orporate real estate executives know what they want in a service provider: a listening ear, a capable team and a commitment to deliver on the project.
Two long-time service providers who have worked with hundreds of national clients say that these three qualities are essential to providing superior service to a corporate real estate department.
“Corporate real estate executives are looking for capability and commitment,” says Mark M. Sweeney of the McCallum Sweeney Consulting firm in Greenville, S.C. “The range of responsibilities for CREs can be vast, but when looking for outside help, the CRE wants someone who has the capability to do the job right and has the commitment to do the job well.”
Sweeney should know. As a principal at MSC, he has represented such global giants as Boeing and Nissan in nationwide searches for a manufacturing plant. “At MSC, one of our founding principles is commitment to customer service, and we know that is one of the reasons our clients are satisfied with our work and keep coming back with repeat business,” he says.
Sweeney adds that the service provider must possess the technical tools of the trade, such as GIS and other technology applications, and the knowledge of how to use them. Also required are “extensive field experience, both strategic and tactical capabilities in incentive negotiations, and an uncompromised commitment to the client.”
Robin R. Spratlin, general manager of economic development for Atlanta-based Georgia Power, has worked with many global corporations seeking plant locations in the South. From her perspective, what clients want more than anything are service providers who will listen.
“By far, the most important thing a service provider can do for a prospect is to listen to them – listen to their needs, to learn what’s important, to understand what they are really seeking and help them find it, not just try to ‘fit’ the prospect into the site or building you want to promote,” Spratlin says. “At Georgia Power, our goal is to make the prospect’s job easier, serving as a conduit to all the resources they need at both the state and local levels, functioning almost like an adjunct to their own staff.”
Speaking for many service providers, Spratlin adds,
“When we can help make the prospect successful, then we’re successful”
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