Bettina Grein – Help-U-Sell® Connect

We’re just back from the 2012 Help-U-Sell Success Summit, and the REALTORS Conference & Expo leading up to it. By all accounts, both were a great success! We loved seeing our brokers from all over the country. Several of them (Kim and Mike Zelena, Leigh Anne Losh, Kyna Baehr, and Walt Hippauf) drove hundreds of miles to be with us in Orlando.

Thank you to everyone who spent time at our expo booth. Your testimonials to prospective franchisees are more powerful than just about anything we can say to them or show them. A special thank-you to Dan Desmond, who made the trek from storm-damaged New Jersey to help out at the Expo and to attend the Summit.

We hope all who attended the Success Summit got some great takeaways. The hands-on approach and interactive discussions about OMS and website requests and your fee structures taught us, too. We also talked about partnering with a wonderful charity that gives food to the hungry and about adding a potential vendor to our program. As we get closer to finalizing those partnerships, we will keep you informed.

Those of you who couldn’t make it this year, please mark your calendars and start saving now for the 2013 events in San Francisco. The NAR dates are Nov. 8-11, and we will have our Success Summit immediately following. We’ll provide more information in the months to come.

Meanwhile, enjoy a few photos from the Expo and the Success Summit.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate's booth at the Realtors Expo — Help-U-Sell Real Estate's booth at the Realtors Conference & Expo in Orlando

Chris, Dee and Kendra working the Help-U-Sell booth at NAR — Chris, Dee and Kendra working the Help-U-Sell Real Estate booth at the Realtors Conference & Expo

Tracy Jacobs of Help-U-Sell Quad Cities Realty takes notes during the Success Summit.

Ron McCoy teaching about Instagram during the Help-U-Sell Success Summit

Help-U-Sell Westside Realty's Beverly Hills property listing — The sale of this $6 million Beverly Hills home is pending. It is listed with Help-U-Sell Westside Realty.

Being a set-fee broker and selling high-end real estate shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. In fact, this is where Help-U-Sell Real Estate should thrive. We can save luxury home sellers the most money.

Earlier this year, Henry Ho, of Help-U-Sell Westside Realty in Los Angeles, sold a $10.5 million apartment complex, saving the seller a few hundred thousand dollars.

Help-U-Sell Grein Group in Stafford, Va., can also claim success in high-end real estate. If you would like to enter into this market, Bettina Grein and Henry Ho offer the following advice.

Send targeted mailings to upscale neighborhoods. Grein says her office mails just-listed and just-sold cards. The cards also make a point of emphasizing how much sellers saved versus a 6% commission. The savings are particularly powerful once you’ve sold a luxury home.
Prove your expertise. “The client has to feel comfortable that you have knowledge and expertise to handle more expensive properties,” Ho says. Study the local high-end market, know how to analyze and interpret financial statements and hone your negotiating skills. If you’re looking to break into a more specialized market, such as apartment buildings, get certified.
Be tech savvy. Take advantage of all the available tools for marketing a home and be prepared to show examples, says Ho.
Use personal referrals. Ho believes testimonials from mutual contacts are your best form of advertising. Who in your center of influence knows potential upscale sellers?
Give a strong explanation of how Help-U-Sell works. Grein says because high-end homeowners are often type-A personalities with high expectations, it is crucial to demonstrate that Help-U-Sell performs the same services as traditional brokerages.

The luxury real estate market is yours for the taking. If you have more tips or if you try this advice with success, share with us.

Tag: Bettina Grein

Five Tips for Success in the Luxury Real Estate Market