Month: July 2010

The Mission and the Message

We Help-U-Sell folk are pretty passionate about what we do.  We see ourselves as anything but ordinary.  We have a better idea, one that works better and costs less, and we are very proud of that fact.  We’re not just selling real estate, we’re changing the way real estate is sold.  This sense of mission, of participating in something bigger than the job, becomes a driving force in a Help-U-Sell career.

Talk to Help-U-Sell people and it doesn’t take long before the passion oozes out.  You see the fire in the eyes and notice the quickening of speech.  It’s the kind of thing that’s almost impossible to keep tucked in — as if you’d ever want to.  I think this passion for the mission is one of the reasons our crew is so successful when they get face-to-face with a potential client.  The client sees the excitement, feels the passion and it’s hard to resist.  The fact that our people believe so strongly in what they are doing is one of our great secret weapons.

Here’s the important thing about this:  you can’t manufacture it.  You could go to sales seminars for a month and still not be able to muster this kind of excitement about what you’re doing if what you’re doing is . . . no big deal.  Believable passion for the work comes from knowing that you have something really special to offer, believing you bring something of great value to your customers and seeing your biggest challenge as simply spreading the word about what you do.

In every successful selling situation, there are two sales being made.  Of course, the customer is buying; but so is the salesperson.  Every time a Help-U-Sell person presents his or her program to a consumer, they are drawing on a deep well of belief in what they do, and each time the consumer says, ‘Yes!’ that belief is further reinforced . . . and we get stronger.

There’s a rather cynical phrase commonly applied to passion and a sense of mission in business.  It’s ‘Drink the Kool-Aid,’ and it’s a reference to the tragic events that occurred in Guyana in 1978.  The followers of Jim Jones believed in him to the point that they were willing to drink his poisoned Kool-Aid.  When we tell someone to ‘Drink the Kool-Aid,’ we’re saying they need to suspend their logical skepticism and just do it.

I actually went to a business meeting several years back with thousands of others, where we watched a business leader on the stage mix a gallon of Kool-Aid.  As he talked about his product (which was nothing special at all), he added stuff:  Mustard and Ketchup, vegetable oil and vinegar.   At the end of his presentation as the throng rose to its feet in roaring approval he drank a cup of the stuff . . . and then invited others to join him on stage to do the same.

Listen: There is no Kool-Aid to drink at Help-U-Sell.  There is no suspension of logic here, no misplaced belief in smoke and mirrors.  We have no special effects department, no stunt men.  What we have is real, it is tangible, it makes sense and it can be grasped by most people in a few minutes.  That’s why the passion is believable, why the sense of mission is strong enough to drive us even when the market is challenging.  Our message is the mission.

The Mind of Mr. Hippauf

On Wednesday’s Help-U-Sell Broker Roundtable call, Walt Hippauf talked about doing listing presentations online using Go To Meeting.  It’s something he’s done out of necessity:  he’s had difficulties with his legs and is not as mobile as he once was.  Online meetings have made it possible for him to get his business done while minimizing the amount of time he spends on his feet.

It’s more than that, though.  When Walt meets his prospective sellers online, he makes a statement about his business.  He says:  ‘I am different.  I am current.  I represent the new way to sell real estate.’  All of this is true, of course, but the online meeting makes it apparent.

It’s also more efficient.  Speaking as someone who’s lived and breathed PowerPoint for decades, I can tell you that the same presentation done online is always shorter than one done face to face.  Online you are forced to be concise and to the point.  Face-to-face, you spend time elaborating and being conversational.  Walt’s proving that you can do an online listing presentation in 30 minutes or less — and that’s music to the ears of any seller who’s contemplating being trapped in the living room with a salesperson for the evening.

