Site Selectors Guild

What Site Selectors Guild does

Site Selectors Guild, Inc. is a private nonprofit professional association founded in 2010 and headquartered at 2828 N. Central Ave. PMB 1504, Phoenix, Arizona. It is the only association of peer-vetted professional site selection consultants, with 50+ Full Members located across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Guild administers three credentialing and standardization assets: Full Membership (requiring a minimum of seven years of professional location advisory experience plus peer nomination), the Certified Site Selection Consultant (CSSC) credential, and the REDI (Readiness Evaluation for Development and Investment) Sites program, which is the first national standardized readiness assessment for U.S. office and industrial projects, scoring sites on ownership, utilities, environmental, ease of development, and logistics criteria at bronze, silver, gold, or platinum levels.

The Guild operates a four-pillar revenue model: (1) Guild Partner Program tiered annual dues from economic development organizations ($1,500-$5,000/year, capped at 200 EDOs), (2) REDI Sites transaction fees ($450 application + $3,000-$6,000 designation depending on acreage), (3) event registration fees for the Spring Conference and Fall Forum ($2,500/attendee) and European Conference (€975), and (4) sponsorships from presenting and host sponsors such as the Southern Nevada Partnership, Team NEO, JobsOhio, and the Riga Investment & Tourism Agency. Customer-facing distribution is delivered through a website directory, conferences, advisory forums, virtual networking sessions, and recurring e-newsletters.

The Guild's customer base comprises corporations undertaking site selection for expansion or relocation, economic development organizations (EDOs), and investment promotion agencies (IPAs). Over the past three years, members reportedly facilitated the announced creation of approximately 165,000 jobs and $90 billion in announced capital investment. Strategic partnership activity in 2026 includes Class I railroad deals with Norfolk Southern (24 REDI-designated rail-served sites) and CN (five new sites plus six re-certifications in Michigan, Illinois, Mississippi, and Louisiana).

Name

Site Selectors Guild

Legal name

Site Selectors Guild, Inc.

Website

https://siteselectorsguild.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Site Selectors Guild is a nonprofit professional association founded in 2010 that credentials and networks top-tier corporate site selection consultants. It serves corporations, economic development organizations, and investment promotion agencies through membership, the CSSC credential, the REDI Sites program, and recurring conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Site Selection and Economic Development Consulting Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Venue Sourcing & Site Selection (HSACADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination (HSACAAAD), Conference & Trade Show Registration Platforms (THAHAFAB)

Keywords

• Site selection consulting
• Economic development services
• Corporate location strategy
• Site readiness assessment
• Professional association services

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Rock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Guild Partner Program Membership Dues: Economic development organizations pay tiered annual membership dues to participate in the Guild Partner Program: Small EDO ($1,500/year), Midsize EDO ($2,500/year), Large EDO ($3,500/year), Statewide/Multistate/National EDOs ($5,000/year). The program offers enhanced access to site selection consultants through networking events and priority registration for conferences.
2. REDI Sites Program Fees: Sites pay an Application Fee of $450 for each site. After site RFI is submitted, a designation fee is billed based on site size ranging from $3,000 (5-49 acres) up to $6,000 (2,000+ acres).
3. Event Registration Fees: Registration fees for conferences and events including the Spring Conference ($2,500 per attendee), Fall Forum ($2,500), and European Conference (€975). Sponsorship opportunities also generate revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Site Selectors Guild is a professional trade association serving as the only membership body of foremost independent site selection consultants. It provides peer-vetted membership, the Certified Site Selection Consultant (CSSC) credential, the REDI Sites national site readiness assessment program with a searchable database, the Guild Partner Program for economic development organizations (EDOs), and recurring conferences and advisory forums where members deliver location strategy consulting to corporate clients.

Product overview

The Site Selectors Guild is a professional association serving as the world's only association of foremost professional site selection consultants. The organization's offerings include membership for site selection professionals, the Certified Site Selection Consultant (CSSC) credential program, the REDI Sites program (a national site readiness assessment standard with searchable database), the Guild Partner Program (networking partnership for economic development organizations), Guild Events (Spring Conference, Fall Forum, European Conference, and Partner Summits), and Advisory Forums. These products work together to advance the profession of international corporate site selection through professional development, standardization of site assessments, and networking between site selectors and economic development organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• REDI Sites: Readiness Evaluation for Development and Investment - the first national site readiness program administered by the Site Selectors Guild, providing a searchable database of available sites that have undergone rigorous assessment set by the world's foremost group of site selection consultants.
• Certified Site Selection Consultant (CSSC)

