Broker Profile – Page 10 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

Broker Focus: Matt Kellam

Matt Kellam, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty in Chambersburg, Penn.

Matt Kellam, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty in Chambersburg, Penn., takes a two-pronged approach to serving his clients and marketing their homes: tried-and-true basics and modern technology.

He opened his office in May 2005 and has learned a lot in the years since. “The basic Help-U-Sell system works,” he says. “Don’t try to fix something that’s not broken.”

One exception: He prefers to host open houses himself in order to capture buyer leads.

Personal contact is important to Kellam. He makes a point of keeping in touch with clients, past, present and future and encourages new Help-U-Sell brokers to do the same. “Be sure to be accessible to buyers and sellers,” he says. One of the benefits of running small office is that people can reach him directly on any given day. He’s also planning to put more energy into staying connected to previous clients and centers of influence this year.

For Kellam, the personal touch leads the way in client relations, but the Internet rules when it comes to property marketing. When he started out, he followed everyone else into print advertising, soon realizing that online was where his office needed to focus. Now, he’s creating video tours to help his sellers attract buyers. Having spent 20 years in radio, he says, “multimedia doesn’t faze me.”

Kellam films each house with a Sony Cyber-shot camera and uses Windows Movie Maker to edit the video. He records the audio separately using a headset and then adds the audio track to the video. He uploads the videos on YouTube and links to them on his site under the Virtual Tours tab on the property pages. One of his recent property videos shows both the exterior and interior and gives information about recent remodeling, last year’s property taxes and room dimensions.

He’s planning to phase out static virtual tours in the near future.

How do you use video in your marketing mix?

Broker Focus: Cynthia Stevens

Cynthia Stevens of Help-U-Sell Central Properties in Chandler, Ariz.

Cynthia Stevens has weathered her local market’s ups and downs and secured fourth place in seller-side closings in the Winter Warm-Up Contest. Her office, Help-U-Sell Central Properties in Chandler, Ariz., is growing, partially due to the market for distressed properties.

“I was fortunate enough to get hired by Fannie Mae as a listing broker for their REO properties,” says Stevens. “Overall, we are seeing fewer REOs but more short sales and also more new home sales. I think this year will be very interesting!”

Stevens says she enjoys helping people with their real estate transactions. In fact, the largest factor in her decision to purchase a Help-U-Sell office was the concept of consumer choice. “By allowing consumers to have a say in how they sell their home, they are more connected to the process,” she says.

Central Properties’ goals for 2012 are to continue to work with Fannie Mae and also to try to obtain more short sale listings. Stevens would like to increase the office’s sales by 25 percent over 2011, when the office closed 42 sides.

She advises new brokers to connect with other brokers, agents, loan officers and any other people who can provide insight into the local market. A broker should also really know his product and be able to discuss it with anyone he meets. Lastly, she advocates consistent marketing: “Let everyone know you are here!”

Broker Focus: Debra Schmidt

Help-U-Sell Heritage Real Estate's Debra Schmidt

One of the leaders of the Winter Warm-Up Contest, Debra Schmidt of Help-U-Sell Heritage Real Estate lives and works in Owatonna, Minn., a town of just over 25,000 residents.

Being smaller has its advantages, such as the ability to offer the personal touch. Schmidt maintains a database of past clients and sends them an item of value each month. This usually consists of timely information about home-care topics such as winterizing your house. Her office takes this one step further and occasionally goes door-to-door with gifts. Recently, Schmidt handed out pizza cutters emblazoned with the phrase “great service any way you slice it” and the Help-U-Sell logo. In the past, she has delivered Christmas cookies, Valentine’s candy and pumpkin bread.

Her eventual goal is to get 90 percent of her business from referrals. For now, half of her business remains foreclosures and short sales. Schmidt said the market is picking up in Owatonna. Her goal for 2012 is to increase the number of listings and sales by 50 percent over 2011.

