It’s tough sailing for industry associations. Tight times always force some re-assignment of precious corporate capital, a direct threat to conference attendance and even membership,
and given the severity of this slump it certainly is no different now.
But the challenges extend far beyond the choice of which associations to keep and which to shuck. The very industry these groups
represent is in the midst of a major redefinition, with changing ten-ant/owner relationships, a dearth of deals in most markets and a
huge question mark hanging over the timing of a transaction-renewing recovery.
The leadership of the Washington, DC-based Society of Industrial
and Office Realtors isn’t passive in its position on these challenges.
In fact, the group, 3,000-plus-members strong, has mounted a
multi-tiered strategy to keep its roster of professionals engaged; to
offer content in its semi-annual world conferences, webinars and
market reports that is pertinent to the struggles they are facing;
and to grow its base of members. Yet, despite troubling times, SIOR
holds firm to the strict applications process incoming members
must face, never, as one of its leaders puts it, “sacrificing quality for
quantity.”
As Lynn Reich sees it, there are two primary challenges mem-
bers face today. The current SIOR president puts the dearth of
deals at the top of the list. “The deals that are getting done are
more difficult to complete and take more time,” she notes.
Next is the lingering effects of the economic downturn. “When
is it going to improve and what areas will provide the first opportunities for SIORs and their clients?” she asks. Faced with these chal-
lenges, Reich—and in fact the entire leadership of the associa-
tion—asks: “How do we keep the association relevant?”
David Zimmer, who takes over as president when SIOR hosts
its World Conference this month in San Antonio, sees the eco-
nomic challenges as setting a clear path for leadership. “The
cards have all been dealt,” says Zimmer, president of Zimmer
Real Estate Services in Kansas City, MO. “We know what our tax
rate is going to be next year; we know what’s happening in
healthcare reform. Uncertainty has been taken out, though we
may not like it. So it’s a question of creating top-line growth in
our business and our clients’ businesses.”
But those businesses are changing, forcing many brokers to
redefine themselves as professionals, a reality that drops yet
another challenge in the laps of SIOR leadership. “The old busi-
ness lines we grew up with have changed dramatically,” states
Zimmer. “It makes no sense to call on buggy-whip manufacturers.
Our people need to focus on life sciences, alternative energy and
the smaller, newer businesses that are emerging. As an industry,
and therefore as an association, we have to reinvent ourselves. We
think because we have 30 years in the business that we don’t need
to be retrained, but this is the exact time we have to do it.”
SIOR is there to help facilitate that retraining with an arsenal of
tools to keep membership informed. The most obvious is its con-
ference education sessions. In its World Conferences (also held
every spring in addition to its annual fall Leadership Conference
and in chapter meetings throughout the year), “We address the
changing demands of our membership, as well as the changes
