Author: Lorrie Cozzens

A little over a year ago, Gary Julian wanted to get back into real estate and decided to become a Help-U-Sell Real Estate franchise owner after spending many years previously as an Assist-2-Sell owner. Today, he and his wife, Wendy, run Help-U-Sell Julian Team in Lancaster, CA.

“With my prior business, the brand didn’t have the power to draw people in and the incoming calls trickled. The moment we attached the Help-U-Sell brand to our office name and advertising, we started attracting new people and past Help-U-Sell clients from name recognition alone. We have a client right now in escrow because they found us through the Help-U-Sell office locator online. That’s the power of national brand recognition,” Gary said.

While both franchises have a flat fee structure in common, the comparison ends there for Gary. “When I purchased my other franchise, there was nothing being offered like coaching. It felt like: ‘Here’s your franchise certificate, we’ll talk to you next year.’ Not only is Help-U-Sell the original disruptor, they are bringing so much more to the table. The people in management are a lot more accessible, from general outreach to the coaching groups. Their marketing programs are always expanding and evolving for the better. I love the quick response from the folks in the tech department. They ensure everything is in working order and are on point with troubleshooting,” Gary explained.

There are many behind-the-scenes marketing technology systems in place that simplify daily activities for the Broker/Owners at Help-U-Sell, such as drip email campaigns and the Arounds postcards program. However, what Gary most appreciates are the more public marketing pieces, such as the website, catchy videos to share on social media sites, and powerful national branding efforts. Mr. Julian went on to say, “When it comes to overcoming a tight inventory, the impact of the national branding makes your business so visible that home sellers come looking for you. When I get to conduct a personal visit and make the listing presentation, I get the listing almost every time. When people search you out AND you get the listing, that’s a pretty great combination.”

When it comes to handling competition, Gary is confident about his business stacking up against other local realtors. He said, “When people do the math on the median price of a 6% commission on a home here, it sticks in their throat because they’re likely to spend about $16,800. Our flat fee is $4,400, so saving $12,000 while not sacrificing service is a big deal to people who want to save money. With traditional real estate, brokers and agents have to stalk potential clients in an effort to get their business. My experience with Help-U-Sell is that people go out of their way to find you. It’s a complete 180.”

Most important to Gary is how the Help-U-Sell Real Estate program is exactly the right fit for the “lean and mean” Julian team. Gary Julian shared, “I like the Help-U-Sell concept of a tight team to service clients instead of a large office of dozens of agents. If you’re looking for a way to build up your business without peripheral people who are not making you money, or a giant office full of people that don’t know who you are, then Help-U-Sell is the way to go. It’s a great business to own. I love this company.”

Yasumi Davis, Broker/Owner of Help-U-Sell Golden Homes in Martinez,California, originally came to the United States as a young woman in 1990 to attend graduate school on a Rotary scholarship to complete her MBA. Upon completing her studies, she was planning on returning to her home in Matsumoto, Japan, when she met her future husband, William, leading to her work for a high-tech software company as a project manager. However, without an engineering background, she didn’t think the industry was the right fit for her. In 2003, the high-tech industry was not doing so well either, and in a third round of layoffs at her company, Yasumi found herself without a job.

The year previous, Yasumi and William had purchased their first home together. She paid careful attention to the entire process and thought real estate seemed like a really good fit for her, so she pursued her real estate license. William is an attorney who concentrates on tax and real estate law, so they decided to share an office. “I was a little worried when we first started sharing an office that it might not be a good idea, but we quickly found our work schedules didn’t interfere with one another at all,” Yasumi said. In 2003, after looking around at various options, Yasumi and William purchased a Help-U-Sell franchise.

Last year, Yasumi wanted to take her business to the next level and became involved with the coaching groups at Help-U-Sell Real Estate. “Before I started coaching, I was just by myself figuring out ways to improve and better organize on my own. Since I made it a part of my weekly routine, I feel connected to everyone, and the ideas shared have helped me streamline things I do every day. Also, the motivation is a real boost.”

“In recent years, our housing market has tended toward a higher median price range, usually between $650,000 – $700,000. With the market inventory being tighter this year, it’s getting more common to see million dollar homes,” Yasumi said. “However, if I can get a listing presentation, I’m going to get the business. There may be competitors out there, but I don’t worry too much about them because I’m offering negotiation skills, the experience of having sold a large number of homes, and evidence of the thousands and thousands of dollars I have saved home sellers over time. What I do is get homes sold.”

