marketing – Page 6 – Help-U-Sell® Connect

Attracting Younger Buyers and Sellers

The National Association of REALTORS released the first ever Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report last week. The 104-page document compares the habits, practices, beliefs and goals of the Silent Generation, people born between 1925 and 1945, and all subsequent generations through the Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000.

The National Association of Realtors Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report — A new report from the National Association of Realtors report outlines the differences among younger and older home buyers and sellers.

Based on some of the data regarding the younger generations, Help-U-Sell Real Estate is perfectly poised to assist them in their real estate transactions.

Younger buyers are more likely to want help understanding the process because they’re most often inexperienced in purchasing a home. Help-U-Sell offices often have agents dedicated to working with buyers, and our specialized Jack Bailey Buyer Consultant Training program is nearing completion.

The majority of Millennials who sold their homes used a full-service brokerage, but they were more likely than other generations to opt for limited service, presumably due to less equity in their properties. With a business model that offers full service (or less, if desired) for a low fee, Help-U-Sell is a perfect fit for the newest generation of homeowners.

Why are the younger buyers and sellers a desirable demographic? According to the report’s findings, they are the most optimistic, and younger sellers are the most likely to use the same broker or agent for their next purchase.

What can you do to attract Millennials?

* Make sure you’re easy to find online.

* Consider creating a Facebook ad that targets that age group who live in your area. You can further home in on potential buyers and sellers by selecting people who are newlyweds or just had a child, factors that could precipitate a move.

* Avoid the hard sell. Instead, offer information in a conversational tone.

* For buyers, write a blog series or create a drip email campaign geared toward educating first-time buyers.

* For sellers, let them know about your low set fee and how they can save the most money. These tips can include staging on a budget and how to market their property to friends, co-workers and neighbors, along with the different ways your office works with sellers.

What tips do you have for working with younger buyers and sellers?

Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty’s Dan Desmond Featured on Radio Show

Dan Desmond of Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty recently participated in an interview with Bob Snyder of The Real Deal radio show.

Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty broker/owner Dan Desmond recently participated in an interview for The Real Deal, a radio show hosted by Bob Snyder.

During the 30-minute interview, Desmond and Snyder discussed the recovery of the Jersey Shore (Desmond’s office is located in Forked River, New Jersey) and Desmond’s favorite food (veal parmesan), as well as Help-U-Sell’s flat-fee business model, the importance of communication, and how imperative inspections and appraisals are in the home-buying process.

You can listen to the entire interview online.

ProCoach University Preview: Lead Management

We are wrapping up production of the video lessons for ProCoach University, our new online training tool for new and seasoned franchisees. One of the lessons covers lead management and how to effectively convert leads into clients. With the tight inventory situations many markets are facing, it’s more important than ever to cultivate and convert leads, especially seller leads.

The video begins by posing two questions you should know how to answer before starting any marketing campaign:

ProCoach University's Lead Management video lesson — Help-U-Sell Real Estate's ProCoach University video on lead management teaches brokers to start out with clear goals.

Packed into fewer than eight minutes are a list of five things you should know prior to any campaign’s kickoff (current status, where your advertising will appear and why, what it’s costing, what specific results you hope to achieve, what success will look like) and the six moments of truth in the lead management cycle. What are those half dozen revealing junctures? They’re the different phases on your way to converting an inquiry to a closing, and you need to examine each one to uncover any areas where there could be improvement.

The final segment of the video lesson looks at lead management step by step, including documenting your inquiries and keeping your lead records up to date.

Measuring against benchmarks and goals every step of the way from generation to conversion will help you to refine your generation and management system, making it more cost-effective so that you can save clients even more money.

Help-U-Sell brokers, if you would like to have access to ProCoach University, contact us so that we can set up your account. If you’re not a franchisee yet, you can join the Help-U-Sell family for as little as $2,500 in up-front fees and gain access to our online and one-on-one coaching training. Learn more at our Franchise Opportunity Center.

New Marketing Tools for Brand Recognition

As the weather gets warmer in most of the country and you hold more open houses and sell more homes, how will you ensure that you’ll stay top of mind after you close the door or the transaction?

Following up via a drip email campaign, phone calls and requests for testimonials, where appropriate, are a few ways. You can also give out useful items that will remind your open house visitors and clients of Help-U-Sell Real Estate every time they need to jot a few notes or have morning coffee.

Our print-on-demand vendor, Alexander’s Print Advantage, has just added a line of promotional items. The Help-U-Sell Real Estate logo can be placed on all of the items, and magnets can be personalized with your contact information. Notepads will also be available for personalization soon.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate travel mug — Help-U-Sell Real Estate promotional marketing tools include a travel mug.

Some ideas for recipient-item pairings:

Buyers – tape measures.

Clients who are closing – wine glasses.

Agents – travel mugs.

Open house visitors – pens.

Alexander’s also offers an array of golf ball brands, tote bags, key chains and bottle openers. If there any other items you would like to put the Help-U-Sell logo on, contact us or speak with Alexander’s directly. You can view the entire selection by going to Alexander’s Help-U-Sell site and clicking on Promotions.

While you’re there, take a look at the Holiday Cards, too. We now have cards for seven holidays available, including Memorial Day.

What is your favorite item to give away?

Spring Training for Real Estate

It’s that time of year when Major League Baseball comes out of hibernation and spring training begins. You don’t have to have a multimillion dollar contract to take part in your own version of spring training. Invaluable educational opportunities can be had for free or little cost.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate's weekly sales and marketing training — Help-U-Sell Real Estate offers its franchisees a weekly sales and marketing webinar.

Here are a few opportunities to improve your pitch, practice your swing and better your chances for a home run:

* Participate in the weekly Help-U-Sell meetings: Tech Time Tuesday and Wednesday’s Power Hour. Both are from noon to 1 p.m. ET. Help-U-Sell brokers and agents, email us to register for these free online training sessions.

* Attend one of Inman News’ Agent Reboot events. These one-day sessions are fast-paced, fact-packed and feature top real estate marketing and technology experts. The cost is just $49. Remaining locations for 2013 include Orange County (Calif.), Boston, Dallas, and Fort Lauderdale.

* Register for Zillow Academy webinars. The academy offers at least one webinar every weekday on topics ranging from Zillow-specific tutorials to blogging techniques and time-management tips.

* Take advantage of National Association of REALTORS free or low-cost educational opportunities.

You can also find free webinars through Inman News and other online entities. If you have any courses to recommend, please tell us about them in the comments.