In an attempt to fight back in the post-boom (soon-to-be post-recessionary) time period, commercial brokerage firms are changing their market strategies. From company name and executive changes to adopting new management styles, nothing is safe from this near universal evolution commercial firms are undergoing.
For instance, the world’s third largest commercial real estate brokerage, Cushman & Wakefield, recently hired a brand new chief executive. They are taking advantage of the recessionary down-time to implement major changes in the structure of their company. The new chief executive’s plan? Change Cushman’s management style. Currently, the commercial brokerage beast organizes its brokers into teams and allows them to compete against one another, fighting for commissions. However, when that strategy is compared to the strategy of the world’s number one brokerage firm, CB Richard Ellis, a dramatic difference is quickly noticed. CB Richard Ellis does not separate its brokers into individual teams, but rather selects the appropriate agents and brokers for each particular assignment, ensuring their clients receive specifically tailored attention. Instead of allowing their own employees to compete with one another, they encourage their agents and brokers to support and assist one another.
first tuesday take: Never let a good recession go to waste! Follow the examples of the firms mentioned above. Those with the capability to take advantage of this dead period and make corrections and changes to their companies need to do so in order to be on top of their game when demand rises again.
As the economy is lifted back onto its feet, the commercial firms taking advantage of the slow recessionary period to smooth out their imperfections will find themselves running fast and far ahead of their competitors. This does not only apply to the big companies. Small commercial brokerage offices play the same game, but can and do make changes more quickly. They are more fleet-footed than the big stock market-related real estate brokers and just may be able to get a jump on them this time around.
Re: “Commercial Firms Fight Back in Post-Boom World” from the New York Times.
