Our overall presentation was on corporate services, but I made the simple observation that the biggest threat to the commercial tenant-rep professional isn't the broker down the street, nor is it brokers who are part of the industry's big three houses. I said the biggest threat to the average broker is that they don't sell a platform. They are hanging by a thread, one that is in immediate danger of being cut.

Most commercial real estate brokers will tell you that they built their business by building personal relationships--relationships many believe are bulletproof. In an ideal world this is true; in solid relationships, clients would probably never use someone else. But things in this industry are becoming unequal rather quickly. Let me explain.

Real estate clients today are looking for more than just brokerage services. Several of the brokers that attended the conference said their clients are looking to them for lease administration and auditing, strategic planning and even project- or facilities-management services. The dilemma is that most of their firms don't provide these services. The bigger dilemma is that, despite the sometimes-decades-long personal relationships in place, they will start losing clients if they don't have a platform. Many came up to us afterwards to express their frustration and seek advice.