In the following interview, Gabriel Mendez, broker/owner of Realty ONE Group Mendez Burk in El Paso, Texas, discusses the advantages of the brand, building culture, the firm’s growth, and more.
Region Served: El Paso County, Texas
Years in Real Estate: 12
Number of Offices: 2
Number of Agents: 100
How does being a part of Realty ONE Group help you and your agents do your jobs well?
Realty ONE Group is a very fresh and exciting model. In El Paso, most of the brokerages are old-school brands with little in the way of ultra-serviceable technology and new ideas for marketing. But since we’ve come onto the scene, there’s been a new awakening. Real estate professionals are excited about utilizing this model that allows us to offer a flat fee, while still maintaining a full-service brokerage. The technology we offer means that our agents can be more productive and make better use of their time.
We also provide classes once a week so that agents can easily learn how to use our newest offerings. One great example is an app called Videolicious. With Videolicious, agents can make semi-professional videos in just three minutes, allowing them to brand themselves personally and promote listings in ways we used to only dream about.
How important is building a positive culture?
It’s extremely important to us, and we work on building that culture all the time. Our goal is to have a healthy environment where agents feel supported and empowered, and Realty ONE Group promotes that. To that end, we host at least one internal event a week, such as Taco Tuesday for our real estate professionals and their families. We’re all about working together and being there for one another.
How would you describe your firm’s positioning in the marketplace?
I was a stand-alone broker with 32 independent agents before making the decision to switch to Realty ONE Group last year, which allowed us to grow to 100 agents almost overnight. We’re not the largest brokerage yet, but this type of growth in less than one year is phenomenal.
What is your best advice for staying one step ahead of the competition?
On top of our technology and training, we also have beautiful new offices. Each office is 7,000 square feet and agents can use either of the two offices.
What is the secret to your success in real estate?
My partner, Ruben Schaeffer, and I are always available to our agents. While I bring 12 years of experience to the table, Ruben has 40 years of experience in commercial real estate, so between the two of us, we offer innovation and experience. And a special bonus is that we’re the only office in El Paso that offers commercial real estate training. Because of it all, I see the company growing by 50 percent next year. For us, the sky’s the limit.
For more information, please visit www.realtyonegroup.com.
Lesley Grand is a contributing editor to RISMedia.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