It gets back to that generation gap thing again.  You know:  where the average age of a home buyer today is 32 and the average age of a Realtor is 52.  Speaking in gross generalities: we are in an industry where our customers are often more comfortable with technology than we are.  Where we want to sit down around the kitchen table, make a little small talk so that when we get down to business it’s friendly, they want to get in, get the information, and get out.  Anything that complicates or slows the process is a negative.  Anything that makes it simple and quick is positive.   And here’s the thing about the Thirty-Somethings:  They’re impatient with anyone who doesn’t get it. ‘Oh, you can’t provide me listing information on my smart phone?  Well, then, I’ve got to find someone who can . . . let me Google that.’

It occurs to me that we — meaning Help-U-Sell Corporate — ought to be doing a brief overview of the Help-U-Sell consumer offering online each week.  It’s something that should be of interest to prospective sellers and buyers but also to outside agents and brokers who may not know what we do and how we work.  It would be something to which you could invite FSBOs and Expireds.  If we do it every week, it could become an early step in your listing process.

So help me put this together.  Whatever we do will have to be brief — like 15 minutes.  Our goal will be to get people comfortable with us and excited about working with us.  In that short period of time, what are the 3 – 5 key things to tell consumers about Help-U-Sell?  Leave me a comment with your thoughts.

This Generation and That One

I was talking to Ken Kopcho, a great Help-U-Sell broker, today about an email I’d sent him.  He hadn’t seen it yet.  ‘You know, I’m a mano a mano kinda guy,’ he said,  ‘I respond well to face to face meetings and conversation.’   I think he was ribbing me about sending an email rather than calling.  And he’s right:  I do resort to electronic communication probably more than I should.  Truth is, I can get 3 or 4 quick business-like text or email messages out in the time I can have one phone conversation.

‘There are people in this world,’ he continued,’who could be sitting at the desk directly across from me who would send me a text if they needed to tell me something!’  This ribbing was turning into a smack-down!

‘Come on, Ken,’ I finally answered, ‘It’s just different kinds of communication for different kinds of people and we should to be able to work with everyone.’

That’s when Ken got excited and started telling me about the sale he just made.  His buyers are a military family:  he’s  in Korea and she’s at home in Texas.  He’ll be stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Ken’s Santa Maria marketplace, so they have been looking at houses online.  They first found Ken on his office website after Googling ‘homes for sale’ in Santa Maria.  Then they found his listings again on Zillow and it was through Zillow that they made contact with him.  He was right back to them and they said (almost on cue), ‘Why, you’re the only broker who’s gotten back to us!’

Though they have been in touch over various listings, Ken has never met this family . . . and here’s the kicker: they are now under contract on a house they have never actually seen (except online).

There are lots of little lessons in this brief saga.  First, if we’re going to be successful, we’re going to have to be sensitive to the communication styles of the people with whom we work.  The shortest distance between your message and the person you want to get it is through their preferred mode of communication (not yours).  Though Ken is a more traditional guy, he was able to communicate so well  with this family electronically that he made a sale.

The story also puts me in mind of the great real estate generation gap.  The average REALTOR is 52 years old.  The average home buyer is 32 years old.  Those twenty years are measured mostly in terms of technology.  Our buyers are often more tech savvy than we are.  They are also impatient with anyone who isn’t up to speed with the new way of doing business.  Here’s where we (more mature) real estate professionals have to really hunker down and learn the new way.  I mean:  you may be the best horse and buggy salesperson in the world, but if most of the world wants a Model T Ford, and you don’t understand those new fangled things at all . . . you better get busy learning.

I talked with another broker a few weeks back who I think illustrates this dilemma.  Like me, he’s . . . um . . . mature.  He’s been in the business for 30 years.  His strength has always been the personal touch.  He gets to know his customers and does the searching for them, showing them only the homes that closely match their criteria.  His marketplace has become trendy and the upwardly mobile early 30s crowd is moving in.  His buyer lead conversion rate has been in decline for awhile and is now frustratingly low.  Truth is:  his style is probably turning off many of the buyers in his marketplace.  He needs a quick masters degree in working with the tech savvy buyer:  how to use Zillow, Trulia, Facebook, Listingbook, Sikku, and websiteSSS to empower consumers in the home search process.

