SITE SELECTION 101 — A GUIDE FOR EXECUTIVES
TCN: Site Selection Begins With Needs
Assessment
DALLAS — "The greatest resource and tool in the site selection process is a very candid assessment of the needs, uses and drivers of what site works for the company."
That's the bottom-line advice of H. Ross Ford, president of Dallas-based TCN Worldwide, one of the largest service provider organizations in the commercial real estate industry.
 |
| Ross Ford, president of Dallas-based TCN Worldwide |
"The site selection process today is not just about transportation or demographics," Ford says. "It is a matrix of different factors. The corporate end-user must consider carefully the key location components that can make the business successful in the long term. My advice to any corporate real estate executive is simple: be open and candid about the drivers of your company's long-term success."
As the head of an organization that annually transacts $11 billion in real estate and manages more than 80 million sq. ft., Ford knows a thing or two about what drives a company's long-term results. He is also bullish about where the industry is heading.
"It is evident that an exciting new trend is developing," Ford said recently in an assessment of his company's 2004 performance. "Of our clients who completed transactions during the first half of this year (2004), 24 percent closed more than one transaction. This is not only an indication of expanding multi-market needs, but also illustrates the superior service TCN Worldwide members provide their clients."
Founded in 1989, TCN Worldwide is comprised of 45 independent real estate firms in more than 200 markets, employing more than 1,200 brokers and sales professionals in both primary and secondary markets around the globe.
In addition to site selection, TCN members firms provide such services as strategic planning and needs analysis, market and site analysis, transaction management, negotiation, financial analysis and deal structuring, lease administration, property transactions, database management, pre-acquisition due diligence and facility management.
Ford said that while no major shifts are occurring in the practice of corporate site selection, he does notice an increase in reliance upon electronic resources for data collection and analysis.
"Clearly, because of the Internet, the knowledge of the corporate end-user is increasing on a steady and rapid clip," he says. "They are increasingly adept at evaluating their needs. They can tap into Internet-based resources and other electronic resources outside their company. Plus, there are many Web-oriented listing services, and more and more property owners are doing an active job of marketing their properties directly to the end-users."
Does that trend leave brokers on the wayside? No, says Ford. "The Internet also enables the broker to develop a much broader base of information and then present it to the corporate client in a much more efficient manner," he adds. "Site selection has always been a mix of sites represented by brokers and companies dealing directly with owners, developers and communities. The Internet has just made for more knowledgeable consumers of our services."
Ford also offered some advice to economic developers. The best thing they can do, he said, is communicate more regularly with the site consultants who are representing corporate clients.
"Find a regular means of communication with both the consulting and brokerage industries," he advises. "We need to know the types of opportunities, benefits and incentives that you are pushing for your community. Frequently, the brokerage community is only shallowly aware of the opportunities that are out there. More information could enhance our ability to communicate your community's opportunities to our clients."
For more information on TCN Worldwide, contact H. Ross Ford or Claudia E. Crow in Dallas at 972-769-8701 or go to www.tcnworldwide.com.
