A combination of factors determines how invested the flexible office space market will be in converting your enquiry:

When using an intermediary / broker to find your Coworking solution, two main themes will make you stand out: the physical and the time-based.

On the one hand, the size of your search, the location you are targeting and the budget you command – these are the physical aspects they will use to grade how ‘hot’ a prospect you are.

On the other, the urgency of occupation – this is the time-based likelihood of your search converting quickly.

This is then mapped against vacancy levels in any given building, which in turn influences how much negotiating power you will have with the coworking sales representative selling that space. We cover strong negotiating tips in this blog post.

The matrix below gives an insight into how these factors combine to influence the level of “Thrill” and “Effort” you are likely to see from the agent you are approaching to help you navigate the flex space market.

Coworking is a fast-paced sector: urgency is psychologically the strongest influencer – from an individual sales perspective, it has an immediate impact on their commission / bonus in the short-term.

But for the most part, internal allocation of enquiries to sales agents rarely takes urgency or budget into account – size and location are the common when dividing enquiry flow between “Tiered” sales agents, who will typically cover a set range of sizes (1 to 10 desks, 10 to 20 desks etc.) in specific locations (London, regions etc.)

Bigger leads in more prestigious locations go to more experienced people.

Regardless of which size of coworking space you are seeking, you will fall somewhere between the lower and higher end of an agent’s size specialism.

The location you are after will also be part of an agent’s broad geographical flex space coverage and they will invariably prefer some locations in their remit over others.

So it’s important to understand where you fall on the “thrill and effort” scale since this will have a direct bearing on how impactful a service you will receive.

Understanding how to choose your agent will help you make informed decisions: we have put together a useful set of guidelines to consider in this article.

It is also very important to pay attention to how engaged the agent is when speaking with you from a qualification / discovery perspective. There will be a strong correlation between how much information they want to get from you and how strongly they perceive you as an exciting prospect.

There is a wealth of information they can ask you about – we cover the depth of qualification in this article to give you an idea of what to expect and prepare for.

If you would like help with making the right choice when considering which flexible office broker to engage with, please feel free to reach out for an open conversation and recommendations.