Transactions vs. Relationships... Last week's Dispatch, More Work. Less Time. Lower Fees. Who Said Life Was Fair? (June 4), generated many thoughtful comments. My friend Eric Powers with NAI Capital in Los Angeles wrote that brokerage efficiency often gets "crushed" when trying to marry the talents of street brokers with corporate services brokers. And he should know. After proselytizing technology for NAI corporate in more than 80 offices across the U.S., Powers is now "a transaction-oriented broker on the street making deals just like 95% of the rest of the brokers out there."

"The challenge is to show the street broker the benefits of process and technology when dealing with one-off transactions and smaller users. In this way, when the street broker is acting in a fulfillment capacity with a corporate services broker, he is more apt to fulfill client expectations. The street broker is most valued for his working local knowledge. He is a living database of market information. All the technology in the world will not tap the data possessed in the heads of street brokers. The corporate services broker will always need this data."

And brokerage firms are not the only ones feeling the pressure to execute transactions faster. According to the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the facility siting process has shrunk from six months to 45-90 days. So to make comparisons of communities easier, the IEDC has developed "Site Selection Data Standards," including 1,200 data elements organized into 25 spreadsheets. John Krug at the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission pointed me toward a fascinating paper describing the development of these standards, which you can download by clicking here.

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--Peter Pike