Ballot proposal would harm Florida commercial real estate

03/31/2010

Members of the Palm Beach chapter of Realtors Commercial Alliance should be receiving an e-mail with a video in the campaign to defeat Amendment 4 this November on Florida ballots. This is the first in a number of videos planned for the next few months to bring to everyone’s attention the devastating effect the passage of Amendment 4 would have on business in Palm Beach and around the state.

This initial video focuses how a local initiative only a few years ago in St. Petersburg Beach has negatively affected not only business but that entire community. Its special focus will be on how the passage of this initiative impacted local taxes.

The Boards of Directors of both the Realtors Association of Palm Beach and your Realtors Commercial Alliance strongly urge the defeat of Amendment 4. Its passage would have a severe effect on all businesses in all industries.

While most of us do not have time to speak in front of groups of voters, we can take a few minutes to view each of these videos. Then each of us can take a few more minutes to forward each video to all of our friends, family, clients, prospects and business associates. That is the least each of us should do to help in the effort to defeat this amendment and to preserve our communities and our livelihood.

All of us are experiencing the most difficult business conditions in many years. The question is how to generate some business in this climate. If your phone is not ringing, then perhaps it’s time to make some outgoing calls.

A good way to start the process is to call your clients and prospects and ask them, “Are you familiar with Amendment 4?” Regardless whether they say yes or no, offer to send them the video. Call them back a few days later to get their reaction. Then call them with the next video. In the next six months, you will have spoken to a number of your Palm Beach prospects and clients several times.

Start a conversation when you speak with them. What property owner in Palm Beach County would not like to know the latest about what’s going on in the marketplace? Tell them what sales have taken place, what is happening with financing, what are current rental rates for the type property he or she owns, what is the current vacancy rate.

Ask about his or her plans are for their Palm Beach business. And ask whether the business need a larger or smaller space when the current lease expires and so on.

Will they be ready to do business with you? I can’t say. But I do know two things. First, they will respect you for being concerned about such an important issue as Amendment 4. Second, if you are not making your clients’ and prospects’ phones ring today, yours will not ring tomorrow.