its weight by either specifically helping your prospect or persuading them to do the thing you’re asking (see tip #3). Cut out the fluff, the cliches, and the filler. You’ve got 30 seconds to inspire action. Don’t waste them.