MetroBrokersTV: Coming to you live from the CAR 2008 state convention. I am Scott Shields, Metro Brokers and I am joined here today with Bob Bielenberg. Bob, thanks for joining us.

Bob Bielenberg: Thank you. It's nice to be here.

MetroBrokersTV: As a past president of Metro Brokers and a proud Metro Broker member, tell us your story with Metro Brokers. Why is, why were you with Metro Brokers or joined Metro Brokers?

Bob Bielenberg: Well, I was working with [Inaudible] and I got a phone call from a friend of mine who was already a Metro Broker and he said, "We have got an opening, come on over and sit down and we'll talk about whether it makes sense for you" and it sounded like I might save a little money and doing the same volume the next year that I had done the year before, I took home next... I saved an extra $14,000, which was big money in those days when the average home was selling for about $130,000.

MetroBrokersTV: Well, I think right now I would say $14,000 is huge given the current market. Where do you see Metro Brokers playing with the current real estate industry in the current economic situation that we are dealing with?

Bob Bielenberg: Well, I think it's a reasonable alternative. I think it is a place where somebody can do their own thing. They can choose how they want to work the market, where they want to spend their energies, where they want to direct their expenditures and they can target the market anyway they want to without having to fit into someone else's corporate structure. I like the freedom that Metro Brokers gives you.

MetroBrokersTV: So, right now it is the best name, best price out there for anyone in real estate industry. Would you agree to that?

Bob Bielenberg: I like it.

MetroBrokersTV: You like it. He likes it. I like it. That's another great episode of Metro Brokers TV.

Posted in MBI Advantages, Industry Events, Movers and Shakers, Franchise Opportunity, Metro Brokers Agents

MetroBrokersTV: I am Amy Chase with Metro Brokers TV and I am here today with Bruce Mitchell out of the Breckenridge office. Bruce, welcome.

Bruce Mitchell: Thank you.

MetroBrokersTV: So, tell me a little bit about what you enjoy so much about being a Metro Broker?

Bruce Mitchell: In our market, Metro Brokers has a huge recognition, 60% or so of our business comes from the Front Range, Colorado, where people are very familiar with Metro Brokers.

MetroBrokersTV: So, that brand and name recognition really carries over from the Front Range up into the mountain communities.

Bruce Mitchell: It's huge. People recognize the brand, they have seen the metro brokers commercials, we get those commercials in our market area up there, and it has tremendous benefit.

MetroBrokersTV: Wonderful. What are some of the other tools in the Metro Brokers toolbox that you take advantage of using the Metro Brokers website?

Bruce Mitchell: I think the biggest thing is the website. It is a terrific website. It is very user friendly for the public. People go to the Internet first before they walk down Main Street in Breckenridge and look at the real estate signs. They have usually found their broker and that website does the trick.

MetroBrokersTV: Great. So, you are really getting a lot of traffic and a lot of drive to your office.

Bruce Mitchell: Yeah, absolutely.

MetroBrokersTV: Terrific and speaking broker to broker, are you using the CTM contract software?

Bruce Mitchell: Every day. It's a great software that the clients like. It helps because our clients travel all over the country, all over the world and they can... we make transactions happen where the buyer is in one part of the country, the seller is somewhere else and I am in Breckenridge.

MetroBrokersTV: Wonderful. Well, Bruce thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day.

Posted in MBI Advantages, Franchise Opportunity, Metro Brokers Offices

MetroBrokersTV: I am Amy Chase with Metro Brokers. We are here today at Metro Brokers TV with Joe Bennell. Joe is with Tailor-Made Real Estate in Longmont, Colorado. Welcome Joe.

Joe Bennell: Thank you.

MetroBrokersTV: So, tell me a little bit about how the brand and name recognition from Metro Brokers is working out for you as the only office in Longmont.

