July 2013 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

A Testimonial for Testimonials

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Testimonials — Help-U-Sell Real Estate is making it easier for its franchisees to localize their testimonials pages.

Word of mouth, especially in the service sector, has always been one of the top ways people make buying decisions. In this information age where it’s so easy to share reviews, word of mouth is more important than ever.

Testimonials can and do bring new clients to Help-U-Sell Real Estate brokers regularly. Help-U-Sell Federal City Realty’s Marc Dosik reports that he has acquired buyers and sellers through the power of positive reviews on Yahoo! and Zillow, to name two. Steve Vincent, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Triad Realty, posts his testimonials to his Facebook business page, and sometimes his clients write their testimonials directly on his page.

Each of our franchisees have a Testimonials page on the broker site, as well. Many are still populated with the national testimonials provided by the home office. We strongly encourage localizing this page with your clients singing your praises, but we know this is easier said than done. To help our brokers get more local feedback, we are working on creating an automated email that will send out a testimonial request form to a seller as soon as the transaction is marked “closed” in the Office Management System. Once the form is filled out and sent back, the broker can review the response and make any necessary changes before posting it on the Testimonials page.

We plan to have this completed in time for the Success Summit in October.

Tell us your success stories that came from testimonials.

Success Summit Update

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Success Summit — The third annual Help-U-Sell Success Summit will cover marketing, technology and coaching topics as selected by our brokers.

As many of you know, our third annual Success Summit will take place from October 22-24 in Las Vegas. Read more about it, including how to book your hotel rooms, in an earlier Connect post.

Who’s Coming

So far, we have about 30 registered attendees from coast to coast: Virginia and North Carolina to Arizona and California. If you have not yet registered, please do so at seminars.helpusell.com.

What’s on the Agenda

The survey results are in! Thank you all for responding to the Summit Survey. In the coming weeks, we will flesh out the agenda. Based on your input, topics will include:

* brainstorming new marketing materials
* creating your marketing plan and analysis
* optimizing your Facebook business page
* generating web leads
* creating drip email campaigns
* taking your business to the next level
* troubleshooting your office

Many of you told us that learning from your fellow Help-U-Sell brokers was highly important, so we will also set aside time for fluid, purposeful networking conversations.

We have other surprises up our sleeves that you won’t want to miss. See you in Vegas!

Attracting Younger Buyers and Sellers

The National Association of REALTORS released the first ever Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report last week. The 104-page document compares the habits, practices, beliefs and goals of the Silent Generation, people born between 1925 and 1945, and all subsequent generations through the Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000.

The National Association of Realtors Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report — A new report from the National Association of Realtors report outlines the differences among younger and older home buyers and sellers.

Based on some of the data regarding the younger generations, Help-U-Sell Real Estate is perfectly poised to assist them in their real estate transactions.

Younger buyers are more likely to want help understanding the process because they’re most often inexperienced in purchasing a home. Help-U-Sell offices often have agents dedicated to working with buyers, and our specialized Jack Bailey Buyer Consultant Training program is nearing completion.

The majority of Millennials who sold their homes used a full-service brokerage, but they were more likely than other generations to opt for limited service, presumably due to less equity in their properties. With a business model that offers full service (or less, if desired) for a low fee, Help-U-Sell is a perfect fit for the newest generation of homeowners.

Why are the younger buyers and sellers a desirable demographic? According to the report’s findings, they are the most optimistic, and younger sellers are the most likely to use the same broker or agent for their next purchase.

What can you do to attract Millennials?

* Make sure you’re easy to find online.

* Consider creating a Facebook ad that targets that age group who live in your area. You can further home in on potential buyers and sellers by selecting people who are newlyweds or just had a child, factors that could precipitate a move.

* Avoid the hard sell. Instead, offer information in a conversational tone.

* For buyers, write a blog series or create a drip email campaign geared toward educating first-time buyers.

* For sellers, let them know about your low set fee and how they can save the most money. These tips can include staging on a budget and how to market their property to friends, co-workers and neighbors, along with the different ways your office works with sellers.

What tips do you have for working with younger buyers and sellers?

Top Producers for June 2013

Tiffany Johannes of Help-U-Sell Buy Today — Help-U-Sell Buy Today in Charlotte, N.C., closed 13 sides in June 2013

Our offices had another superb month of closings in June!

1) Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties finished in first with an astonishing 19 closed sides: seven buyer sides, eight seller sides and two dual-sided transactions.

2) Charlotte’s Help-U-Sell Buy Today had six buyer sides and seven seller sides for a total of 13 closed sides.

3) Help-U-Sell Direct Savings Real Estate in Waynesboro, Va., wrapped up the month with 11 closed sides composed of one buyer side, eight seller sides and one dual-sided transaction.

3) Help-U-Sell Prestige Properties, out of Chino Hills, Calif, also had 11 closed sides: one buyer side and 10 seller sides.

4) A newcomer to the top producers list, Help-U-Sell Legacy, located in Layton, Utah, had two buyer sides and eight seller sides in June.

4) Help-U-Sell Triad Realty also had 10 closed sides. The Greensboro, N.C.-based office helped two buyers, six sellers and had one dual-sided transaction.

Congratulations to all of our top producers for June!

[Figures as of July 10, 2013.]