Category: Help-U-Sell

News from the Tech Summit

Day one of the Sarasota Summit is history and Day 2 has just begun.  I’m breathing a sigh of relief because our attendees seem to be just as fascinated by what’s being presented as I am.  They were just as into the material yesterday afternoon at 4 as they were at noon and this morning they are so focused it’s been hard to get them to take a break.

Yesterday, Robbie gave them a broadbrush overview of the power and features of the new Help-U-Sell broker websites.  Ooos and Ahhhs were common, particularly when mapping and editorial control features were presented.  I continue to be amazed at Robbie’s ability to communicate the technology in ways that real estate brokers understand.   It’s a rare talent and has meant so much to us as we take this giant leap forward in our Internet presence.

Today is the hands on day and we have 15 users tapped into the Internet, learning about Google Insights, customization, synching profiles and all of the other things that will make their new Help-U-Sell websites draw.  One of the things I am most excited about is a section in the manual that Tami Patzer created, called ’11 Days to a Productive Website.’  Shes taken the key tasks from this meeting’s content and broken them down into simple steps that can be accomplished in an hour a less over a two week period.  The idea is:  now that you’ve seen and heard what to do to make your website KICK, here is your roadmap to use back in the office to make sure you get it done.

John and I head to Las Vegas this evening and the tech team follows early tomorrow.  We have a much larger group scheduled for the Palace Station meeting — currently 50 and counting — and I anticipate just as much excitement and positive energy there as here.

I’ve been thinking about the significance of what we’re doing this week and I’m very clear that this is all about being in the real estate business.  Our new web capabilities are focused on finding more buyers and sellers, listing and selling more real estate.  That’s not just our brokers’ goal, it’s OUR goal here at corporate as well.  We share the same objective, the same target customer; and the new websites will help us reach more and more of them.

I posted photos from the Summit at Photobucket and you can view them HERE.

Equity in the Name

New Help-U-Sell brokers sometimes stew way too much about their DBA.  They want to come up with the perfect name, the one that expresses who they are;  the one that will kick their marketing effectiveness up another notch.  Is Help-U-Sell Superior Homes better than Help-U-Sell Apex Properties?

Truth is:  the consumer could not care less.

And that’s one of the fundamental strengths of the Help-U-Sell system.  Think about it:

An ordinary broker, running an ordinary agent-oriented office, is building . . . very little, really.  His business is driven by the personalities of his agents and the relationships they develop.  There is no unique consumer offering that draws people to the company.

In 2010, very few people call ABC Realty and say, ‘Hey, ABC, come list my house.’  No.  They call up Sally who happens to work at ABC and say, ‘Hey, Sally, come list my house.’  And you know what?  When Sally goes down the street to go to work for XYZ, they’ll call her there too.

So when that ordinary broker decides it’s time to cash in and move on, when he attempts to employ his Exit Strategy, he finds he has little to sell.  The value of his company is a gamble at best.  All a buyer gets is the chance to keep the agents who have done the business and the chance to keep the listings and clientele they have amassed.  And it’s a fair bet that at least some of those agents will not like the change and take the opportunity to move on down the line.

It’s so different at Help-U-Sell.   We have a business model and a consumer offering that people seek out.  They call Help-U-Sell every day and say, ‘Come list my house.’   When the Help-U-Sell broker decides it’s time to move on, he has a business to sell that can continue to function after he is gone.  The buyer is getting an established enterprise and the transition from one owner to the other will likely be invisible to the consumer.  The DBA becomes irrelevant:  it’s Help-U-Sell that matters.

But, ‘Oh!’ you say, ‘Real Estate has always been a business built on personal relationships!  People want to work with . . . people, not systems!’

That’s absolutely true.  But most people are also interested in saving money and they will often investigate their alternatives before even working with a pal.  That’s when they discover that we’re people too! Yup, underneath the neat system that gets results and saves money is a group of really good, competent, likable people.

That’s why so many of our established brokers enjoy great repeat and referral business.  Oh, the savings remains a driving factor, but it’s the personal relationship that turns satisfied customers into raving fans and keeps them coming back again and again.

I’m not seriously suggesting this, but I really don’t think it would make one whit of difference if you chose ‘Umm’ as your DBA:  Help-U-Sell Umm Realty.  Or maybe Help-U-Sell Acme, Ace or ABBA.  What matters is that first part, the part that consumers recognize as leading to savings.

 

It Still Happens

I just got off the phone with Ron McCoy.  He’s been in Reno and Lake Tahoe this week meeting with brokers.  Of course Paul McAlpine and Bob Domiteaux continue to inspire as they fight through the tough Reno market — that was good to hear — but the most interesting story came out of South Lake Tahoe.

