Parkbench.com

Pros: Doing my business feature interviews is a great no pressure way to meet new people and network with new businesses. It brings up discussing business in a non-pushy way as I learn about others, they learn about me. It fits really well with how I view growing my business, give to others, add value and you reap the rewards. It is easy, the Parkbench team is easy to contact for support, the website generates some follow up newsletters, and local events. When I first started I spent a lot of time editing and now that I am more experienced it doesn't take as much effort.

Cons: I sometimes have a challenge thinking of who I should interview. Some people are skeptical and think I am trying to upsell them, haha nope it's just a few minutes to talk about your business and then they have a video they can use to market themselves.

Overall: It has been a great experience. It is cool when people in my community recognize me from the business features I have posted.

Pros: It's helped connect me with my community which will, in time, provide business opportunities. It's been very rewarding.

Cons: You have to be very proactive and do the work weekly. It does involve some skills that are not necessarily "realtor friendly" but you can pay for help.

Overall: Parkbench was ahead of its time in seeing the importance of including small businesses in your own success. If you truly want to be involved in your community and have the long-game vision, this is for you.

Pros: The Parkbench system is fantastic for people who are naturally outgoing, but may have a hard time selling THEMSELVES. The approach is all about meeting people where they work, finding out about people's passions, and putting the focus on them, and oh, by the way, I also sell real estate. Anyone interested in relationship-based selling should definitely consider it. I also love the ongoing support--I'm assigned a coach/mentor who meets with me monthly to give me that next step or fine tune or tweak to make what I'm already doing even more effective.

Cons: The pricing can seem stiff, especially since it's all up front, but I figured I'd probably waste the same amount trying 8 other marketing strategies (and executing them badly) before I found something that worked. The websites aren't very customizable, but I think that's by design. My job should be meeting people, not endlessly modifying my webpage.

Overall: I've been with Parkbench for about 6 months now, and I've more than made up the cost in sales. I can tell it's also building--the more I'm out in the community shooting videos, the more prospective clients, referrals, and connections I have. It's forcing me to do the most important (and most neglected) task in real estate--prospecting. I will definitely renew again next year, and I'm expecting this to me my primary (perhaps only) marketing strategy going forward.

Pros: I like the interview questions that I can refer to when doing the interview and send to the interviewee prior so they know what to expect. The script to get the interview works well and it allows you to have businesses come to you so you can just have a conversation with them. It is great exposure for you and the business.

Cons: It is a lot of work to schedule and do the interview along with everything else we do and then edit it to post to the site. They offer editing and posting for an extra fee. The pro of having a lot of training on the site is mitigated by finding the time to do the training, interviews, posting and follow ups that are needed to really make it successful.

Overall: Overall it's a great way to get yourself in front of business owners in a non threatening way and get to learn more about your community. I have enjoyed meeting everyone so far and helping their businesses. It has boosted my views on Youtube.

Pros: I like the concept of being a Local Leader in the community. Everyone talks about this but Parkbench gives you a platform to make this a reality. I love how simple it is and how the Parkbench team is always there for support.

Cons: Video editing was intimidating for me and I struggled at first but the Parkbench team was there to help and guide me every step of the way. I also hate being in front of the camera but I've learned to relax and enjoy it.

Overall: The Parkbench team is incredible and I've gotten enormous support from everyone. Kayla gives me fantastic marketing ideas, while Matt and Greg do everything but literally hold my hand when I'm in over my head editing a video. Heck, it's their fault for giving me all this confidence that I'm tapping into my wacky side and doing stuff I would never have thought of before! I've stretched and grown in ways I didn't think possible and I will forever be grateful.

Pros: An easy to use system, world class support, a high quality experience, educational videos and training, the positive responses in my community and the people I have been able to meet because of Parkbench is priceless.

Cons: I may very well be a lifer with Parkbench, my experience has been very good....I simply had to accept the fact that video is where it's at. I took the plunge and I am very glad I did.

Overall: In the beginning I started by immersing myself in the training videos as suggested. This exercise helped me round the corner on how to work in the Parkbench system as well as tips on conducting videos and editing. The intimidation factor of video began to fade quickly. I do organic videos that require little editing and I have found this to be refreshing and fun. I am meeting new people because of Parkbench and expanding my sphere of influence and acquiring new clients. Growing with Parkbench has been great and I will be going to the next level of video and editing. Partnering with Parkbench is a win!

Pros: There are NO pros to this company and should be avoided if you are a real estate agent. Buyer BEWARE!

Cons: Too many to list. Major bait and switch and they don't hold up their end of the contract. Buyer BEWARE!

Overall: They promise you a full refund if you are not satisfied, but then the contract contradicts this promise by requiring certain things prior to there being a refund. Complete bait and switch. They also say that we get a "coach" to assist us for 4-6 weeks of training, but in our case, the coach they assigned us went MIA after the first call and then blamed us for not following up with them. Poor customer service, a lot of broken promises and NOT A GOOD COMPANY. BUYER BEWARE and stay FAR away from this company if you are a real estate agent.

Pros: Nice staff other than that. There is nothing left to say about them. They send out a review days after you sign up and of course you are thrilled and a month later you are stuck interviewing businesses. If you can prove you did the work you can get a refund but I don’t have time to work real estate and interview businesses. Just a bad match.

Cons: For $6000 I purchased a basic website for a small area I have to drive business to and hopefully I get enough businesses interested in a three minute interview to post on my site. Basically you just bought yourself a new job. Non refundable and renewable so you have to buy it again regardless of the work you put into it.

Overall: Nice staff. The site is basic and now I either focus on Real Estate or this site. Poorest ROI I’ve made professionally. Especially with all the free media available now.