FIELD GUIDE 01 · COMMERCIAL PROSPECTING

Choose a focus you can actually cover

A useful prospecting lane is specific enough to build evidence, but broad enough to contain real work. Define it before building a list.

“I work commercial real estate” is not a prospecting focus. A focus is a working research boundary: property type, geography and question—not a promise of a transaction.

Start with a bounded question

Ask which owners or occupiers might benefit from a well-informed conversation about a specific property decision. Define the property type, geography, and decision horizon in plain language. Keep the boundary reproducible by another researcher.

Build a focus at three scales

Name the broad market and property type, the practical submarket boundary, and what qualifies at property level. Write exclusions and edge cases down. Draw the boundary on a working map and keep the rule behind it.

Test the lane before committing

1. List records and sources; note date and limitations.
2. Manually verify a modest sample instead of treating an automated list as ground truth.
3. Keep owners, occupants, managers and mailing contacts distinct.
4. Choose a review date based on evidence and team capacity.

Market-analysis education helps structure questions, but does not replace local verification or justify borrowing conclusions for a different place or date.

Write the working definition

Record included types, boundary rule, exclusions, evidence sources, access date, open questions and review owner. If a source is incomplete, document that limitation rather than reshaping the focus around one appealing prospect.

Sources and next steps

CCIM CI 102 market analysis course · NAR Commercial Real Estate Market Insights · SIOR Education and Insights

See separate owner and occupier evidence, plan the next conversation, or use the Commercial Opportunity Brief. This guide makes no claims about current market conditions.