IRVINE, CA—Auction.com's recently launched incentive program—available through April 30—offers commercial real estate brokers $10,000 to test-drive its platform. But the benefits of the program—and working with Auction.com—go far beyond that initial amount, SVP and director of business development Joseph Cuomo tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. We spoke with Cuomo about the program, what makes it unique and what brokers can hope to get out of becoming a part of it.

GlobeSt.com: What should our readers know about this broker-incentive program?

Cuomo: The $10,000 incentive we are offering is simply to introduce brokers to Auction.com. But we're not intending for this to be merely a one-time encounter. We don't want to do just one deal with you; we want to do 100 deals with you! This program welcomes brokers into the Auction.com family, and it allows us to show them the power of the Auction.com platform. We want brokers to view Auction.com as a value-added resource, and as a partner who can enhance their business. We're not out to replace brokers. We believe that brokers play a vital role in the real estate process. When Auction.com and brokers work together, sellers get the best of all worlds: local market knowledge and a global reach – backed by a powerful online auction engine to achieve optimal results. And all of this is at no cost to the broker or seller.

GlobeSt.com: What was the motivation for the program?

Cuomo: We've had great experiences with brokers since we entered the commercial market in 2009. Virtually every CRE deal we sell on our platform has a licensed broker involved. We started a business unit specifically to work with commercial real estate brokers and owners in early 2012 because we saw those partnerships as key to our business model.

We recognize that, of the 20,000+ brokers in the marketplace, many still have misperceptions about what Auction.com offers and how our platform works. With that in mind, we created this incentive program to invite brokers to take a look at who we are, what we do, and how we can make them even more successful.

GlobeSt.com: What has the brokerage community's reaction to the program been like?

Cuomo: They've been very receptive so far. As of this morning, we've had 20 deals signed for the second quarter as part of this program.

The initial questions that came up when we introduced this program were, “What is this for?” and whether our focus was purely on distressed properties. Auctions aren't just for distressed properties! In fact, over 40% of the properties sold on Auction.com today are traditional, non-distressed properties, and that percentage continues to grow.

A lot of folks (buyers, sellers and brokers alike) are very interested in using the platform. But, awareness needed to be brought into certain marketplaces to introduce it to agents from small individual businesses to large brokerages.

GlobeSt.com: What are the main advantages to brokers who are using your platform to list properties?

Cuomo: When they partner with us, brokers and the property owners they represent benefit from global exposure, a multi-million dollar marketing program, process efficiency and a faster close. Even brokers who have 40-year relationships with building owners can expand their reach to attract a much broader pool of potential buyers. They can experience all the great things other brokers have experienced on our site, including better-quality due diligence and an enhanced experience for everyone involved. And, Auction.com provides a full support team to handle everything form client management to contracts and closing, allowing the brokers we work with to focus on building relationships and further growing their business. We understand that a broker's time is very valuable, and our platform creates a lot more time for brokers to focus on what they want to do: go out and find new deals. Certainty of execution is something brokers appreciate. We take a hard money deposit of 5%, and we have a 98% closing ratio at Auction.com.