Which Centers Do I Canvass?

A student asked me how to determine which centers I canvass. Do I go to the highly competitive set? Do I go to centers with similar features or demographics?

My short answer is ALL OF THEM. But it gets more nuanced:

My good friend Hue Chen (President of Saglo), one of the best canvassers in south Florida, says that 80% of the best canvasses come from centers within three miles of your subject center.

Canvass every center within those three miles consistently. Not every other week. But maybe every quarter, or every six months.

I have a Rule of Five that I abide by. It takes 5 no’s before a yes.

Timing is everything. A ‘no’ three months ago could be a ‘yes’ today. I have had countless deals where the prospect said ‘no’ to me repeatedly until the fourth or fifth time where something changed in their business, their lease, their location, or their industry that turned the ‘no’ into a ‘yes’.

So if you have a game-changer tenant you would die to have in your center, DO NOT GIVE UP ON THE PROSPECT BECAUSE OF A NO. Abide by the rule of five. Heck, maybe you have to stretch it to the rule of ten over a span of five years before the ‘yes’.

Anyway, those centers in the 3-mile radius are the ‘competitive set’. Once you have done that, look for centers outside of the 3-mile radius with similar features and demographics.

When you are out canvassing, pick up hard copies of the local newspaper in your market and go to the ads section. This will give you an idea of what tenants have multiple locations. You may notice that some cities have synergies, where lots of tenants have locations in the same cities. GO TO THOSE CITIES because that means those cities have similar demographics.

Go canvass! Don’t say no for the prospect! And don’t accept ‘no’ as a permanent answer!