The Art of Follow Up in Commercial Property Investing: Why Persistence Pays!
This article was first published in Property Investor News, July 2025
If you’re a property investor, there are many skills you need in your armoury! But there is one skill that I think can make sure you can get the very best deals out there. Indeed, sometimes it’s not about having the biggest war chest, the best connections, or even the sharpest negotiating skills. It’s something far simpler yet infinitely more powerful: the art of follow up.
Whilst this is a longer-term approach to getting deals, in my experience this is one of the best ways to get the very best deals out there. However, it’s definitely not a sexy strategy! It requires systems, patience and persistence!
The Current Commercial Property Market
The UK commercial property market is still nursing a hangover from the past few years. Interest rate shocks, economic uncertainty, and changing work patterns have reduced pricing. This makes it a great window of opportunity in which to buy deals at much reduced prices. But many vendors are clinging to peak valuations, hoping the recovery will start soon! Meanwhile, agents are doing what they do – talking up prices because that’s their job!
But beneath this surface optimism, there are cracks. Financing costs have at least doubled for many owners and tenant demand has shifted dramatically in some sectors. Indeed, the vendors who may seem unmotivated today are often just one quarterly review, one rent review, or one refinancing conversation away from a complete change of heart. This is the territory where the art of the follow-up is essential.
Understanding the Psychology of Property Decisions
Commercial property decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. They’re the result of complex business pressures, personal circumstances, and market timing that can take months or years to align. The vendor who laughs off your offer today might be desperately seeking your phone number six months from now.
Consider the typical journey toward motivation (and, let’s face it, many of us have been there!). Initially, owners are comfortable – financing is manageable, tenants are paying rent. Your offer arrives 20% below asking price and feels insulting. The vendor isn’t motivated because they don’t need to be. However, timing is everything, and markets evolve. That comfortable variable rate mortgage could become a financial burden when rates increase; a key tenant may give notice; personal circumstances may change – health issues, family pressures, partnership disputes. What seemed insulting six months ago suddenly looks like a lifeline.
The problem? Most investors have already moved on, leaving the field clear for the patient few who understand strategic persistence.
The Follow-Up Framework
Effective follow-up isn’t about being pushy. It’s about maintaining professional relationships and staying visible when circumstances change. Think of it as positioning yourself as the obvious solution when problems arise.
When making your first offer, frame it as the beginning of a conversation: “I understand this might not work at the current asking price, but I’m genuinely interested and would welcome the opportunity to discuss options that might work for both of us.”
When rejection comes, meet it with gracious acceptance and a clear signal that the door remains open: “I completely understand. If circumstances change or you’d like to explore options in the future, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
And then you need to diarise regular follow up calls and e mails thereon in. I usually ask for permission to do this – it usually lands better than just diving straight on in!
Building rapport with both agents and vendors is key to this strategy. And, of course, it’s always important to try to get close to a vendor despite ‘agent gatekeepers’. Just remember to never cut the agent out of the deal or they will (usually) never forgive you!
Working With Agents: The Follow-Up Partnership
Whilst you can buy direct to vendor, most deals in the commercial property world are done via agents – particularly off-market. And if you can buy cash you will jump towards the front of the queue! The key is becoming an agent’s “go-to” cash buyer. Cash is king in commercial property – it eliminates financing risk, speeds up completion, and often secures deals that financed buyers simply can’t compete for. When you build this reputation, you’ll get calls about properties before they hit the market.
Vendors and agents who want speed and certainty know that cash buyers usually don’t fall through due to financing issues, can complete in weeks rather than months, and often accept properties in their current condition. This gives you enormous leverage, especially with motivated sellers who need certainty and speed.
And remember, agents get paid when deals complete. If you’ve established yourself as someone who actually buys properties, agents will start thinking of you when vendors become realistic about pricing.
Securing Off-Market Opportunities
You can find off-market commercial deals in many ways including the following:
- Commercial agents are probably your most valuable resource. Building genuine relationships with commercial agents means gaining access to their deal flow intelligence. When vendors are considering selling but haven’t formally instructed, agents have quiet conversations with their most reliable buyers.
- PropTech platforms like Nimbus Maps, Searchland and Co Star can provide detailed ownership information and lease data that you can data scrape for direct to vendor campaigns. Just remember that you rarely get leads with your first letter campaign. That systematic follow-up with property owners often results in direct approaches months or years later. When vendors want to test the market quietly or avoid agent fees, they remember the professional investor who stayed in touch.
- Land Registry searches can reveal when properties were purchased, and mortgages taken out. Most commercial mortgages have 3-5 year terms, so properties bought or refinanced in 2019-2021 are hitting renewal now at much higher rates.
- Companies House filings can show debt levels, profitability trends, and director changes. Look for companies with increasing debt, declining profits, or recent director resignations.
- Planning portal searches often reveal lease information in supporting documents – existing lease details, tenant information, and break clauses that most investors ignore.
- Professional referral networks generate significant off-market flow. Accountants dealing with business sales, solicitors handling estate planning, and corporate finance advisors all encounter property disposal requirements.
The key to securing off-market deals is being ready to move when opportunities arise – having financing pre-arranged, legal teams ready to go, and the ability to make quick decisions. If you niche your strategies this can be made a whole lot easier as you are familiar with the market and can move quickly.
Timing Your Follow-Up Strategy
Financial pressures tend to follow quarterly cycles. Most business owners review their finances quarterly, so timing your follow-up calls to coincide with these natural review periods increases your success rate. Lease events create particularly powerful motivation windows. A tenant giving notice, a lease break being exercised, or a rent review going badly can completely change an owner’s perspective on their property’s value.
Your follow-up communications should always add value, not just ask for updates. But remember, there’s a fine line between persistence and harassment! Effective follow-up is about being memorable for the right reasons. You want to be the investor who’s professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely interested in win-win solutions. Remember that you’re building relationships, not just chasing deals.
Systems are key to making this effective. Use a system that works for you, but make sure you have a CRM system, and diarise regular follow ups.
Making It Work in Practice
The follow-up strategy delivers real results. But let’s be very clear. This is not about taking advantage of distressed sellers. Everything we do must be an ethical win-win. It’s about providing solutions when people need them most. The vendor who eventually accepts your follow-up offer is often genuinely grateful to have a reliable buyer who can complete quickly and professionally.
Asking prices are often unrealistically high in the current market. Ignore those and submit offers that are affordable and will make deals work well in the long term. While your competitors are constantly chasing new leads and fighting over the few properties that come to market at realistic prices, you’re building a pipeline of opportunities that others have forgotten about.
In today’s market, the follow-up artist doesn’t just survive – they thrive. It’s not sexy – but it works! While everyone else is fighting over the scraps, you’re quietly building relationships that will deliver the best deals for years to come!
