Your clients are ready to grow their offices, but they’re not ready to move. How can you help?

Most realtors are used to helping clients scout out new Ann Arbor office locations. But what about the client who needs more room, but doesn’t want to change locations? Or those who need more room but are locked into a multi-year lease? Satisfying these clients can be a trickier balance for many realtors to strike but those who can find the perfect solution stand to win over the loyalty of their client for the foreseeable future. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Help them think ahead.

In the best-case scenario, you and your client talked about their future office needs when they moved into their current space. If they did, they’d probably have more options available to them.

For instance, they may have signed an agreement with the landlord to have an option on future office space Ann Arbor as it comes available in the building. Or they might have already searched for a secondary office location nearby. Either way, having an expansion plan in place will give your clients more options before they sign a multi-year lease.

2. Take a closer look at their current office space Ann Arbor.

Some clients don’t need a new location; they need to make better use of the space they have. This is where a professional designer or architect can come in handy. By rethinking the floorplan, they can come up with creative uses of the space that can be far more efficient than your client’s current layout.

For instance, it could be that by partitioning an oversized conference room your client could gain a new private office. Or taking down an inconvenient wall could open an area up and unite an overly-segmented office. And once your client has gone through a remodel, they may be more satisfied with their space than ever before!

3. Look for offices on the same floor or in the same building.

If your clients do have to expand, finding space in the same building is the ideal option. Having employees split across multiple floors can be inconvenient, but it still allows everyone to join up for team meetings.

If your client is lucky enough to have space open up on the same floor—or even in adjacent office spaces—they may be able to knock down a wall or two and unite the spaces. If not, think about how these different office spaces can share resources.

Maybe your client wants to have a larger break room on one floor, rather than two small break rooms on different floors. Or perhaps they would like to create quiet workstations on one floor, and collaborative space on another. Thinking through the space in this way opens up possibilities for your client that don’t exist with their current plan.

4. Is a second location in the cards?

Some organizations want to stay in one building, but for others, expanding to a second location can offer some definite perks. For instance, a secondary location could help businesses reach more clients, cut down the commute for some of your employees, and provide access to resources your current location doesn’t have.

That said, if your client is ready to expand into a second location, they will have to be ready to delegate. They won’t be able to stay in two places at once, and opening a new location will mean appointing someone to run that office. If your client isn’t comfortable with opening a separate location, it may be time for them to move spaces after all.

When is it time to relocate?

At a certain point, your client may be out of options. As much as they love their space, if their employees are working in cramped quarters and the break room is serving as an overflow space or a second conference room, it’s time to move.

Fortunately, moving locations offers plenty of possibilities for your client to turn their new office into their new ideal space. Talk to your client about how they want to use their current Ann Arbor office space, and consider having a design team come in to discuss the buildout of the new layout. If there are any problems with their current location, now is the perfect time to address them.

And don’t forget to talk to them about future growth possibilities. By planning, they will be able to make their new space last longer, and have more options to expand should the need arise.