Watchword for Brokers: Solutions

NEW YORK CITY-Commercial brokerage is headed toward emphasizing comprehensive client solutions rather than focusing solely on transactions, said Jim Dieter, executive managing director of CB Richard Ellis’ industrial service group. Dieter’s observation–near the conclusion of Wednesday’s GlobeSt.com webinar, “Brokers: How Can We Make Money?”–summed up the advice he and his fellow panelists offered during the previous hour. The question posed in the webinar’s title could be answered as follows: by increasing the broker’s ability to provide value. Danielle Douglas, managing editor of Real Estate Forum, sister publication to GlobeSt.com, moderated the discussion.

“Brokers can make themselves indispensable by broadening their skill sets” and tapping into all that their firms can do for clients, said Vik Bangia, VP of national accounts at CresaPartners. The more that brokers can do to build an integrated services platform, the better their chances of survival, he said. Both Bangia and Greg Maloney, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Retail, urged brokers to “think outside the box.”

Richard Kimball, GVA Worldwide’s president and CEO, said this is a great time to expand existing client relationships and build new ones. However, he added, this networking won’t necessarily be accomplished on the back of deal flow.