Perennial Unanswered Questions... Recent Dispatches on service provider business models -- Colliers Turley Martin Tucker (Jul 9), Marcus & Millichap (Jul 18), CB Richard Ellis (Jul 30) and Sperry Van Ness (Aug 1) -- generated dozens of comments. So it's fun for me to reflect back over the past thirty years (man, that went fast) as a broker and (now) commentator. Just turn the clock back to 1970, 1980 or 1990. You'll hear the same issues hashed and rehashed.

What's a fair allocation of a firm's revenue between brokers, managers and owners? How can you build incentives to promote internal and external cooperation? How do you align the interests of brokers and clients? Bottom line: There's no one right model. One size does not fit all. Widely differing individuals and firms successfully deliver a huge variety of services. Here are a few interesting comments.

Craig Rowe at MetaPartners, Cary, NC: "The only thing holding back the collective move to a more consultative approach within commercial real estate is the fee structure. If a company's management (and it HAS to come from management) is insightful and inventive enough to adapt a team-sharing mentality, then a company will have a longer shelf life and in turn, increased broker loyalty."

Steve Collins at the Commercial Development Company in St. Louis, MO: "Perhaps we will see more tailored marketing programs (or groups of brokers) serving niche markets resulting in a dissolution of the "all-things-to-all-clients" model of traditional brokerage firms."

Lowell Peabody at NAI Hunneman Commercial in Boston: "Are we now in for another round of new brands being built or a return to the Wild West? Somehow, I think the Internet is providing a potential path to both ends."

--Peter Pike