Products and services

• Site Selectors Guild Membership The only association membership for the world's foremost professional site selection consultants. Members are peer-nominated, vetted, and required to demonstrate significant professional location advisory experience (minimum seven years) serving corporations across every industry, sector, and function globally.
• Certified Site Selection Consultant (CSSC) Credential The only credential for location strategy professionals, administered by the Site Selectors Guild and granted only to current Full Members of the Guild who have undergone rigorous vetting and remain active within the consulting profession.
• REDI Sites Program REDI (Readiness Evaluation for Development and Investment) Sites is the first national standard for assessing site readiness for U.S. office and industrial projects, providing a searchable database of available sites that have undergone rigorous assessment set by the world's foremost group of site selection consultants. Sites are awarded bronze, silver, gold, or platinum designation levels based on readiness across criteria including Ownership and Entitlements, Utilities, Ease of Development, Environmental, and Logistics.
• Guild Partner Program A first-of-its-kind networking partnership offering economic development organizations (EDOs) enhanced access to site selection consultants through partner-only networking events with Guild members, first-in-line access to register for Guild conferences, recognition on the Guild's website, and related benefits. The program is tiered by EDO size and capped at 200 participating organizations.
• Guild Events (Spring Conference, Fall Forum, European Conference, Partner Summits, Education Series) Recurring events offering networking opportunities with Guild site selection consultants, interactive education sessions on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in site selection, and dedicated sharing of best practices and innovations. Spring Conference hosts 400+ economic development leaders; Fall Forum maintains an 8:1 ratio of economic developers to site selectors; European Conference expands programming to EMEA audiences.
• Advisory Forums An Advisory Forum brings Guild members to a community to tour and understand its workforce, available properties, assets and amenities, and overall business climate for particular target industries, with participating Guild members providing live feedback and high-level recommendations to help the community be more competitive in business attraction and economic development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 165,000 jobs and $90 billion in announced capital investment facilitated over the past three years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Norfolk Southern RailwaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Norfolk Southern Railway leverages the REDI Sites program to build a pipeline of rail-served sites. The Class I railroad reviewed approximately 400 qualified opportunities for new facilities this year, with 85 currently in design or construction phases. Norfolk Southern has 24 rail-served sites with REDI designation through the partnership.
• CN (Canadian National Railway)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026CN is expanding its Certified Rail-Ready Sites program through partnership with the Site Selectors Guild's REDI Sites program. Five new industrial development sites are being added in Michigan, Illinois, Mississippi, and Louisiana, with six existing U.S. sites re-certified.
• Southern Nevada PartnershipflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting Sponsor for the 2027 Guild Spring Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The partnership helps promote the conference and supports economic development networking.
• Team NEO & JobsOhioflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHost Sponsors for the 2026 Guild Fall Forum in Cleveland, Ohio. Supporting economic development collaboration and site selection professional networking.
• Riga Investment & Tourism AgencyflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHost Sponsor for the 2026 European Conference in Riga, Latvia. Supporting the Guild's expansion into European markets.
• Virginia TransformerminorOthersVirginia Transformer announced plans to build a 600,000 square-foot, rail-served power transformer plant at Shoals Research Airpark in Colbert County, Alabama, which received a platinum REDI designation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Economic Development Council (IEDC): IEDC is the largest membership association for economic development professionals, including EDO staff, with whom Site Selectors Guild members work directly. It is the closest peer in mission and member overlap, addressing the same corporate-EDO engagement value chain from the EDO side.
• IAMC (Industrial Asset Management Council): IAMC is a member-driven association of corporate industrial real estate executives and their service providers, with a similar member-credentialed advisory model and event-led engagement focused on industrial site/facility decisions that directly overlap with the Site Selectors Guild's industrial focus.
• Conway Inc. (Site Selection magazine): Conway Inc. publishes Site Selection magazine and runs the annual Site Selectors Guild conference network historically, making it a directly comparable media-and-events platform in the same site selection ecosystem with overlapping audience of consultants and EDOs.
• Area Development: Area Development is a leading publication and events organizer in the corporate site selection and economic development space, serving the same audience of corporations and EDOs that the Guild addresses.

Broad incumbents

• CoreNet Global: CoreNet Global is the premier global association for corporate real estate (CRE) professionals, with a much broader portfolio of service lines but significant overlap in its corporate end-users making location decisions and engaging external advisors.
• NAIOP: NAIOP is the leading U.S. commercial real estate development association; broader than the Guild's consulting focus, it engages many of the same developer, investor, and EDO stakeholders in adjacent commercial real estate decision-making.
• Urban Land Institute (ULI): ULI is a global research and education organization for land use and real estate, intersecting with site selection at the asset and community level but with a much wider scope across investment, planning, and development.
• Newmark Group: Newmark operates a global corporate location strategy practice (its Global Strategy team includes CSSC-credentialed consultants per source); as a broader commercial real estate services firm with site selection as one offering, it is a relevant incumbent comparable in the advisory space.
• CBRE Group: CBRE is the world's largest commercial real estate services firm with a location strategy / site selection practice serving enterprise clients; a broad incumbent that competes for the same corporate advisory engagements the Guild's members pursue.

Emerging players

• SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors): SIOR is a professional designation body for industrial and office real estate brokers; its industrial focus and credentialed-membership model overlap with parts of the Site Selectors Guild's industrial-site selection work, particularly around rail-served and large-acre transactions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/site-selectors-guild
• Xx.com/siteselectguild
• Facebookfacebook.com/SiteSelectorsGuild

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Site Selectors Guild