Best Practices + Templates
      Back to home
      1. Knowledge Base
      2. Best Practices + Templates

      Commercial Real Estate Email Best Practices

      Emails are the most underrated tool in CRE for getting leads.

      Sending out high-quality emails through Resquared has never been easier.  Use our best practices to set you up for success! The following tips and tricks are what we've seen consistently works in getting clients to not only open your emails, but engage with them and respond for more information.

      A few reminders to follow best practices...

      •  Include the use case and space available in the subject line. The goal is to get them to open the message. This is primarily determined by the subject line.  Keeping it short and casual usually results in higher open rates. 
        • Ex. "Space available for barber shop", “Downtown Denver Space Available for Coffee Shop”, “Midtown Center Needs Dental Office”
      • Send a short plain-text email. Emails that contain no special formatting, no images, no links, and no attachments are more likely to bypass spam filters.  As an added benefit of using plain-text emails, they usually get 10x higher reply rates. 
      • Include brief but unique details about the center and neighborhood. Can you think of the number 1 key feature to your center that might draw the eye of a prospect? Is it anchored by a big grocery store, or in a high-traffic area? Use that feature as your selling point in the first sentence of your message.
        • Ex. "I'm working with a Publix-anchored shopping center in the heart of Chicago.", or "I'm working with a high-traffic mixed use development, down the street from AT&T stadium”
      • Include one brief sentence about the vacancy itself. Be sure to include the use case for which you are wanting to fill the space with as well as anything that might be a key feature of the space itself.
        • Ex: “We have an end cap space available that would be great for a local mexican restaurant” “We have a former nail salon space available”
      • Personalize your email!  When you address someone by their first name or include the name of their business,  the recipient feels important, like you are only reaching out to them—personalization results in higher response rates. Resquared will insert the business name for you when you use the [business_name] merge field. 
        • Ex. "I was reading about [business_name] and I thought you would be a great fit!" “I think [business_name] would be a great addition to our center”
      • Include a question, or call-to-action. Your first initial email should be a conversation starter.  The email is a 'hello are you interested?'  All emails should have one specific ask. Something that makes it easy for the prospect to reply.
        • Ex. "Are you looking to relocate or expand?" “Can I send you some more information?” “When is a good time to connect?
      • Include a short, plain-text signature. Sign off with your name, your company or role, and whichever phone number you'd like prospects to reach out to you with. Allow the prospects to see you as a real person with an email signature, but keep any HTML and links out of it in order to avoid being identified as spam.
        • Thanks,
          Name
          Company Name/Job Title
          Phone Number

      Email template outline  for initial outreach

      You'll recognize the template below as the pre-built template in the Resquared email tool. That's because it works!

      • Hi, I’m working with a [#1 feature of center] shopping center in town.  We have a space available for [use case]. Do you have any plans to relocate or expand?  I was reading about [business name] and thought you might be a good fit.  Let me know and I can send you a flyer or set up a tour. 

      Here are a few examples:

      • Hi, I'm working with a Target anchored shopping center in downtown Atlanta that is home to many national retailers and located right off of I-75.  We have a 1400 square foot space available that would be great for a local sushi place. Do you have any plans to relocate or expand? I was reading about [business_name] and thought you might be a good fit. Happy to answer any questions.
      • Hi, I'm working with a mixed-use development in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Village Commons is home to 150 luxury apartments located right off of I-75. We have a space available and I think a sushi restaurant would be a great addition to the property. Do you have any plans to relocate or expand [business_name]?
      • Hi, I have a end cap space available in Village Commons that would be ideal for a sushi restaurant. Village Commons is right off of I-75 and is in the heart of the downtown area. I was reading about [business_name] and thought you might be a good fit. Can I send you some more information?

      What should I leave out of my emails in order to avoid no engagement or being sent to spam?

      • Words or phrases that are known to trigger spam. There are many lists out there that provide words you should omit from your email to increase open rate (check out this recent list from ActiveCampaign!) We'd strongly encourage staying away from spam tactics like adding "Re:" in a new email subject line, or words like "opportunity" in your subject or message.
      • Generic greetings, like "Hello" or "Good morning" that don't include a first name. If you see a clear first name in the email address you are messaging, then go for it and add it in (like "Hi Jessica!") If you don't have a name, you're better off starting with the body of your message to avoid coming off spammy.
      • Including square footage, or an exact address of the center. This is less of a spam trigger and more of a strategy - our goal with this initial email is to get a contact to engage, not to immediately sell them on the space. Once they respond, you get put on their "safe" list so you can later send attachments without going into spam. You also don't want them self-eliminating based on square footage or exact location. Just because this space might not work out, doesn't mean you won't have another that does!
      • Making your email too long. Data shows that the shorter the better when it comes to email length in prospecting. You should aim for the first message to come off more like a casual text message - just a few sentences! Similar to how you'd start a conversation with a friend.
      • Using CRE terminology. We advise against using words and phrases that can alienate the email receiver if they haven't heard those terms before. Examples include "lifestyle center", "power center", "inline", "outparcel", "Class A/B/C", etc. Same with "second generation" - using the words "former" or "built-out" perform much better.

      What are some of the most common mistakes people make when sending emails?

      1. Including HTML and/or links within the email. This often will get your email redirected into spam before anyone can even decide whether they want to open it or not.
      2. Not including any personalization. Have you ever opened an email and realized it was clearly a mass email and not designed for you? Did you feel like replying? Adding dashes of personalization (like referring to a specific type of business you are emailing, including their name, etc.) will instantly garner more trust with your potential leads.
      3. Using a generic subject line. Just saying 'Space available' isn't normally going to cut it. Inserting the use case or type of business within the subject line is much more likely going to spark their interest and get them to open the email.