The Standard Real Estate announced a new partnership with Amazon to create a custom digital store. Under the setup, clients will have new options for purchasing home necessities and furniture.
“We are focusing on making the best of technology and being forward thinking,” founder and chief executive officer Zach De Bernardi said. “Amazon is everywhere so it makes sense for us to try and work with one of the bigger brands. It’s just one more added benefit that we can use to help our clients.”
De Bernardi said he was inspired after seeing similar programs implemented at two New York boutique real estate firms. He believes that partnering with Amazon will help build his company’s brand and help its agents better serve clients.
This has been a busy year for De Bernardi, chief operating officer Logan Nichols, and the rest of their team. Despite being in business for less than a year, The Standard has already expanded to 25 agents, including nine based in Tyler.
“Tyler is a great market for investment,” De Bernardi said. “The prices are a lot lower and the turnaround is great.”
Thus far, the firm has focused solely on attracting experienced agents. However, it is now recruiting newer ones as well. The recently launched “AMP” initiative (short for Agent Mentor Program) is designed as an alternative to traditional brokerage training programs. Instead of investing lots of time in the classroom, it emphasizes building a business immediately as part of the learning process.
“Our hope is that this will sort of be like an apprenticeship where new agents and mentors have skin in the game to help each other,” De Bernardi said.
The Standard has plans to extend its presence into Fort Worth, Frisco, and Plano. After that, it will likely turn its attention to Austin and Houston. However, before focusing too much on expansion, De Bernardi says he wants to make sure his team is offering quality across the board for both agents and clients.
“We want to be the brokerage that offers the agents the best service,” he said. “That’s our main focus before growth. We want to get better every day.”
