Family Team Leaves Coldwell Banker for RE/MAX

It used to annoy Brian Giancola to see huge RE/MAX billboards on the highway leading to Cape May, the New Jersey resort town where he lives and works.

“Why can’t we do something like that?” he’d wonder.

By “we” he meant Coldwell Banker. Giancola, the Team Leader, and his wife Jill had been with the company for about a decade; his father Gregg and mother Veronica had worked at Coldwell Banker since the ‘90s. Brian and his father handle the bulk of the sales work; Jill and Veronica run the day-to-day operations, including marketing and transaction coordination.

The Giancola Team worked hard and earned several awards for high production at Coldwell Banker. But over time, the RE/MAX billboards Brian Giancola kept seeing along the highways became a frequent reminder of what he felt he was missing at Coldwell Banker.

Support. Advertising. Marketing. Opportunities. It seemed like his team was forfeiting all of it by not being with RE/MAX.

“Over time, we realized we weren’t making the income we could be earning at RE/MAX,” Brian says. “It was frustrating to lose leads, sometimes to a new agent, just because I wasn’t in the office when a call came in.

“For the money we were paying Coldwell Banker, we weren’t getting the right level of support and services.”

In May, the Giancolas finally made their long awaited move to RE/MAX at the Shore in Cape May. Now all those RE/MAX billboards are working for them – a huge help considering the team had to start from scratch after losing all their listings during the brokerage switch.

As soon as they settled into their new RE/MAX digs, Jill Giancola plunged into the marketing and online duties she handles for the team. The RE/MAX difference was apparent from the start.

“The remax.com website support is amazing,” Jill says. “It’s so nice to be able to call eCare in Denver, and get an instant response.”

Brian Giancola is pumped up about mining his own leads and turning them into clients for life.

“We’re becoming a bit more aggressive in our marketing right now,” he says. “We want to drive as much business our way as possible.”

Giancola relishes the look of recognition when prospective clients see the RE/MAX name on his business cards.

“All the national brand advertising RE/MAX does really sticks in people’s minds,” he says.

The team went from having zero listings in May to more than 20 today, ranging from single-family homes and vacation condos to a $7 million beachfront stunner.

Despite the logistical challenges involved in switching brokerages, Brian Giancola has absolutely no regrets.

“RE/MAX sets you up for success,” he says. “We’re experiencing that firsthand.”