Help-U-Sell Updates – Page 16 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Receives Second Franchisee Satisfaction Award

For the second year in a row, Help-U-Sell Real Estate has been named one of the top franchises in the United States by Franchise Business Review. This honor means a lot to us because the judges for these awards are our own franchisees.

Franchise Business Review Awards — Help-U-Sell Real Estate has received a Franchise Business Review award for the second year in a row.

Based on the results of a survey conducted within the past two months, we were ranked 45th in franchisee satisfaction in our size category and in the top 10 in the real estate industry category. Last year, we rated 53rd in our size category.

The awards program, called FBR50, surveyed more than 26,000 franchisees from 350 companies.

Thank you to all of our franchisees who took the time to answer the survey. We love receiving your feedback, both positive and constructive, so that we can continue to improve our system.

We also love welcoming new brokers to the Help-U-Sell family. If you are interested in learning about opening a Help-U-Sell Real Estate franchise, please visit our Franchise Opportunity Center.

OMS Upgrade – Leads Management Module

Following other streamlining changes we’ve been making to the Office Management System, we’ve consolidated the leads management module into one easy-to-use page.

The new Help-U-Sell Real Estate Leads Management Module

You access your new web leads, office leads, and registered website users from this module. You can also manually add office leads. By clicking on the “View Details” button, you can find out what the lead requested information about, define the lead type (Buyer or Seller), and the lead source (options include Internet, ETM, and walk-in). Once you choose Buyer or Seller, you have more options that are tailored to the lead type.

Office Leads Management Module — You can access more information about your office leads by clicking on the View Details button.

You can also convert the lead to a contact once the buyer lead has bought a home with you or the seller lead has signed with your office.

The registered website users are separated from the other leads because they are “self-serve” leads. You can see their saved listings and what listings were viewed, as well as the leads’ email search parameters.

The contacts module is next to be redesigned, and it will have a sort feature, among other new additions. If you have any questions or feedback about either the leads management module or the contacts module, please let us know in the comments or via email.

New Marketing Materials: Holiday Cards and Postcards

We have been keeping our two print vendors busy so far this year creating new marketing pieces for you.

At the request of members of our marketing focus group, we have designed holiday cards for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Independence Day and Thanksgiving. Each card has at least two different messages from which to choose. You will be able to order these cards from Alexander’s Print Advantage in the next few weeks. A winter holidays card is already available on the site. Twenty-five cards and envelopes are $41.50. We recommend sending these new cards out to your current and past clients as a way to stay top of mind. Consider buying them far ahead of each holiday and addressing the envelopes on a rolling basis to avoid a mad rush and to ensure you remember everyone.

One of the Help-U-Sell Real Estate holiday cards available for use as a marketing tool

Excel Printing & Mailing has created two jumbo postcards to be used as ETMs. The cards are 70 percent customizable. Each option, the Easy Way and the Smart Way, can be ordered in a black color scheme or red color scheme. Excel has put together a co-op on these postcards to be able to offer us an incredibly low rate. Offices need to place their orders by the end of the day on Feb. 27 to take advantage of the co-op. Excel handles the mailing of the postcards, and you can schedule the mailings months in advance. Nearly everything on the postcards can be altered, including images, testimonials, headlines, and contact information.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate jumbo postcard marketing mailer — Franchisees can customize 70 percent of the new jumbo postcards, offered by Excel Printing & Mailing.

The jumbo postcards are priced at $0.27 each, including postage, and there is a one-time $35 setup fee. We suggest ordering enough to last through the spring market.

Which of these will you add to your marketing tools? Also let us know if you have any other requests for marketing materials.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Franchise News

We are thrilled to announce that former franchisee Greg McPherson has returned to the Help-U-Sell Real Estate family! A franchisee from 2003 to 2008, McPherson has been running an independent brokerage in San Ramon, Calif. since then. His new Help-U-Sell office, Help-U-Sell East Bay, will open this Friday, Feb. 1.

“Help-U-Sell is who I am,” he says. “It’s something I strongly believe in, and it sells itself.”

Having grown up in the local area, McPherson says, “giving back to the community is important to me. Help-U-Sell allows me to do so in a happy way. Helping people financially is a good feeling all around for us.”

His office will serve clients as far north as Walnut Creek and south to Pleasanton.

Please join us in welcoming him back.

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Alba Pytell, Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty — Alba Pytell, affiliated with Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty, serves North Central New Jersey.

On the East Coast, veteran Help-U-Sell broker/owner Dan Desmond has expanded his Bay Beach Realty office’s reach to North Central New Jersey with the addition of agent Alba Pytell. A long-time area resident, Pytell has been practicing real estate for four years. She joined forces with Bay Beach Realty because she has always wanted to be with a flat-fee realty. “I feel like everybody wins with Help-U-Sell,” she says.

Pytell has her own website for her territory, which encompasses Morris, Somerset and Union counties.

Please welcome Pytell to the Help-U-Sell family.

7 Tips to Creating Successful Real Estate Videos

Video has been growing in importance as a marketing tool for the past few years, and 2013 promises to make the medium even more vital especially for real estate marketing. How can you take advantage of this trend?

We’ve compiled seven tips on what to do (and what not to do, especially regarding mobile optimization of videos) to create a successful video.

Avoid tiny text.
Use clear audio.
Put links to your website and related sites, such as your blog or a property listing, in the description.
Include keywords in the description.
Use close-up shots of interesting property features, neighborhood sites or interviewees.
Test the video on mobile devices.
Keep it no longer than 3 or 4 minutes, ideally 1 to 2 minutes.

Matt Kellam of Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty does a great job with the length, audio and keywords. Watch one of his recent videos of a property tour.

Not sure what to film? Try out this suggested content:

Property tours: If possible, record the sellers’ story of the home and focus on unique details of the property.
Neighborhood overviews: Give viewers a feel for the area and speak with local proprietors and residents about why they love the neighborhood.
Tips for buyers and sellers: Answer your most frequently asked questions (one per video).
Market updates: Share the most recent sales figures or give the latest interest rate information. Use graphs or other visuals to help explain the changes.
Client testimonials: Record your happy sellers’ and buyers’ praising you and your staff.

Do you have any other ideas for video content or tips for successful videos? If so, please share them with us.

[Special thanks to Inman News‘ Mobile Marketing Essentials webinar for a few of these tips.]