Joe Bennell: So far it is fantastic. It is definitely a recognizable brand even up in our little neck of the woods up in Longmont. Longmont has been considered kind of a smaller area and I think previously it may not have been a good fit for Metro Brokers, but it is now. We are at a size where it is recognizable; people who have seen the commercials, people who have seen the signs. There are other Metro Brokers from the northern Denver Metro area listing properties in Longmont as well. So, there is a lot of added benefit to the brand and people see it and they know it.

MetroBrokersTV: Tell me a little bit about the return on your investment from Metro Brokers. It is a great opportunity for our monthly dues. Tell me what your experience has been and what you like about that.

Joe Bennell: For the $80 bucks a month membership fee, it is really, it is just an unbeatable price. I mean you get television commercials, you get a wonderful website that incorporates all seven Colorado MLS systems into it. Included with that website you get your own personal agent page, which is a tremendous amount of money if you were to go outside and do that on your own. For instance, when I was trying to brand my independent company, I was looking at the television commercials and the cost of that and just for me to run a little 10 second ad between the hours of 1 am and 3 am four times a month was going to cost me $6,000 dollars. I am really pleased that I benefit from television commercials and I am only spending $80 dollars a month. I am spending a total of under 1000 dollars a month for an entire office to benefit from literally hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of advertising and marketing.

MetroBrokersTV: How have you been received in the community? Do you find that you are a respected agent or have you really had to kind of fight to earn that reputation or how has that been going?

Joe Bennell: Prior to my membership with Metro Brokers, people still hadn't really heard about Joe Bennell or Tailor-Made Real Estate. That was just because it is so cost prohibitive to market and brand an independent company and since I have opened up the doors, the word is getting out quickly, there is no other plan like it and it just makes a lot of sense for a lot of people who want to be successful in this business.

MetroBrokersTV: Tell me a little bit about your plans for expansion.

Joe Bennell: Well, I own an office right now on Main Street and it is a fairly large space and I need to get that one filled. I would like to fill that one up with professionals in the industry who are going to help promote the positive image of Metro Brokers brand and then I am looking forward to opening up some other offices in and around Longmont.

MetroBrokersTV: So, seasoned agents, are you also looking to bring on newer agents?

Joe Bennell: Not so much. Not so much. I am looking for the folks that have at least three years experience and understand how to do a transaction and want to be independent.

MetroBrokersTV: Well, there is no doubt in my mind you will continue to grow and do great.

Joe Bennell: Thank you.

MetroBrokersTV: Thanks Joe for coming.

Joe Bennell: You're welcome.

Posted in MBI Advantages, MBI FAQ, Franchise Opportunity

MetroBrokersTV: Hi. I am Amy Chase with Metro Brokers. Thanks for joining us again today on Metro Brokers TV. I am here this afternoon with Joe Bennell. He is out of our Longmont office. Joe, welcome.

Joe Bennell: Thank you.

MetroBrokersTV: So, tell us a little bit about how long you have been in real estate and what your background is.

Joe Bennell: Well, I have been in real estate now for five years. My previous background was in telecommunications engineering.

MetroBrokersTV: And your situation is a little bit unique because my understanding is when you got into real estate, you started a franchise immediately. So, you are not only an agent, but you are also a site owner with Metro Brokers.

Joe Bennell: That's correct.

MetroBrokersTV: So, tell me a little bit about that process and how you decided to join Metro Brokers. I understand you looked at other franchises. What was that like for you?

Joe Bennell: Well, I had been independent for a while, a business partner of mine and I who started Tailor-Made Real Estate and we were truly independent. I was under his license for the requirement of two years, which is the Colorado regulations and after that point, he decided to retire from the business and I was on my own with this Tailor-Made Real Estate and I just really couldn't get enough forward motion and just decided that I need to get a brand. So, at that point in time, I had looked into RE/MAX and Coldwell Banker. Most of the franchises that I looked into were roughly on an average $20,000 to $25,000 dollars just to get in the door and open up a little satellite office. So, I just put the word out to some of the brokers that I knew and came back and found Metro Brokers through actually one of the current board of directors.

