Pursuing Unification
Bercu says that Colliers “made a decision earlier this year to unify the brand, and move from
a network to a global international service provider with 15,000 professionals and 480 offices
in 61 countries, offering stability and a full
range of services to its clientele.” The model
differs from those of Jones Lang LaSalle and
CB Richard Ellis, he says, the two firms that
Colliers deems its biggest competitors. Both
are publicly traded companies.
“Colliers has a major investor, First Service
Corporation, of which it’s a subsidiary,” Bercu
explains. “The local offices are not wholly
owned; they still retain considerable equity.”
This way, he explains, “We feel we have a
platform that provides financial stability and
access to capital but yet has local accountabil-
ity and expertise. That profile is what attracted
our firm here to partner with First Service.”
Bercu says that this model has been very
well received and embraced by employees and
clients. “Previously Colliers was a very well-
run network, but it was confusing because it
had all those different names,” Bercu explains.
“Now, we present ourselves as seamless—one
name, one unified brand—and we are finding
that our clients and employees are very recep-
tive. We’ve changed our name to Colliers
International (from Bennett & Kahnweiler.)”
The mere fact that all of the strong local
offices have made the same decision, which
was not an easy one, “is recognition that the
Colliers platform and brand is a proven one,
and one we are all willing to move forward
with,” says Bercu.
Training for Expertise
“We’re trying not only to get people to specialize but to also get to know the movers and
shakers in the area,” says Thomas of Grubb &
Ellis. “We do a lot of training. It’s a major part
of our culture.” That training, he says, includes
lease documents, time management, even minimizing the risk of legal action. “We have 10
principals who are all very involved in client
business,” he notes.
“The days of hanging around the club play-
ing golf or going to Rotary meetings to win
business [are over]. They may get your foot
in the door, but you need to give good, solid
advice,” adds Linderman. “There has been a
paradigm shift; nobody goes to a CPA or law-
yer to get advice for free. We get our guys to
move to a professional mindset: Know the
lease document, [and know] how to present
and communicate the financial aspects of the
deal. We push our advisors to train themselves
and act like professionals.”
“It’s a problem-solving mentality,” adds
Thomas. “We’re doing exceptionally well this
year because we’re busy solving problems.”
In addition, he says, he encourages a team
approach. “If one broker specializes in office
space and has an industrial client, [that broker]
will team up with an industrial broker to serve
that client’s needs,” he explains.
Consultant Sees “Fuller Picture”
“We are a real estate consulting firm more
than a straight brokerage firm,” says Maura
Cochran, SIOR, of the Hartford, Connecticut-based Bartram & Cochran, a three-person firm
consulting to corporations, institutions, and
nonprofits.
“We realized brokers were not seeing the full
picture, but rather just looking at transactions,”
she says. “I interviewed clients and asked what
services they needed and unbundled them. I
realized people will pay fees for work.”
Her firm’s model, says Cochran, is similar
to the U.K. model of chartered surveyor. “We
get a bit of the action for everything, and over
time it adds up,” she says. “We can help clients
negotiate tax incentives; we go to public hear-
ings. Municipalities hire us so that, when they
get business proposals from firms coming into
town, we can tell them if it’s good or bad for
the municipality.”
When the size of her firm creates limita-
tions, she continues, she can call on up to 10
associates. “We just went after and won a
major account,” she notes.
Small Firms Can Re-Invent Themselves
One of the advantages of being a small firm,
says Daniel G. Zelonker, SIOR, of Mizrach
Realty associates in Miami, Florida, is that they
are nimble enough to re-invent themselves.
And his firm has done just that. “We intend to
evolve into a hybrid firm, and we need to think
outside the box to survive in the business going
