October 2012 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

New Help-U-Sell Marketing Materials

We have created new print marketing materials for you to use to build brand awareness and enhance your work with sellers.

Many of you already know about the updated seller brochure, which is a great tool for listing presentations. It features a blank Seller Savings Comparison chart that you fill out with the seller’s estimated home value and your office’s fees to demonstrate the seller’s potential savings. The brochure is available to order from Alexander’s Print Advantage, and it can be customized with your office’s name and contact information. View the brochure and order it here.

New folders with the current branding will be available on Alexander’s Print Advantage within the next couple of weeks also. A preview of the back and front of the folder is below. There will not be contact information on the back as shown. Customization proved too costly. The folders will have slots for your business card in an inner flap. Pricing has yet to be determined.

The new Help-U-Sell Real Estate folders will be available to order soon.

Let us know what you think of the new materials and if you have requests for other items.

Five Tips for Success in the Luxury Real Estate Market

Help-U-Sell Westside Realty's Beverly Hills property listing — The sale of this $6 million Beverly Hills home is pending. It is listed with Help-U-Sell Westside Realty.

Being a set-fee broker and selling high-end real estate shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. In fact, this is where Help-U-Sell Real Estate should thrive. We can save luxury home sellers the most money.

Earlier this year, Henry Ho, of Help-U-Sell Westside Realty in Los Angeles, sold a $10.5 million apartment complex, saving the seller a few hundred thousand dollars.

Help-U-Sell Grein Group in Stafford, Va., can also claim success in high-end real estate. If you would like to enter into this market, Bettina Grein and Henry Ho offer the following advice.

Send targeted mailings to upscale neighborhoods. Grein says her office mails just-listed and just-sold cards. The cards also make a point of emphasizing how much sellers saved versus a 6% commission. The savings are particularly powerful once you’ve sold a luxury home.
Prove your expertise. “The client has to feel comfortable that you have knowledge and expertise to handle more expensive properties,” Ho says. Study the local high-end market, know how to analyze and interpret financial statements and hone your negotiating skills. If you’re looking to break into a more specialized market, such as apartment buildings, get certified.
Be tech savvy. Take advantage of all the available tools for marketing a home and be prepared to show examples, says Ho.
Use personal referrals. Ho believes testimonials from mutual contacts are your best form of advertising. Who in your center of influence knows potential upscale sellers?
Give a strong explanation of how Help-U-Sell works. Grein says because high-end homeowners are often type-A personalities with high expectations, it is crucial to demonstrate that Help-U-Sell performs the same services as traditional brokerages.

The luxury real estate market is yours for the taking. If you have more tips or if you try this advice with success, share with us.

See You in November!

We’re finalizing plans for next month’s Success Summit, which will take place Nov. 12-13 in Orlando. This year, the focus will be on Help-U-Sell® Core Marketing and will feature special guest Pete Codella, who will teach us how to build and maintain a profitable online presence. We’ll also unveil new technology and have fun mingling with and learning from each other. Some of our top producers will be sharing their secrets to success, as well.

Read more about the Success Summit and register at http://seminars.helpusell.com.

If you can, come early for REALTORS Conference & Expo. We’ll be in the expo hall again this year.

Check out this rendering of our booth! It’s similar to last year’s but with a more contemporary light gray color and red carpet to match the new marketing materials.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Booth Rendering — Our booth for this year's REALTORS Conference & Expo

We would love for you to help out at the booth (#619) or just stop by to say “hi.” Expo-only passes for NAR members are just $25, and the Clarion Inn & Suites will honor our $92/night room rate before and after the Summit. Our block of rooms is almost sold out, so call the hotel (800-826-4847) and make your reservations as soon as possible.

Top Producers for September 2012

Congratulations to our September top producers!

1) Perennial list-maker Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties took the number-one spot again with 14 closed sides, 12 of which were seller-only. The other two were buyer-only.

2) Help-U-Sell Heritage Real Estate, in Owatonna, Minn., closed a lucky 13 sides.

3) Help-U-Sell Prestige Properties rounded out the top three. The Chino Hills, Calif., office finished with nine sides, five seller-only and two dual-sided transactions.

Who’s ready to make October’s list? Good luck, everyone!

[Figures as of Oct. 10, 2012.]

The Help-U-Sell Cookbook Debuts Next Month

The long-awaited Help-U-Sell cookbook is at the printer! Since the last post about the cookbook, we have added another recipe (and two more pages).

Help-U-Sell Real Estate cookbook cover — The new Help-U-Sell cookbook cover

Each office will receive one complimentary copy of the cookbook. We’ll hand the books out at the Success Summit. Everyone who can’t attend will receive their books in the mail. You will be able to order additional copies through Alexander’s Print Advantage for $12.75 each. The website is https://www.brandsawonline.com/helpusell.

The cookbooks will make great closing gifts, holiday presents and even raffle or silent auction donations. You can also use the books to thank past clients for their testimonials or referrals. The first page of the book has an area where you can write an inscription to the recipient.

Tell us: Who will receive your first cookbook and why?