RISMEDIA, July 23, 2008-Intero Real Estate Services, a rapidly-growing brokerage based in Silicon Valley, has announced the company is ready to move forward with a large-scale master franchise sales push this summer in which Intero will award master franchisees exclusive territory rights to select regions in the U.S. and abroad. The company will seek out partners, including real estate entrepreneurs and brokers, who appreciate the Intero culture, know how to run a profitable operation, and are not tied to the real estate paradigms of the past.”We’ve been preparing for this for quite some time now, working out the kinks and getting our processes in place for the franchise program,” said Gino Blefari, president and CEO of Intero. “Now, we’re ready to move forward 100 percent and find the right people who are interested in gaining exclusive territory rights and growing with the Intero brand.”
Led by real estate veterans Gino Blefari and Robert (Bob) Moles, Intero has grown at an unprecedented pace, going from one office to more than 53 offices, 2,000 agents and $4.3 billion in annual sales in less than six years. The upstart brokerage is known for its unique culture and for creating partnerships with high-tech companies that have resulted in technology innovations that have influenced the industry as a whole.
Intero helped to finance, create and launch AgentAchieveTM, what is now a leading online business management and agent productivity application. They were also one of the first to develop partnerships with many of today’s leading real estate search engines to syndicate Intero’s property listings online.
Last spring, Intero developed a strategic partnership with Silicon Valley technology company Terabitz and was one of the first brokerages to launch a Terabitz-powered website. Using map-based search technology, the Intero/Terabitz web platform empowers consumers to easily access in-depth property details (including all MLS data), market data, and comprehensive neighborhood information in one central location. The technology moves beyond traditional brokerage sites, which only provide a narrow field of information, and gives consumers the ability to do comprehensive research on the properties they are buying or selling and share that information through social networks.
Intero is also pushing the envelope in the area of office design. In early 2007, the company’s executives embarked on an ambitious plan to create a new kind of real estate office that better suited the working habits of today’s mobile, high tech REALTOR®. What they came up with is a radical concept, the Intero Real Estate Center. Featuring a smaller, more eco-friendly footprint and a retail facing exterior, it is the real estate office of the future for urban areas where square footage is at a premium and agents spend more time in the field than at a desk.
The Real Estate Center has become Intero’s greenest location. Web-based transaction management software gives agents the ability to manage entire client files online and eliminate the need for paper and storage. And, the space takes up less than 2,100 square feet, meaning fewer materials and construction waste, less impact on the surrounding environment and less energy used.
“We were one of the first real estate companies to form an alliance with EcoBroker® International and encourage our brokers to become EcoBroker -Certified®.” said Blefari “So, when we created the concept for the Intero Real Estate Center, we made sure the design supported our philosophy of doing business more efficiently and with less waste.”
Today, Intero has more than 100 EcoBroker Certified® agents and in 2006 Blefari was awarded the EcoBroker Community Service Award given by EcoBroker International and the Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals.
Intero’s master franchise sales campaign is being led by the company’s executive team and Jose Perez of PCMS Consulting. Master Franchisees who sign with Intero will have exclusive territory rights and the advantage of being able to take control of a region, developing it according to their vision. They will manage the growth of their organization, distribution of new offices, development of strategic alliances and strategy for recruiting top agents and managers. They will also share franchise royalty, technology and other revenue opportunities.
“We’re very excited about the coming year,” said Bob Moles, chairman of Intero. “What other franchisors offer doesn’t compare to the opportunities that exist with Intero. We’re at a unique place with regard to our growth, and our leadership very is strong, made up of real estate people who’ve worked for years on the ground floor in sales, management and operations. Having access to that kind of experience, paired with the innovations we’re pushing is what’s going to make a franchisee successful.”
For more information on master franchising opportunities, contact Jose Perez at (404) 272-4646, jperez@pcmsconsulting or masterfranchising@interorealestate.com.
For more information about Intero Real Estate Services visit www.interorealestate.com or call (866) 334-RELO.
