Posted By Bob Albanese
In this time of almost apocalyptic change on the consumer side of our business, evolution must also continue in the area of business consulting and service support from a B2B perspective. It seems to me that the very word “consulting” is being associated with a more generalist type of role rather than one of a serious business-development function. Innovation in producing creative financial reporting structures, business analytics, menus of strategic services, and competitive analyses is needed in order to help real estate brokerages thrive and expand their each.
Over the past nine years, I have been in the enviable position of having conversations with principals from many real estate organizations across the United States and Canada. Meetings would often lead to points regarding the support required in order to remain competitive through market changes. The results of those conversations can be summed up in the following four key observations:
- Business tool development needs to stay ahead of rapidly changing broker needs.
- Service delivery to brokers should be led by”expert” stake holders, not generalists.
- Corporations need to maintain focus on the fact that “all real estate is local.”
- Overall communication with business support personnel must be frequent and substantive.
Good business practice calls for clarity, vision, and creativity at this time. Diligence is needed in developing new and meaningful business-building tools designed to help real estate leaders better understand their challenges and capitalize on the many opportunities that surround them. To the degree that this is accomplished, business consulting in the real estate industry will remain a vital and relevant force for years to come.