I know that’s harder for some brokers than others, not because they are stupid, but because it’s not enjoyable for them.  They’d rather be meeting the people, showing property and solving problems mano a mano.  This is a perfect situation for a sharp young buyers agent to come in and handle that segment of the market.

Take it from one . . . . um . . . . mature real estate broker:  if electronic communication and marketing is not your thing, it’s probably a problem in your business.  One way or another, you’re going to have to deal with it, either by going back to school or hiring someone who already knows it.

Charging Less – Making More

Traditional real estate brokers don’t get us.  They don’t understand how in the world Help-U-Sell brokers can afford to be in business.  After all, they charge a seller about 3 times what we charge and even at that it’s near impossible to turn a profit.  Obviously we must be cutting corners, cutting service, skimping on, well . . . everything.

The reason they don’t get it is that they look at the Help-U- Sell consumer offering through their traditional broker eyes.  They see our low set fee and then immediately picture what would be left after splitting with an agent:  next to nothing! Of course that would make no sense at all; therefore, Help-U-Sell must make no sense at all, right?  Wrong.

The error here is in assuming we have the same business model they have, that we conduct business the same way they do.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

The first thing we do in a Help-U-Sell office is put the broker firmly in charge.  He or she takes responsibility for creating an effective marketing plan and for generating all leads into the office.  He or she also takes all listings for the company– even if, sometimes a licensed assistant takes them.

So there is no splitting of the listing fee, no sharing of it on a 70/30 basis with an agent.  The Listing Fee flows intact, directly to the paying of expenses and ultimately to the bottom line.

‘How can you do that!’ wails the traditional broker.  ‘My agents work very hard on their listings!  They run ads and hold open houses and follow-up after showings!  If nobody’s responsible for that, it won’t get done . . . and service will suck!’

Truth is:  we do everything they do in servicing/marketing that listing, and we do it better.  First, our marketing is a pre-meditated, carefully tracked system.  When we take a listing we don’t suddenly create a whole customized marketing plan for that property.  We have a powerful marketing program for all of our listings already running.  We just plug the new listing in.  (By the way – that customized marketing plan created just for that one listing is mostly smoke and mirrors designed to pacify the seller and create the illusion of activity until the yard sign or the MLS produce a sale).

Then, instead of asking our agents to do some of the less skilled activities associated with selling a home – things like holding open houses, showing people through and keeping the flyer box full – we ask our sellers to take that on.  Most agree and, with a little coaching, do an excellent job.  The reason they do it is that seller participation creates the greatest opportunity for maximum savings.   ‘You mean, if I find my own buyer through an open house or some other method, all I pay is $3,950?’ they say, ‘But if I don’t do that and you bring the buyer I’ll pay $7,900?  Sure!  I’ll hold a few open houses!’

So, Help-U-Sell offices are offices without agents, right?  Wrong.

We love agents and good ones love us.  In a Help-U-Sell office, the agent has a focused and manageable job description:  they take the buyer leads the broker creates through his marketing and listing activity and converts them into transactions.  Period.  They don’t prospect, don’t call FSBOs, don’t knock doors, don’t chase around after listings.  They simply show up for work, take the buyers created by our marketing and catalogued in the Buyer Pool book, and pick one or more to work.

Sometimes they sell office listings and sometimes they sell homes on the MLS.  Either way, they are paid very well for the job that is done, are as busy as they want to be; and without the burden of all those other jobs the traditional agent must do, are in a great position to provide excellent customer service.

So far, this discussion has touched on all five of the Pillars of Help-U-Sell:

  • Low Set Fee
  • Menu of Services
  • Seller Participation
  • Targetd Marketing
  • Broker Control

Now, let’s take a look at the numbers.

