What Really Matters

In the business of advising office tenants on leasing space, services are provided by a wide range of firms—from solo practitioners to global public companies with thousands of employees. As in any competitive industry, each firm tries to differentiate itself by highlighting its strengths while casting doubt on the competition.

A solo advisor may tout the benefit of personal, senior-level attention. These individuals often come from larger firms and claim they started their own shop after seeing firsthand how poorly those firms served clients. They may suggest that larger firms don’t give smaller clients the attention they deserve.

Other firms promote their "conflict-free" status, emphasizing that they only advise tenants. This pitch plays on the fear that so-called “full-service” firms—those that serve landlords, tenants, and others—may have divided loyalties, resulting in weaker advocacy. Some small firms also carve out niches in sectors like legal or nonprofit, positioning their services as uniquely tailored to those industries. To an untrained ear, these claims can sound compelling.

Here’s the truth: most of these marketing messages offer little real value to the client. They're often crafted to distract or instill fear—suggesting risks to avoid while promoting themselves as the solution. This is true for both the "conflict-free" narrative and the "we specialize in sector X" pitch.

So, what really matters when hiring a tenant advisor?

Four things: information, analysis, strategy, and experience/credibility.

Let’s start with information. Office markets are notoriously opaque. The more active and broadly engaged a firm is, the more it knows. For example, a small firm with a few tenant-only brokers will have far less visibility into market dynamics than a larger firm with teams engaged across tenant representation, landlord agency, capital markets, and asset services. Advisors at larger firms often understand the financial posture of buildings—details like cost basis, debt levels, and landlord motivations. This knowledge enables them to create negotiating leverage based on real-time situations like lease rollovers or looming loan maturities. Robust firms also track all lease transactions, not just asking rents, giving their clients a clearer picture of real market conditions. In soft markets especially, the spread between asking and actual deal terms can be wide.

Analysis is equally critical. Having data is one thing—knowing what to do with it is another. The best advisors work with research teams that extract meaningful insights to inform strategy. Firms like Cushman & Wakefield, for instance, have global research departments dedicated to this task.
Strategy emerges from experience, collaboration, and innovation. Leading firms foster a culture of shared best practices and continuous improvement. They attract top talent and serve some of the world’s most sophisticated corporate clients—raising the bar on strategy development. But sound strategy depends on a strong foundation of accurate data and analysis.

Experience and credibility go hand in hand. You want the most experienced broker at the most capable firm. Why? Because landlords and their agents know how to "underwrite" the broker across the table. When they see a less seasoned broker from a smaller firm, they assume (usually correctly) that this broker lacks market insight and negotiation savvy. As a result, they offer weaker terms. An experienced broker, on the other hand, knows when a landlord has recently made more favorable deals—and can push for the same.

With so many claims being made, it can be difficult to know whom to trust. But if you evaluate potential advisors based on their access to market information, capacity to analyze it, ability to craft strategy, and overall credibility, you’ll consistently make better decisions.