First year prospecting?
I'm a new broker in the business focusing on tenant rep office leasing. Today marks my ninth month in. What advice would you give a new broker on how to prospect? 

Obviously cold calling, emailing, canvassing are all the known ways but if someone could elaborate on strategic ways to prospect it would be very helpful. 

Problem I'm having is that every time I get to a decision maker, they already have a broker. 

Many thanks!
[{"id": "d51kzq5", "text": "There have been a lot of similar threads on this recently. Everyone cold calls and emails. My advice would be to have some type of deliverable, whether that be a market report, industry specific report, team overview, etc.\n\nPhysically mail this deliverable to your target list, with \"ATTN: Decision maker name\" on the top. Sometimes writing \"Personal Confidential: Decision Maker Name\" on the envelope gets their attention.", "replies": [{"id": "d51ro3u", "text": "I like this approach, thanks.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d51luyp", "text": "Are you at a major brokerage firm? If so, have your marketing coordinator put together a personal \"leave behind\" that you can take with you highlighting who you are, who your company is, and some interesting market stats. Leave these with decision makers with a hand written note saying something to the effect of \"sorry I missed you, would love to discuss options in the area, call me at X\". People appreciate the extra effort, if they already have a broker they may still give you a shot. \n\n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d528049", "text": "Honestly cold calling. It sucks but I feel like a decent percentage of calls I make end up turning into something 6-12 months later. Its like that movie inception. You're planting a seed. Just make sure they remember you, so if you talk on the phone get their email and follow up w/ your contact info. ", "replies": [{"id": "d58pe5u", "text": "What has worked for you specifically that makes them remember you?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d5310xa", "text": "I'm not a broker, but I've literally talked to hundreds and put a lot of research into this topic. I agree with the the other posters that cold calling and leave behinds are key.\n\nI would add that strategic cold calling is imperative. It takes the right data, which is where research and due diligence come into play. It's the daily grind, but the more you do it, and catalog it as actionable data, you'll quickly become a market expert that delivers value making your offering all the more enticing.\n\nCheck out this resource for more ideas on the matter: http://www.apto.com/best-practices/prospect-and-nurture\n\nCheers!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d54jqsu", "text": "Agree with Raleigh, most calls you make won't amount to much right away and the one's that do will be a pain because the person has waited so long and will want all of your attention because they decided to procrastinate. \n\nKeep a good CRM with alerts to call each person at least 2 x a year. \n\nA lot of the older brokers are moving out of the business and the mid to new brokers tend to like email blasts. I've seen the numbers though, using email blasts like salesforce (iirc) a lot of people unsubscribe or the opens you do get are just a broker that has forwarded it to multiple clients/other brokers. \n\nMy broker I work with is old school, he loves physical mail. I've picked up the phone multiple times with an old lady on the other line claiming to have a flyer our company sent them regarding their property 15 years ago and are now looking to unload it. It costs a lot to mail stuff nowadays so when you do cash a commission save a good portion for mail postage and media. \n\nOther than that I would say ask around with other brokers who have listings. If they have a listing in an area you want to work ask if they will put you on their brochure so you can go door to door in the area and hand out flyers. None of them will turn down the free help in marketing. This will also allow you to see the inside of the building which is important as a new broker and it will make your introductions to the receptionists a lot less awkward. \"Hi, we have this building you might be interested in... what do you guys do, who's the boss, can I have a business card, can I get a tour etc.\" vs. \"Hi, I'm new and active in your market and want to sell/lease your building.\" \n\nAlways grab their business card and take notes on the back. Protip: as a new broker leave all of your collected business cards strewn about your desk in a large heaping unorganized pile. It looks like you are really out there busting your butt knocking doors. ", "replies": [{"id": "d57ckyl", "text": "I love this, mainly for the cards strewn around the desk :-)", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]