In fact, Yasumi has been so busy selling homes that she ranked 17th out of 3,800 agents last year in the Contra Costa Association of Realtors. She has an assistant who is helping with the marketing efforts, such as the new updated Automated Arounds postcard program, which makes it easier than ever to set a budget and pinpoint an audience with the right message at the right time. She is also getting ready to train a new transaction coordinator and a buyer’s agent. “I am at maximum capacity in terms of how busy I am, so it’s really time for me to start delegating tasks to other people,” Yasumi shared. “I am trying to eventually set this office infrastructure up so that I can leave it in capable hands to run on my behalf.”

Part of that desire to expand the number of people in the office is so that she can visit her family in Japan more frequently and spend more time focusing on her 11-year-old twins, a daughter and a son. Both children are avid baseball players, and both often play the shortstop position, making the All -Star team. Shortstop is often considered the most hard-working position in baseball, so it came as no surprise to us that Yasumi’s children take after their mom by excelling in the position that requires fast thinking and covering a lot of ground.

Lona Lassen Murphy, the Broker/Owner of Help-U-Sell Select Real Estate, came to the United States from Denmark in the 1980s. She met her husband in Miami, and worked for the Interval International Timeshare Exchange Company, where her ability to speak seven languages (Danish, English, German, French, Spanish, Norwegian, and Swedish!) came in extremely handy while working with a diverse mix of clients from around the globe. After segueing into management, Lona and her spouse relocated to Eugene, Oregon, and she found herself managing the office of a Help-U-Sell franchise.

“I really sunk my teeth into real estate,” Lona shared. “I learned everything I could and wanted to branch out on my own. So I found an owner who was interested in selling and approached them. That was six years ago this past April, and I have been doing this ever since. I never worked for a traditional real estate environment, the Help-U-Sell Real Estate model made sense to me.”

Taking over an existing franchise instead of starting completely new was a big draw for Lona also. “Buying this business from a previous owner was an easy decision. I had name recognition from a business that had been in place since 1991, a website and database already existed, and a phone number everyone already knew. It made total sense to me as a newcomer to Eugene. So I changed up some of the offerings and services and made it my own,” said Lona.

Even though Lona’s business had missed many of the terrible after effects of the economic crash, there was still some lingering evidence of a recovery in process. Lona went on to say, “Unlike many other agents and brokers, I did not go outside of regular home sales or pursue foreclosures. I was maintaining a steady enough stream of listings, in part because the home values in Eugene were not like those in other parts of the country – they did not double –  so the community impact was different. So I kept my eye on expenses and kept the business balanced through that time.”

To keep her business name in the community forefront, Lona employs a lot of the “Just sold” postcards, door hangers, and a mix of local TV and radio ads. The producer of her television ads, who created a spot around some organic interviewing of two interns Lona has been working with, eventually became a Help-U-Sell client himself. While one intern stayed for just the semester, the other is working with Lona throughout the summer: following up on leads, making calls, sending texts and letters to FSBOs, and even running a good campaign on Instagram.

After the departure of her last agent, Lona decided to see how she would do just on her own. “I’m actually ahead this year in terms of production and listings compared to the same time last year, despite the market shortage. I have hired someone to take care of bank reconciliation and some other minor tasks. I think the Help-U-Sell Real Estate model is perfect for a small office, and my success rate is proving it to me,” Lona explained.

Although there are some similar looking competitors in the area, the similarities are on the surface only. “There are copycats that may offer a flat fee, but the service isn’t the same and they haven’t had an impact on my share of listings in the marketplace. I don’t get every listing, of course, but I do get a lot. Many of my listings also come from referrals. I get leads every other day, and 90% of them are seller leads. The results speak for themselves.”

The big takeaway in Lona’s strategy? “You have to get good at prioritizing really quickly and ask yourself what activities are leading to the conversions. I always answer my phone or call right back. I do my research quickly with potential client homes. I put leads in my CRM right away and follow up with tasks assigned to each lead. I have the speech down and I always ask for the appointment to meet in person. I’m just so busy and I always keep trying.” Which is surely a recipe for success, no matter what language you say it in.