Making the Short List: Ten Ways to Position your Community for Site Selection Success
The state of Maryland has been gaining steam as the place to do business in the Mid-Atlantic region. Recently acknowledged as the 10th best economy in the USA, Secretary Pennington recently shared that Maryland is the second most innovative state in the country!
As part of the Maryland Economic Development Association’s Fall Conference, a site selection panel offered insight on the site selection process. Moderated by Jayson Knott, Senior Director Office of Business Development, Maryland Department of Commerce, the panel included James Clarke, Senior Vice President, JLL, Tom Dubel, CPA, Senior Director, Altus Group, and Aaron Tomarchio, Senior Vice President, Administration & Corporate Affairs, Tradepoint Atlantic.
Now that Maryland is grabbing more attention from site selectors, what can you do to position your community in the highly competitive site selection process? Here is a synopsis of comments from the panel discussion.
- Sometimes it is the personal touch that gets you in the door. Developing personal relationships with brokers and site selectors may provide you access to regional opportunities.
- Know what you do well and target those areas.
- Understand your available and future infrastructure. If something is preventing the attraction of companies, invest in the future of your community.
- Brand your community.
- Announce your success stories. Demonstrate that your community can attract and retain key industries.
- Create an environment of regulatory certainty with regards to the entitlement process.
- Connect labor to educational and training opportunities. The availability of labor and transportation options are primary drivers in the decision-making process.
- Be creative! Incentives are going to be part of the conversation. Not every decision is tied to tax credits. Companies make decisions based on ROI!
- Be responsive to requests for information. A quick turnaround is key!
- Rally a team of cheerleaders from your community such as the chamber, educational institutions and more.
