Category: Help-U-Sell Updates

What We’re Thankful for in 2015

Our favorite time of year has returned! We love giving thanks for our many blessings.

What we’re thankful for in 2015:

Jack Bailey at Success Summit 2015
Jack Bailey educated us about buyer consultations at Success Summit 2015.
  • Our new additions to the Help-U-Sell Real Estate family! We are grateful and excited for them as they build their brokerages and help their clients.
  • The great turnout for our Honolulu training and our annual Success Summit in Las Vegas. We appreciate everyone taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend these events and, most importantly, for your continued contributions and camaraderie.
  • The improving health of beloved broker/owner Ken Kopcho (Help-U-Sell Santa Maria), who suffered a terrible accident earlier this year. His inextinguishable spirit no doubt is helping his remarkable recovery that we hope keeps moving forward.
  • Broker/owners John Powell (Help-U-Sell Galleria Realty) and Jack Bailey (Help-U-Sell Greensboro) for coaching their fellow franchisees weekly. Everyone learns so much from John’s and Jack’s guidance, whether it’s teaching how to capture more seller leads or how to assist buyers.
  • Our print vendors, Excel Print and Mail and Alexander’s Print Advantage, for always working with us and our franchisees to create innovative marketing materials.
  • Franchise Business Review awards. This year, we were bestowed with more top franchise accolades from the market research firm, including a Franchisee Satisfaction Award and being listed among the top low-cost franchises and top franchises for veterans.

As we wind down 2015, we look ahead to more to celebrate next year, our 40th anniversary in particular. We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and holiday season!

Live from Success Summit 2015

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Success Summit 2015Help-U-Sell Real Estate Success Summit 2015
Ron McCoy taught us about working with Millennials during the Help-U-Sell Real Estate Success Summit.

We’re in the middle of day two of the annual Success Summit in Las Vegas. So far, our 40+ attendees have learned about lead generation and marketing to Millennials, how to use social media tools, and how to double your buyer side production, among other topics.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Success Summit 2015
Attendees enjoyed mingling at the opening reception.

There have also been opportunities to share knowledge and ideas and just to mingle and reconnect.

See more photos on our Facebook page and by searching #HUSSummit15 on Twitter.

Updated Marketing Postcards for 2016

Because our first year of the automated postcard program was a success, we are expanding it for 2016.

Next year, the program will have four additional postcards, an increase of 50 percent, so that recipients will receive one card per month. In addition, we recently enabled agents to send out postcards to their own contacts.

The 4.25-inch x 6-inch postcards’ topics include seasonal tips such as spring cleaning ideas and back-to-school organization, as well as real estate messages, from financing programs to how Help-U-Sell Real Estate helps buyers. The postcards’ messages cannot be customized in order to keep costs down, but brokers and agents can add a personal testimonial or choose a sold-and-saved example for the reverse of the cards.

Spring Cleaning Real Estate Marketing Postcard
The 2016 marketing postcards for centers of influence have expanded to 12 mailings and include new and updated topics.

The program was created to help our brokers (and now agents) stay in touch with their centers of influence (CIs), who are loosely defined as anyone who can put your name with your face. These people are highly important because most buyers and sellers turn to people they know to help them with their real estate needs. According to the National Association of REALTORS, in 2014, 52 percent of buyers either used a former agent or found an agent by referral from a family member or friend. That figure jumps to 60 percent for sellers.

Agents and brokers can send out as many or as few postcards as they would like. The postcards will cost approximately 45 cents each, postage included, depending on how many are sent out collectively. The price can drop by another 15 percent if the agent or broker opts to take advantage of a co-op with Movement Mortgage, which simply requires including the company’s logo and disclaimer on the reverse of the postcard.

The last mailing of 2015 has a holiday message, and the 2016 postcards will begin mailing out in January. Look for reminders toward the end of the year. If you did not participate in the program this year, get prepared for next year by uploading your contacts into the OMS. If you have any questions, please contact us at support.

New Facebook Posting Functionality

Sample Facebook Property Listing Post
Help-U-Sell Real Estate brokers can easily post their property listings to Facebook.

We have made it easier to post property listings directly to Facebook. Now, you just have to copy the link to the listing and paste it into the status box, and the primary image, the property address, and the description will populate on the page. (See the example on the right.)

You can then delete the link and write whatever you’d like to say about the property, such as pointing out a unique feature or promoting an open house.

We are working on making it even easier to publish a listing on Facebook by adding a button on each property profile that will enable you to directly post to your business or personal page.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Helps Buyers, Too

Help-U-Sell Real Estate agents help buyers, too.
Help-U-Sell Real Estate agents help buyers, too.

Our name says that our agents help consumers sell their homes, but we also help buyers. In fact, just last month, our top producers closed 50 buyer transactions. Buyers are an important component of our business model, and we love working with them.

Many of our offices have dedicated buyers’ agents to handle the buyer leads our listings attract. Some offices offer rebates as another incentive for buyers.

To help buyers as well as possible, agents need to be trained in all aspects of the buying process. Our second 10-week buyer consultant training course for our brokers and agents just wrapped up this week. Run by Jack Bailey, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Greensboro, the course covered everything from construction basics to financing programs to how to build buyers’ confidence and trust. Some attendees from the first course have already reported more buyer sides closed, and the teachings about lesser-known financing options like over-par pricing can save transactions.

For an overview of how we approach the buyer relationship, watch our video. You’ll see how our brokers and agents help buyers create a real estate plan for their financial future and find the best home for them in responsive and transparent manner.

Our website also helps buyers start their home searches. From the corporate site, users are directed to a local office’s search results page, where they can filter their searches by a variety of amenities and factors, such as waterfront and local schools. The search functionality also allows users to draw their own boundaries to find listings within the area’s confines. Further enhancements to the data are in the works and will make our search even more attractive for buyers.

If you love working with buyers and would like more information about joining Help-U-Sell Real Estate, visit our Franchise Opportunity Center.

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