Transparency and openness have long been hallmarks of the SVN culture and business model. Embracing and fostering inclusivity drives our approach to practicing commercial real estate, which is rooted in proactively cooperating and collaborating with our colleagues, communities, and even our competitors. It is this shared vision that enables SVN to create more value for our clients — 9.6% more value, to be exact.
We recently held our quarterly “JumpIN” event, which is designed to acclimate and welcome new-to-SVN advisors to the systems, tools, resources and culture inherent in the organization. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain and inviting you in to one of our internal JumpIN training sessions. And in the open and transparent manner in which SVN operates on all fronts, we’re giving you a closer look at how we train and develop our SVN advisors and staff.
The commercial real estate industry is rapidly growing and constantly evolving, driven by powerful, transformative trends in technology, consumer behavior, culture and more. In such a dynamic, mercurial and competitive industry, it’s critical now more than ever to build a strong point of differentiation that helps an SVN advisor stand out as the advisor of choice.
So, what makes one commercial real estate advisor stand out from another? As a CRE broker, what can you offer that your competition can’t (or won’t)? How do you become truly different? And, ultimately, how do you leverage your point of differentiation to create more value for your clients, colleagues, and communities?
These were some of the questions that led to the creation of what we call The SVN Difference.
One of the most profitable commitments SVN advisors can make is to become a champion of understanding and articulating all components of the SVN Difference. Just as its name implies, The SVN Difference is the strongest differentiating value proposition that SVN advisors have — it’s the sharpest tool in the toolkit.
Democratizing commercial real estate information to bring greater transparency to the marketplace is receiving an abundance of attention today – our company and the SVN Difference were built on this idea in 1987.
Our forward-thinking, innovative approach early on positioned SVN to be on the bleeding edge of technology in CRE. For 30 years we have pioneered the development of online collaboration platforms, allowing us to deliver better results for our clients. In fact, SVN was the first firm in the industry to connect our offices in the southwest via a local area network. Later, SVN developed the industry’s first online publishing platform, known today as Buildout. Today, we’ve opened up our weekly in-house sales meeting, SVN Live, to anyone who wishes to participate.
So, what does all of this mean?
It means that SVN was built to be future-proofed.
It means that SVN was built to deliver better results.
It means that SVN was built to last.
The commercial real estate brands with whom SVN competes are all themselves competing on size and breadth. Whether it’s the highest number of brokers, greatest number of markets served, or the most access to data — they are all issuing the same narratives. It is therefore our job as SVN advisors to effectively articulate our compelling point of difference and demonstrate what we can do that the competition cannot.
It’s important to keep in mind that the SVN business model is rooted in openness and transparency in conjunction with a fee sharing model, which ensures that we’re putting our money where our mouths are.
Unfortunately, SVN is the exception — not the rule. But it’s our mission to change that.
It’s rare for the industry to step back and question the soundness and integrity of industry business models of which they are a part and ask, Why do things work this way?, Why do other industry brokerage models fly in the face of fundamental economics? For instance, today, more than 80% of investment sales transactions are double ended (e.g., the same broker who lists the property also finds the buyer). This happens in an environment where more than 65% of all buyers come from out of state, and more than half the buyers can be categorized as new or unlikely buyers. These buyers are not in any one broker or brokerage firm’s database.
This begs the question: Are the seller’s interests placed first, or are the broker’s (and his/her quest to earn twice the fee)?
Upon close inspection of the commercial real estate industry, you’ll see clear points of differentiation between SVN and its global competitors. Exemplary SVN advisors understand that the key to success is mastering these differences and leveraging them to offer clients something the competition is unwilling or unable to offer.
Models like SVN, which embrace automation, collaboration and cooperation, are uniquely positioned to take market share in this era of change, as client behaviors and expectations evolve. SVN advisors have a tremendously powerful competitive differentiating value proposition to bring to the table.
SVN advisors are part of a brand that offers something completely different from what any local, regional, or national firm is offering. This is the SVN Difference. And this difference is what ultimately creates 9.6% more value for our clients.
Now that’s a tremendously powerful competitive advantage.
About SVN:
The SVN organization is a globally recognized commercial real estate entity united by a shared vision of creating value with clients, colleagues, and our communities. The SVN brand is comprised of over 1,600 advisors and staff in more than 200 offices across the globe in six countries. Our brand pillars represent the transparency, innovation, and inclusivity that enables all our advisors to collaborate with the entire real estate industry on behalf of our clients. SVN’s unique Shared Value Network® is just one of the many ways that SVN advisors create amazing value with our clients, colleagues, and communities. For more information, visit www.svn.com. All SVN offices are independently owned and operated. To learn more about becoming an SVN commercial real estate business owner, visit http://www.svn.com/franchising-opportunities/