Schmidt attributes her office’s success to and pins her future growth on the following simple-but-effective tactics: “Do what you say you’re going to do. Keep in touch with buyers and sellers. Know what’s going on in your market.”

For new brokers, she advises, “You need to be in real estate for more than just the money.”

If you have advice for new brokers or agents, please share it with us in the comments section.

Broker Focus: Richard Cricchio

Richard Cricchio of Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties

A Help-U-Sell Real Estate broker/owner since 1999, Richard Cricchio practically pioneered the set-fee concept in his home state of Hawaii.

When he first opened his office, Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties, he had to educate the public on the set-fee concept. “People never wanted to pay a percentage but when offered an alternative, they thought something was wrong,” he said.

That’s something Cricchio can relate to. He visited several Help-U-Sell offices during a four-year period before deciding to purchase an office of his own. “I couldn’t believe it could work,” he said. “It’s a different mindset to understand how you could profit by not collecting a percentage.” After looking at the offices’ different business models, Cricchio said a light bulb went off.

His office’s business model capitalizes on Help-U-Sell’s set-fee concept. Because of the copycat brokerages that have popped up on the island of Oahu in recent years, Honolulu Properties doesn’t charge extra for anything. “Our fee is our fee. That has helped us stay competitive,” Cricchio said.

They have also worked to keep their name top of mind on the island, which Cricchio describes as “one big neighborhood.” He runs TV ads, does strategic print advertising and distributes mailouts, but it’s probably his weekly radio show that gets the most attention. Cricchio began doing the talk show in 2002 at the suggestion of the station’s morning show host, whom he met after sponsoring an event the station held. The show has proven so popular that listeners rallied to get it back on the air when Clear Channel ceased local programming. Cricchio said the show covers real estate trends and news and answers listeners’ questions. He keeps the attitude light and doesn’t always pitch Help-U-Sell during the show.

Cricchio’s goal for 2012 is to complete 300 transactions. “I think the market’s ready now,” he said. His office closed 91 transactions in 2011, as of Dec. 29.

He plans to drum up more business by increasing his appearances at home shows and hosting more buyer and seller seminars.For new brokers, Cricchio encourages optimism and a strategy. “You have to believe in the system,” he said. “You can’t get caught up in the day-to-day stuff. Make a plan and really stick to it. It’s still the best business you can be in.”

Broker Focus: Tammy Whitehead

Tammy Whitehead of Help-U-Sell Riverside Realty

Tammy Whitehead of Help-U-Sell Riverside Realty in California believes you can go home again.

She and her husband, Charlie, owned a Help-U-Sell Real Estate franchise from 2000 until 2007, when they sold it to pursue a building business. The state of the economy forced them to close the business in 2010. Looking for a new opportunity, Whitehead decided to return to her roots. “I ran into [Franchise Opportunities Director] Ron McCoy, and he asked me if I would be interested in coming home to Help-U-Sell,” she said.

Whitehead has had her new Help-U-Sell office since the fall of 2010. While she holds hope for the future of the market, she also holds a practical view of its current state.

“I still see a lot of upheaval in the real estate market,” Whitehead said. “People are not settled yet.”

More optimistically, she added: “I think next year may be a long year, but we will pull through. We must be positive to everyone we meet and give them hope. I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

One way she helps her current and potential clients is simply by being responsive. Like Kimberly Zelena, last month’s Broker Focus subject, Whitehead makes a point of answering the phone, day and night. “That always impresses people,” she said.

Her top achievement this year is hiring an assistant. “She helps so much,” Whitehead said. “I can now take a minute, think clearer and spend more time with my agents training.” Her goal for 2012 is for her office to do 50 transactions outside of her REO account.

She encourages new brokers to hang in there, put their heads down and pull through it.

“We all need a really good dose of the holiday season, I think this year much more than before,” she concluded. “We need love and hope from each other and for everyone to work together.”