Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited – Help-U-Sell® Connect

Top Producers for May 2016

Help-U-Sell Greensboro closed 20 sides in May.

May was a banner month for two of our offices, who closed 20 or more sides! Others made the list of top producers for the first time in a while, and some helped sellers with $1 million-plus transactions. Congratulations to all!

1) Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties edged out second place by just one. Their 21 closed sides consisted of six buyer sides, nine seller sides, and three dual-sided transactions.

2) Barely missing a tie for first, Help-U-Sell Greensboro completed 20 sides: six buyer, 10 seller, and two dual-sided transactions.

3) With a lucky 13 closed sides, Help-U-Sell Triad Realty finished third. The North Carolina office had three buyer sides, eight seller sides, and one dual-sided transaction.

4) Alabama’s Help-U-Sell Quad Cities Realty closed two buyer sides, six seller sides, and two dual-sided transactions.

5) Help-U-Sell Direct Savings Real Estate did 11 closed sides. One buyer side, six seller sides, and two dual-sided transactions made up their total.

6) In a three-way tie for sixth place, Help-U-Sell Jeff Braun Realty, out of Wisconsin, did two buyer sides, four seller sides, and two dual-sided transactions.

6) Utah-based Help-U-Sell Legacy helped four buyers and six sellers in May.

6) Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited, in Terre Haute, Indiana, rounds out the top producers with four buyer sides, two seller sides, and two dual-sided transactions.

Three offices helped their clients sell $1 million-plus properties. Great job saving your sellers thousands of dollars, Help-U-Sell Achievers Realty, Help-U-Sell Greensboro, and Help-U-Sell San Antonio Hill Country!

[Figures as of June 14, 2016]

Top Producers for February 2016

Brenda Fischer, broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited in Terre Haute, Indiana — Brenda Fischer's Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited in Terre Haute, Indiana, closed eight sides in February.

It was a short month, but that didn’t slow down our offices from helping many buyers and sellers with their real estate transactions.

1) Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties took the top spot again with 11 closed sides: one buyer side, four seller sides, and three dual-sided transactions. Among these transactions were three $1 million-plus sales, which saved their clients tens of thousands of dollars each!

2) Terre Haute, Indiana-based Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited had eight closed sides, consisting of one buyer side, three seller sides, and two dual-sided transactions.

2) Tied for second place, Alabama’s Help-U-Sell Quad Cities Realty had one buyer side, three seller sides, and two dual-sided transactions.

3) Help-U-Sell Metropolitan, serving the greater Detroit area, finished in third place with seven closed sides: six buyer sides and one seller side.

Congratulations to all of our top offices for February!

[Figures as of March 9, 2016]

Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited Marches in Labor Day Parade

An eight-foot Help-U-Sell Real Estate banner led the Army of Red.

Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited‘s broker/owners Brenda and Robert Fischer love giving back to their community, and one of their favorite traditions is to march in the annual Terre Haute Labor Day parade. One of 48 entrants in the parade, the Fischers’ “Army of Red” consisted of more than 40 people all dressed in red Help-U-Sell Real Estate T-shirts. Family, friends, and past clients all handed out more than 2,500 informational cards explaining how Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited helps sellers save money. Two red trucks and five wagons/strollers with Help-U-Sell Real Estate signs accompanied the walkers, who carried an eight-foot banner.

Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited's 'Army of Red,' made up of staff, family, and past clients, marched in the Terre Haute Labor Day parade earlier this month.

“It was a lot of fun,” says Brenda Fischer. “We handed out over 6,600 pieces of candy.” The Labor Day parade is a perfect fit for Help-U-Sell Options Unlimited because “We want to support the ‘Labor Force’ and to give them an alternative to the ‘normal’ 6 to 9 percent real estate commission, in order for them to sell their homes,” she says.

The Army of Red included enthusiastic kids and 'future Help-U-Sell brokers.'

How do you participate in your community activities while promoting your office? Share how you’re involved in the comments.

The Power of Community Involvement

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?

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.”