The updated edition of the Help-U-Sell Welcome Home Cookbook contains 12 new recipes.
How are you staying in touch with your CIs (Centers of Influence) this holiday season? We have worked with Alexander’s Print Advantage to create updated and new promotional pieces for our Help-U-Sell Real Estate franchisees. All items are on Alexander’s site now or will be available within the next few weeks.
* Cookbooks. The updated Welcome Home cookbook contains 12 new recipes. [Note: The new cookbooks are not on the site yet, but you can still purchase the first edition.]
* Holiday cards. You can order this year’s holiday cards in quantities as few as 25 and up to 200.
* Thank-you cards. In addition to the branded note cards already available from Alexander’s, you can now order thank-you cards to express your gratitude for a referral, a testimonial, or simply for being a great client.
* Calendar magnets. A request at this year’s Success Summit led to the design and creation of magnets with 2014 calendars and customizable contact information. Your CIs will see your office name every day of the year!
What is your favorite or most effective way of staying in touch with your clients and CIs during the holidays?
At last week’s Success Summit in Las Vegas, Mike Paholke of Excel Printing and Mailing unveiled new marketing materials, including door hangers.
Melding old school with new technology, two of the three door hanger designs have QR codes that link directly to a lead-capture form on the broker’s website. One is for the free home evaluation, and the other goes to the Market Sketch registration page.
Excel has also introduced refreshed jumbo and standard Just Listed and Just Sold postcards that reflect the new branding. Like the door hangers, two of the three designs have QR codes for lead capture.
Help-U-Sell Real Estate's new marketing materials from Excel Printing and Mailing include door hangers and jumbo postcards.
Alexander’s Print Advantage, our print-on-demand vendor, has created new options for the reverse side of the business cards, along with new handout cards. All of the designs incorporate the refreshed look and feel of the postcards and door hangers.
Brokers and agents can order the new pieces directly from Excel and Alexander’s. Excel is running a special co-op on the door hangers now through Nov. 8. Order before next Friday and save. Additional co-op opportunities will run next year. These are great ways to make the most of your marketing budget.
Let us know if you’ve taken advantage of Excel’s co-ops before. We’d love to hear your feedback!
According to an article on CNNMoney last week, the number of homeowners selling their properties without a broker or agent has increased over the past year. One of the reasons FSBOs (for sale by owners) cite for going it on their own is to save the large commissions most brokers and agents charge.
Of course, at Help-U-Sell Real Estate, our low set fee can save FSBOs money and time and still be involved in the selling process, which is a compelling offer for some FSBOs. Others can successfully manage the sale of their homes on their own. This is something to keep in mind if you choose to market to FSBOs. The approach we advocate taking is that of a friendly resource, free of charge, unless we find a buyer for the FSBO. We are not trying to list the FSBO’s house.
Help-U-Sell Real Estate's approach to FSBOs is as a friendly resource who wants to help the seller, not to land a listing.
To assist the seller, we recommend offering the following items or services of value:
* a suggested listing price
* advice
* showing the seller’s house to buyers
* monthly sales statistics from the MLS
* following up with open house visitors
This approach goes right along with the Help-U-Sell Real Estate founding principle of serving the consumer. Even if the broker or agent never gets the FSBO’s listing, he or she could acquire buyers’ names, be hired to help the FSBO with closing, and gain a new brand advocate.
For more advice and suggested dialogue when working with FSBOs, watch Help-U-Sell University video Module 4: Lesson 1.
How have you reached out to FSBOs successfully in the past? Share your experiences with us.
Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited sponsored the Terre Haute South Little League team this past spring.
Real estate is ultimately a people business and a local business. So getting involved in your community makes a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint, and, of course, it can be emotionally rewarding and fun, too.
This past spring, Bob and Brenda Fischer of Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited sponsored the Terre Haute South Little League team, knowing the area was impoverished and, therefore, not attractive to other marketers. The Fischers attended games so regularly, Brenda was recognized by a team parent as a Help-U-Sell broker while she was at the supermarket. Sponsorship achieved brand recognition, but more importantly helped kids in the community get to play a game they love. Options Unlimited is sponsoring a team this fall, too.
Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited's Army of Red getting ready to march in the Terre Haute Labor Day Parade
Options Unlimited’s support from the community showed earlier this month at the Terre Haute Labor Day Parade. The biggest Labor Day parade in Indiana, it was televised throughout the state. The Fischers mustered up 25 walkers. Besides family, agents and friends, the “Army of Red” contained previous clients who were “more than willing to participate,” says Bob. The Army passed out candy and promotional cards along the parade route.
Options Unlimited has closed 23 sides so far this year in a metropolitan area of only 170,000.
How are you involved in your community? What are your plans to get more involved?
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.
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?
