Weaving Local Expertise into a National Narrative

Research Services has expanded its structure to include national service line support. With the rise of research requests, this new structure will ensure effective collaboration and consistent delivery across the Transwestern platform. Senior Managing Director Elizabeth Norton oversees the new initiative and shares the benefits of this strategy and her vision for the team.   

Why the decision to provide national service line support?

Elizabeth: Our industry relies heavily on analysis for decision making, and given the changing landscape in commercial real estate, this has resulted in more research requests. Additionally, because our clients often desire both a national and local perspective, we wanted to take a more active approach by streamlining our research deliverables so everyone throughout the organization can benefit. Most importantly, the addition of talented researchers over the past few years has provided more bandwidth to add creative new national offerings to local responsibilities, which ultimately will strengthen business development and client support.

How were the leaders selected for their new roles? 

Elizabeth: Transwestern has nearly 20 team members in Research Services, and some have predominantly worked within a particular service line and/or shown a special interest due to geography or composition of local teams. Our team has the skills necessary to drive this effort by analyzing national data and shaping the narrative around trends and opportunities in their area of interest. The majority of their time remains dedicated to local market needs, but this shift will elevate our research team members nationally, while adding a new layer of analysis to expand what we can offer our teams and their clients.

What is the process for engaging the assistance of one of these leaders? 

Elizabeth: In collaboration with service line advisors, each research leader has an established set of goals and deliverables they will work on throughout the year. These deliverables will roll out periodically — some monthly, some bi-annually — to not impact their local responsibilities. Content will take various forms, including unique thought leadership reports on trending topics, market reports, top 10 graphs that can be used for pitches or presentations locally, articles, talking points or social media campaigns.

We started in May and aim to highlight the work produced both internally and externally throughout the course of the year and beyond. In the future, the type of deliverables will likely evolve as we receive feedback from colleagues and clients. Meanwhile, if there is a specific ask from a client that falls outside the pre-established goals and deliverables, please reach out to me so that we can determine how our team can best respond to the request.

Congratulations to the following team members:

Jennifer Barili
Senior Research Analyst | Phoenix
National Investment Services Research Leader

Matt Dolly
Research Director | SAM
National Industrial Research Leader

George Entis
Senior Research Manager | San Francisco
National Multifamily Research Leader

Thomas Galvin
Research Manager | Los Angeles
National Asset Services Research Leader

Maurice Harris
Research Manager | Minneapolis
National Retail Research Leader

Robert Kramp
Vice President | Houston
National Healthcare/MOB Research Leader

Corrie Slewett
Research Manager | New York
National Tenant Advisory Research Leader