Help-U-Sell – Page 34 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

The Help-U-Sell Cookbook’s Almost Here

The Help-U-Sell cookbook is about to make its debut. Thanks again to all of you who submitted recipes!

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the two-page spreads. We think it turned out beautifully!

Help-U-Sell Real Estate Cookbook — Get an early look at our new cookbook. The full-color book will be available for brokers to order soon.

The book has 76 pages organized into categories from beverages and appetizers and sides to soups and entrees. Of course, just like any good meal, it ends with baked goods and desserts. Brokers can personalize the cookbook on the back cover with a simple mailing-type label. Each office will receive a sample copy. We are working out the details with the printer, but offices will be able to order additional copies at a reasonable price per book. As soon as we have more information, we will provide an update.

The cookbooks will make great marketing tools. Give them to your buyers and sellers when they close on their homes. Keep in touch with former clients by delivering the books as holiday gifts. Thank clients for their testimonials or referrals. Donate a book to a local charity auction or raffle.

Tell us what you think of the design and share with us how you plan to use the cookbooks this fall.

Top Producers for July 2012

If last month’s top producers competition were an Olympic event, our offices would be closing sales at world-record pace!

1) Grabbing gold, Help-U-Sell Galleria Realty closed 16 sides last month. The Tucson-based brokerage closed four buyer-only sides, six seller-only sides and three double-sided transactions.

1) Also atop the podium, Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties had 11 seller sides and five buyer sides.

2) Taking the silver, Help-U-Sell Prestige Properties, in Chino Hills, Calif., closed 14 sides, 12 of them seller-only.

3) The bronze medal goes to Help-U-Sell Detwiler Realty. The Carlisle, Penn., office had four seller-only sides, three buyer-only sides and three double-sided transactions for a total of 13 closed sides.

3) Tied for third, Help-U-Sell Hometown Realty, also out of Pennsylvania, closed four buyer-only sides, five seller-only sides and two double-sided transactions.

Congratulations to all! Keep going for the gold!

[Figures as of Aug. 6, 2012.]

New Franchise Financing Opportunity

We’re looking to expand the Help-U-Sell family, so we’re offering a new finance option that will defray the majority of our franchise fee.

Here are a few good reasons to consider joining us now:

For a limited time, the franchise fee is just $2,500 upfront.*
You pay the remaining $15,000 as you close sales. It’s just an additional 5% of each transaction.
You still get the same great technology tools, including a broker website, and weekly training as all of our franchisees. The only thing we’ve reduced is your initial out-of-pocket expenses.
Our set-fee business model is thriving in the current low-equity market.

If you’re already a Help-U-Sell franchisee, please spread the word about our great new finance program. To request more information or a free consultation, please go to http://helpusellfranchise.com/consult.html. We would love to speak with you and answer any questions you have.

*All applications are subject to approval and a credit review.

OMS Upgrades – Listing Module Redesign and MLS Fields

The new listing module design is scheduled for completion by the end of the month. We gave a sneak preview to this week’s Tech Time Tuesday attendees. For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are a few screen shots and an overview of the functionality.

The streamlined listing module has five collapsible menus, down from the eight tabs currently in use. The Listings Details menu affords easy access to other functionality in addition to updating the description. A click on the address leads to the listing’s property page on the broker site. Click on the main photo and get a QR code that will direct people who scan it to the property page.

There are three options for printing the listing description: a three-photo brochure, a listings details sheet with a map and a listings details information sheet solely for agents.

Listing Module Design — The new streamlined listing module design features five collapsible menus, a reduction from the current eight tabs.

The other four menus can be opened by clicking on the plus sign to their right. The Listing History menu shows a graph of listing views and a list of status changes with the dates the status changed. In the Listing Attachments menu, the broker or agent can upload pictures or documents related to the listing and indicate whether the attachment is available for public display. The Open House Schedule menu contains a calendar where open house events can be entered and viewed. The Listing Notes menu enables the broker or agent to read and add internal information about the property.

Another enhancement we’ve created is the ability to add MLS fields to property listing descriptions. As each MLS is incorporated into the new system, brokers and agents will be able to select the fields that show up in the property listing descriptions. The names of the fields can also be edited. In the example below, “Style” has been changed to “Architecture” and “Spa” will show up as “Hottub.” These fields will be added as filters on the broker websites’ property search results page, as well.

Additional MLS Fields — With the new functionality, you will be able to control the MLS fields that show up in your listing descriptions.

Let us know what you think of the new listing module and MLS upgrades. If you have any questions, we want to hear them, too.

Broker Focus: Tiffany Bullaj

Tiffany Bullaj of Help-U-Sell Hometown Realty

Marketing relies on visibility, and Tiffany Bullaj of Help-U-Sell Hometown Realty in York, Penn., makes sure her office and its listings are not only seen but seen in the best light.

She recently upgraded the office’s camera and software to HDR quality to create great photos and virtual tours. “We find that it really puts us over the top from many of our competitors who still use property photos that look unprofessional,” Bullaj says.

As another nod to the future, the office has built up its online presence and does no print advertising. Google AdWords is a solid source of Hometown Realty’s leads, along with old-fashioned referrals, which still dominate.

While many agents have pulled the plug on open houses, Bullaj encourages her agents to hold as many as possible. She believes in the opportunities open houses afford agents to meet potential clients – sellers and buyers – and tell them how Help-U-Sell can save them money while getting full-service professional Realtors. Hometown Realty also uses directional signs to increase brand awareness.

Bullaj says her office actively markets to buyers, which helped it finish June with the most closed buyer sides of any franchise office. “It was apparent to us three to five years ago that our business needed to shift from being solely dependent on listing sales into a company that works the buyer side aggressively,” she says. “Since the name “Help-U-Sell” seemed to stigmatize us by creating the thought that we only help sellers, we worked hard to counteract that by going above board to make it known to the public that we work with buyers as well, and also save them money through our “Smart Buy” program.”

The “Smart Buy” program offers buyers $1,000 off the list fee when they buy an MLS-listed property through Hometown Realty’s listing agent. To qualify, the commission must be 3 percent and the closing must take place within 60 days of listing closed. She says, “This seems to create a relationship that goes the distance. We will soon be promoting Smart Buy as a rebate option to all buyers in the area.”

How are you attracting and retaining your target markets?