MetroBrokersTV: So, why Metro Brokers? What was the good fit?

Joe Bennell: I am able to run my business the way I want to run my business. There is no particular franchise fee associated with it. There is a membership $80.00 monthly fee. The Metro Brokers brand was designed purely as a marketing co-op and really the marketing co-op and the brand recognition is huge in my business. It is just... you need it to convert buyer and seller prospects into actual clientele. They need to know who you are working for and they need to know that you are backed by a solid company.

MetroBrokersTV: And what was the application process like and tell us about that fee.

Joe Bennell: It was very simple. I just made one $900.00 application to open an office and they asked a few questions about my operating budget and where I am planning the office, what my venue would be, and I think once I submitted the application, it was... I had to wait for a committee meeting to approve the new office. There was maybe a three week turnaround time before I got approval.

MetroBrokersTV: So, a three week turnaround time, low fees, simplicity, now everything is online, kind of a no-brainer.

Joe Bennell: That's no-brainer, absolutely a no-brainer.

MetroBrokersTV: Terrific. Well, congratulations on a job well done.

Joe Bennell: Thank you.

MetroBrokersTV: Thanks for being here.

Joe Bennell: You're welcome.

Posted in MBI Advantages, Join Metro Brokers, MBI FAQ, Franchise Opportunity

MetroBrokersTV : Welcome to metrobrokerstv.com. My name is Mark Eibner and I am here today with John Scardino and John is the office site owner, broker of record for the largest Metro Broker office in the Denver Metropolitan Area and John welcome.

John Scardino: Thank you. Glad to be here. 

MetroBrokersTV : Hey, just curious John, what kind of experience you have in the industry, how long you have been in it, and perhaps previous real estate experience with some other companies?

John Scardino: I am licensed since 1973, spent time with other companies, some independent small companies, and spent some time with Cherry Creek and then eventually opened up my own Century 21 franchise prior to becoming a Metro Broker office.

MetroBrokersTV : Well and then how long have you been with Metro Brokers?

John Scardino: Approximately nine years.

MetroBrokersTV : So nine years of Metro and prior to that, how many years with Century 21?

John Scardino: Well, about seven years.

MetroBrokersTV : Any big differences or small differences, nuances that you find compelling to be part of Metro Brokers?

John Scardino: The biggest difference is the independence, the flexibility because of the cost effectiveness on the franchise that allows me to be a lot more competitive in recruiting and building my office.

MetroBrokersTV : Yeah, like the lack of franchise fees mainly?

John Scardino: Pretty much a lack of franchise fees. You are able to be a little more flexible and work with people and keep it affordable for them to join your office and grow at that point.

MetroBrokersTV : So, you are finding that within your office structure, even in today's environment that you can remain competitive, keep brokers, and actually probably recruit some brokers?

John Scardino: Fortunately, we have been recruiting and again, you got to be cautious on paying attention to what is going on because the industry is a little touchy right now and because of the flexibility of Metro Brokers, it has allowed me to grow and I am fortunate to be in that type of a situation.

MetroBrokersTV : Excellent. So, I guess you are thinking about continuing to stay with Metro Brokers and we know there are other franchise choices out there, whether it is Keller Williams or Re/Max or ERA, C21, GMAC. Would you even consider any of those companies?

John Scardino: Not at all. Right now, I am very happy with the situation I am in and as far as the other companies, to me, they are my recruiting grounds and I have been very fortunate I am recruiting people from the other big names.

MetroBrokersTV : Sounds like a great plan. Well, John you are very respected in the industry. We appreciate you being in here today and for more information about Metro Brokers, our company, and the people in there, make sure your put your browser on metrobrokerstv.com.

Posted in MBI Advantages, Join Metro Brokers, Franchise Opportunity