Broker Profile – Page 8 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

Veteran Help-U-Sell Broker Offers Great Insight

With the housing market feeling the pain of low inventory in these recent weeks, one Help-U-Sell Broker has managed to thrive during this tumultuous time. Ms. Maurine Grisso, our most tenured owner, has helmed the Help-U-Sell Santa Rosa real estate office for over 35 years.

When asked what she was doing to keep listings coming, she shared some information that revolves around a familiar theme to brokers: keeping in touch.

“The truth is,” Ms. Grisso said, “over 35 years I have sold a lot of homes. 60-70% of my sales are from repeat customers. Whether I sold them a house six months ago or two years ago, I call and check in with them to see how they are doing or how they like the place they bought. Often times, they inform me of another listing and would I handle it for them? Of course!”

While some of her success is attributed to working the phones, other times it is intuition: “I drove by this one house every day for the last 15 years. Recently I called and inquired about it, and got that listing,” Maurine added.

When asked how Help-U-Sell has contributed to her success, Maurine replied, “I love Help-U-Sell, it’s great. One of the reasons it works is because it’s collaborative between all of the parties involved. The Help-U-Sell Model provides flexibility to close the deal and make selling the home a win-win for everyone.”

Other great tips from Maurine:

“Listen to people and give them what they want. It is the reason why you are there.”
“Cultivate your good reviews on places such as Zillow and Realtor.com. I just closed this morning on a deal with a gentleman from Nevada who found me via public review.”
“I stay on top of and work sellers with notes, but will also thank buyers that were not my clients because buying and selling a home can be a difficult process.”
“Get the names and numbers of the neighbors surrounding your new listing. “
“Facebook reported my posts are doing better than some other business posts in my area. I hold contests on Facebook. I also have my MLS listings tied to my Help-U-Sell Facebook as well.”

You can reach Maurine’s office santarosa.helpusell.com or (707) 575-4444.

Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty’s Dan Desmond Featured on Radio Show

Dan Desmond of Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty recently participated in an interview with Bob Snyder of The Real Deal radio show.

Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty broker/owner Dan Desmond recently participated in an interview for The Real Deal, a radio show hosted by Bob Snyder.

During the 30-minute interview, Desmond and Snyder discussed the recovery of the Jersey Shore (Desmond’s office is located in Forked River, New Jersey) and Desmond’s favorite food (veal parmesan), as well as Help-U-Sell’s flat-fee business model, the importance of communication, and how imperative inspections and appraisals are in the home-buying process.

You can listen to the entire interview online.

Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty’s Matt Kellam Featured on National Real Estate Site

Matt Kellam, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty, is this RealEstate.com's Pro of the Week.

Congratulations to our own Matt Kellam, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty in Chambersburg, Penn., for being selected as RealEstate.com’s Pro of the Week.

In the 900-word article, we learn about Kellam’s hometown, previous positions (he once sold computers), favorite sports teams, and why he opened a Help-U-Sell Real Estate franchise.

“It made sense,” he explained. “It was something completely different from traditional real estate. It offered something to the consumer, and it just felt good.”

You can read the article in its entirety on RealEstate.com.

Broker Focus: Steve Vincent

Steve Vincent of Help-U-Sell Triad Realty

As a licensed broker for 11 years, and an active real estate investor for about 16 years, Help-U-Sell Triad Realty’s Steve Vincent knows a thing or two about long-term commitment. He says this consistency is the key to marketing success, too, especially on Facebook.

Triad Realty’s Facebook page has existed for maybe two years, but he didn’t concentrate on it until recently. “It’s become essential to stay in touch,” Vincent, a former Facebook skeptic, says. He now counts it as one of the important spokes in his marketing wheel. This new commitment has produced some results already.

The page has increased its number of fans by 60 or 70 since early February, and Triad Realty has acquired two seller clients through Facebook. One client saw his seller’s photo of her “Under Contract” sign on her Facebook wall and contacted Triad Realty about listing with the office.

The other client, who’s likely to sign this week, is friends with one of Vincent’s personal friends. She has been keeping track of Triad Realty’s activities on Facebook and recommended the office to her friend who’s getting ready to sell.

“Over the last two years, I’ve been communicating with her [Vincent’s friend] without even knowing I was doing it,” he says.

Vincent is still in the learning stage and doesn’t consider himself a Facebook expert, but he has discovered a few methods that have worked for his audience.

Be willing and able to post often.

Personal posts are best.

Keep posts shorter and simpler.

Ask friends and clients to like your page.

Make your page sticky.

Next on Vincent’s Facebook marketing agenda is soliciting more client testimonials. So far, the page has received a few glowing posts from happy buyers and sellers just by happenstance.

While Facebook is the newest marketing tool, he remains loyal to his first method also. “The most effective marketing we do is our arounds postcards – our just listed/just sold postcards. They are a staple from the beginning,” Vincent says. As an extension of those, he has added the new co-op postcards to his marketing plan for this year. He intends to send to the same carrier routes at least six times this year, continuing with his belief in consistency.

Tell us about your marketing successes or ask us for Facebook tips in the comments section.

Broker Focus: Brenda Fischer

Brenda Fischer of Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited in Terre Haute, Ind.

In this era of reduced inventory, Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited in Terre Haute, Ind., is one of the top Help-U-Sell offices for new listings taken in 2012. Broker/owner Brenda Fischer attributes this success to “going back to the basics.”

For her, this means answering your phone and following up as quickly as possible on all emails, phone calls, etc. She adds, “Use your buyer and seller data sheets and follow up. Don’t give up on these contacts until they tell you they are not going to list with you or they are not going to look at any more homes. We find that people may list three to six months after the initial contact.”

Fischer’s office attracts the leads that turn into listings and sales in a number of ways, many of which fit the “back to basics” theme. Every day, the office sends out handwritten notecards to all expireds and withdrawns in its target markets.

Traditional advertising works for Options Unlimited also. “We advertise weekly in the Valley Homes Section of the Tribune Star newspaper. Last year, we had an insert in the Tribune Star, where we placed a flyer in the newspaper once a month for three months,” she says. “During the peak listing season, we advertise on the local radio station.” Fischer says it’s a 20-second commercial that promotes how her office can save sellers money.

She uses her happy clients to help tell the Help-U-Sell benefits, too. “We get testimonials from anyone and everyone we can get them from – buyers, sellers, off Trulia and Zillow, etc. We place these in our local newspaper and on our website,” she says.

Fischer describes Terre Haute real estate as a buyer’s market and says that “buyers seem to be taking advantage of that in a big way.”

“They are asking for more personal items than ever before, and they know which houses are priced to sell. Buyers are looking at a lot more homes than they did in the past, and these include homes that may not fit their criteria. They want to make sure they have seen everything that may remotely fit their needs,” she explains.

Fischer says her office’s goals for 2013 are to have at least 50 listings by July 1 and to have approximately 65 sides in 2013. She intends to use her market analysis to plan when to advertise and where to advertise to get the most bang for her buck. “We are also planning a three-month trial period with Trulia and we plan to sponsor a Little League baseball team,” she says.

As an almost six-year Help-U-Sell veteran, Fischer offers well-earned advice for new franchisees.

“Some of the traditional real estate companies do not like our concept,” she says. “Kill them with kindness and be as helpful as you can to them.” For instance, she recommends making it easy to show your houses by being thoughtful about which lockboxes you use.

Fischer adds that a proper introduction is key when you’re first opening your office. “Send a note to all brokers in town that Help-U-Sell is here and what it means,” she says. “Everyone thinks they understand what we are all about, and they tell people their version. Get yours out there.”