Let’s consider a $200,000 house in a $200,000 market.  (Of course, all commissions, whether set fee or percentage are negotiable.)   Let’s assume the traditional broker is charging, say, 6%.  The Help-U-Sell broker charges $3,950 and has a showing fee of $3,950 (both are set fees; what a concept!)

First, the Seller’s perspective:

Traditional Broker cost:  $12,000 no matter where the buyer comes from.

Help-U-Sell:

  • Find your own buyer:  $3,950, a savings of $8,050!
  • HUS brings the buyer:  $7,900, a savings of $4,100
  • An MLS broker brings the buyer:  $3,950 + 3% to the selling broker, a total of $9,950 and a savings of $2,050

Help-U-Sell wins every time.

Now from the broker’s perspective:

The traditional broker will receive $6,000 on the listing side of the commission.  He will split that with an agent, probably on a 70% split (that’s NAR’s most recent average) leaving $1,800 to pay the bills and create a profit.  Good luck.

The Help-U-Sell Broker receives $3,950 on the listing side no matter how the house sells.  There is no agent to pay, so he has $3,950 to pay the bills and make a profit:  $2,150 MORE than the traditional broker.

And finally from the Agent’s perspective:

The agent on a 70% split will make $4,200 on the sale of the traditional listing.  If a Help-U-Sell buyer agent sells the same listing, he’ll receive about a thousand dollars less because the commission splits are lower.  The difference is, the Help-U-Sell agent’s buyer was handed to him.  He is not pushed to go out and create business.  All he does is take the lead and convert it to a sale, and then go back and get another.  The Help-U-Sell agent will probably close twice the number of sides he or she would close in a traditional office and his or her income will be considerably greater.

The traditional agent will make the same $4,200 when he or she sells the Help-U-Sell listing because we allot 3% to the outside selling company (in this example).

If the Help-U-Sell agent sells one of the office listings, he or she is going to receive $3,950 – because in these situations the full Help-U-Sell showing fee is given to the agent.  The broker makes the same thing he’d have made no matter how the property was sold:  $3,950.  The Help-U-Sell agent makes more on the Help-U-Sell listing than on a similarly priced property listed with a competitor, so there is an incentive to sell in-house.

To summarize, with Help-U-Sell:

  • The seller almost always saves, and can save significantly
  • The broker has a solid flow of listings into the office because of the set fee offer and more revenue flows to expenses and the bottom line than his traditional counterparts.
  • The broker also has a strong flow of buyer leads produced by the large number of listings.
  • The agent has a streamlined job description and a steady flow of leads and so is able to do many more transactions than at a traditional shop.  More transactions mean a much better income.

In a traditional shop:

  • Sellers pay more and they resent it
  • Brokers find it almost impossible to make a profit (they don’t call them BROKErs for nothing!)
  • Agents burn out in a few years because they are expected to do it all.

Let’s face it:  Help-U-Sell is just a better way to do business.

Bargain Time!

Realty Sign Express has done it again. They’ve priced Blitz Signs SOOO LOW that you’d be foolish not to order them. The correlated plastic signs are 18 X 12, printed on one side, and come customized with your office phonenumber and web address. They are just $1.99 each, in lots of 25.

The first job of marketing is visibility(Remember?  there are 3:  visibility, lead generation and client base development). Visibility is all about getting your name before the public and the best way to do that is with signs.  Ideally you’d have 1,000 listings and each would have 5 directional signs!  That’s not reality for many real estate brokers, but at Help-U-Sell we have other ways to create that presence — and Blitz Signs are at the top of that list.

You owe it to your business to pick up 25, 50 or 100 of these little gems and get them out in the marketplace each weekend.  Put them at busy intersections and on high-traffic routes throughout your target market on Friday afternoon and take them down Sunday evening.  Soon you’ll have people saying, ‘I see your signs everywhere,’ and that’s music to a REALTOR’s ears!

Check your email for a promo or click THIS LINK to access their website.  By the way:  this is a limited time offer, expiring July 31.

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