Josh and Ginger Davis have Help-U-Sell Horizon Line Realty there on the main drag where the road to Heavenly takes off to the East.  They are in a beautiful new strip center with good signage.  It’s also one of the more expensive retail locations in the area.  Ron tells me though, that during the several hours he spent there on Wednesday there were about three walk-ins.  Ginger has her listing flyers in the windows and people do what they always do:  they look, they read, and they sometimes walk in.

As Ron was preparing to leave, he noticed a couple of women looking at the listings in the window.  After a few minutes, they came in the door.  Ginger greeted them and asked if she could help.

‘We’ve been coming here for years and renting a place,’ said one of the women.  ‘We’re surprised to see how much prices have fallen and we’re just thinking maybe this would be a good time to buy.’

Ginger has an appointment to work with them this afternoon.  They’ll be seeing homes in the $700,000 range.

There are a lot of location specific dynamics in this story.  It is a resort area.  It is Winter (their high season).  The Olympics has everyone yearning to be in the snow.  But the decision to go into a strong location, to bite the bullet and spend a little more on rent to get sign exposure and walk-in traffic, is working for Ginger and Josh.  She reports she gets about one walk-in every day.

I’m not suggesting that everyone rush out and rent hi-end retail space.  However, I am saying it’s time to start evaluating the space decisions you made during the downturn.  Many wisely retreated to less expensive but less visible space to weather the storm.  Now it’s clear the market has begun to turn.  It’s time to put your feelers out, to start casually looking for space that might pay for itself in walk-in traffic.  Maybe by Spring you’ll be at a place where you can, like the flowers, peek your head out and shine in a very visible way.

Random Thoughts from an Airplane in Flight

I went by the Homewood Suites in Sarasota today to check out the accommodations for the Tech Summit March 1 & 2.  It’s a very nice property!  Quite deluxe.  And there’s a McDonalds and a grocery store across the street and a nice she-she desert place next door.  I think our guys will be happy there.  They provide breakfast and dinner and have agreed to let us hang out in the dining area after dinner to chew the fat.

I really want some unstructured sharing and brainstorming time with the group.  It’s clear that the nature of the business today is having an impact on how we operate Help-U-Sell in local markets.  We can no longer feed thousands of dollars each month into direct mail like we used to.  We have to be smarter and we have to find ways to use new tools to generate leads more efficiently.  I want some brain pickin’ time to find out what our people in the field are seeing, what’s working for them, what they’d like to see from us.  Homewood Suites is kind enough to accommodate us so, Wa-Hoo!

We also have to find ways to use technology to accomplish our lead generating needs.  Of course, that’s what the Tech Summit is all about.

Listen:  The new broker websites are killer.  No doubt about it.  BUT, they will lay like cracked eggs, baking in the heat of the Internet highway, accomplishing little more than most other broker websites if they are not worked.    Robbie has made it easy for even the most non-technical of our members to do that, and the Tech Summit will be a Lab where we all learn how; but back in the office, the work will have to be done.

Of course, once the work is done, once doing the updates and revisions becomes part of the routine, once the websites begin to generate leads, there will be another challenge:  How do we incubate them?

Everyone tosses around the statistic that 90% of buyers begin their home search on the Internet.  What most leave out is the other part of that reality:  the internet buyer takes much longer between starting the home search and finally buying.  Very few Realtors have a solid incubation system that demonstrates value to the consumer while giving them access to the information they crave.  How will you develop a low-touch, high-value relationship with buyers who contact you early in their home search process?  How will you prove so valuable to them that they won’t be snared by another broker as they search around on their own?

Those of you who belong to MLSs with Listingbook have a leg up here.  I know of no better way to bind a buyer to you for a protracted period of time.  Best part is:  they really like it!  If your MLS does not offer Listingbook, what tools are available to you that enable home buyers to search on their own and how will you give them to them in a way that encourages them to continually interact with you?

The last thing you want is to have a web presence that generates leads . . . and then have no effective way to capture and convert those buyers into happy clients.

I know:  I’m painting this challenge as a great big deal — and it is.  But simple things will make a big difference.  For example:  are you and your team filling out a Buyer or Seller Data Sheet on every inquiry into the office?  Are you three hole punching them and clipping them into a binder?  Really:  effective leads management and incubation begins with capturing whatever data you can on every potential buyer or seller who contacts you.  Every single one.  We don’t trash those leads and pronounce them to be ‘no good,’ or ‘tire kickers,’ like the other guys do.  We go back to them again and again . . . and it’s remarkable how often the ones most agents disregard turn into closings for us.  So start there:  Data Sheets on every inquiry.  And then start thinking about how you can develop a strong but arms length relationship with that Internet buyer.  That’s our future.

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