In May, a few members of our corporate-services management team attended the Oncor conference in Las Vegas. We had the unprecedented opportunity to address a large gathering of top-tier real estate firms that are part of the affiliation. We were privileged to be the warm-up act for impressive keynote presentations from Jeff Schwartz, CEO of Prologis, and real estate legend Sam Zell.

Our overall presentation was on corporate services, but I made the simple observation that the biggest threat to the commercial tenant-rep professional isn’t the broker down the street, nor is it brokers who are part of the industry’s big three houses. I said the biggest threat to the average broker is that they don’t sell a platform. They are hanging by a thread, one that is in immediate danger of being cut.

Most commercial real estate brokers will tell you that they built their business by building personal relationships--relationships many believe are bulletproof. In an ideal world this is true; in solid relationships, clients would probably never use someone else. But things in this industry are becoming unequal rather quickly. Let me explain.

Real estate clients today are looking for more than just brokerage services. Several of the brokers that attended the conference said their clients are looking to them for lease administration and auditing, strategic planning and even project- or facilities-management services. The dilemma is that most of their firms don’t provide these services. The bigger dilemma is that, despite the sometimes-decades-long personal relationships in place, they will start losing clients if they don’t have a platform. Many came up to us afterwards to express their frustration and seek advice.

Obviously, our presentation was geared to promoting our specific platform as a solution. But the greater issue is why having a platform is important in the first place. If you’re a broker, here are a few observations to help you consider whether you’re hanging by a thread or weaving a web.

From the individual consumer side, consider what insurance companies are doing by entering the financial-services business. Insurance companies have discovered that it’s relatively easy for customers to switch companies for a single service such as car insurance. Many auto-insurance companies today (think Progressive) are using the internet to woo customers away from State Farm, Allstate and other larger companies--and many customers are making the jump. But what if you have your homeowner’s insurance, life insurance, stock investments and your 529 college-fund investments with one insurance company? Switching just became much more difficult. This same thing is happening in banking, and even retail where the service and repair of consumer goods is built into the sales channel.

From the corporate-services perspective, consider how many times a star broker leaves a large brokerage firm and takes along several existing client relationships. In some cases, a significant loss is felt throughout the firm. But, if a client is also using the firm for lease administration, project management or facilities management, the broker relationship alone will not be strong enough for the client to follow the broker to his or her new home. Well, you say, that sounds like good news for the company but not for the broker. Is there an upside?

Well, just like the insurance company example, when clients know that their broker can provide the entire spectrum of outsourced real estate services, they are less likely to shop around. The relationship changes from a risky single thread to a nice strong web.

The corporate real estate client is evolving, and the power of consumerism is alive and well in commercial real estate. For some brokers, selling a corporate-services platform will be a big challenge to their sense of autonomy and control. Others, however, will get it immediately and see the long-term benefits. The question for my colleagues in the brokerage world is: Are you ready to embrace corporate services?

Vik Bangia is managing director, strategic services for the corporate real estate services group of United Properties. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.