Help-U-Sell for Sellers

Home sellers love Help-U-Sell.  Not only do they save with our low set fee pricing, they also experience a freedom of choice in the process that they didn’t know possible.

For us, one size definitely does not fit all, and sellers may opt to go into the MLS (and offer a commission to a selling broker) – or not; to hold their own open houses (thus increasing the probability they will produce their own buyer and save the greatest amount of money) – or not; or to offer a selling fee to the Buyers’ Agents in our own offices – or not.  The best part is:  no matter what options they choose, in the end, they will pay a fee based on how the sale was made.  A seller choosing to go into MLS and offer a co-op commission who then finds his or her own buyer will pay only our low set fee, not the set fee plus the optional fee to the outside broker.

While commissions and Set Fees are negotiable, many traditional real estate firms charge as much as 6% of the selling price.  On a $300,000 sale, that could be $18,000!  With the Help-U-Sell System there are at least three ways a home could sell:

Note:  the ,950 Set Fee used in this example is just that: an example.  Set Fees vary from office to office and market to market. Set Fees and Commissions are always negotiable.

So, what does a seller get for the Low Set Fee?  Marketing power (listing on HelpuSell.com and dozens of syndicated sites, signage and inclusion in our ongoing local marketing) along with our negotiating and transaction management skills.  Many times this is enough to create a satisfactory sale.  Sometimes the additional involvement of the buyers’ agents in our offices and/or the MLS is required.  In any case, sellers almost always save over what they’d have to pay a traditional broker to sell their home.

With tightening markets and falling prices, Help-U-Sell makes even more sense today.  Our fee model enables sellers to price their property more competitively and retain more of their equity.  It’s a great solution!

Download a PDF of Help-U-Sell for Sellers

Dick McKenna: ‘You must massage your numbers until they throb’

Dick McKenna was my favorite real estate guru.  A degreed Industrial Psychologist who, early in life did Peace Corp type work in Latin America, he gravitated to real estate where he became intellectual conscience of Century 21.  Dick knew more about the business side of our business than anyone I’ve known before or since.  He was the first person I recall being alarmed when traditional brokers began paying higher and higher commission splits.

‘You don’t understand!’ he’d squawk, ‘It is virtually impossible to make a profit if you’re paying more than 68% on average to your agents!’  And he had the numbers to back it up.

Oh, how right he was.

Dick was really big on Marketplace Intelligence.  He wanted us to discover and dissect every morsel of information we could find about a market and then use what we learned to drive our business.  It was all very Help-U-Sell (we’ve always embraced market data as a decision making tool).  That’s where the quote in the headline comes from:  he said it once in a meeting of about 1,000 brokers.

One Help-U-Sell Broker who’s been massaging his numbers recently is Jeff Braun from Union Grove, WI.  Working with his production numbers and those of his MLS for calendar year 2010, Jeff learned the following:

In his local market, he has a 39% MARKET SHARE!

  • When he was the Listing Agent and NOT the Selling Agent, he got 102.30% of list price as sale price
  • When he was the Listing Agent AND the Selling Agent, he got 103.97%
  • When he was the Selling Agent and NOT the Listing Agent, his buyer clients bought property for 94.30% of list price.

Do you think anyone trying to decide who to work with in Union Grove, WI would be interested in these numbers?  Of course.  Obviously, working with Jeff is one sure way to ensure you do okay buying or selling a home.

My message is this:  it’s January, a great time to review stats from last year.  Get your numbers together in the following categories then compare your results with the MLS.  I promise you, you will almost always beat the MLS and sometimes you will beat the MLS by so much, it’s worth crowing about!  Check:

  • % of listings taken that sell
  • Days on market (listing to pending – from that point on time frames are largely out of your control)
  • Sale price as a % of list price for properties where you were the listing broker only, the selling broker only and both the listing and selling broker
  • Fall out rate on pending transactions
  • Anything else you can think of

Then (assuming you are better than the average bear in your area — and you are),  create a one page summary of what you find to use in your Listing Presentation.  Heck, if the results are really good, why not include them in your advertising? It’s information like this that will make your marketing throb.

Marketing Material and Vendor Update

One of our goals for 2011 is to update and upgrade our vendor program.  Robert Stevens is spec’ing out a template that will make it possible for our brokers to access approved suppliers directly on the website back-end, OMS.  We’re also working with our vendors to redesign all of our marketing materials so that everything has the same look and feel.

I’ve just created a new folder in the Download Library called ‘Vendors’, in which I placed a PDF doc listing some of the vendors we currently have on-board with contact information and product descriptions.  I’ll be working to complete that listing over the next several weeks.

Suddenly, this is all very important because . . . things are starting to move.

Have you noticed?  Somehow, in December, the economic news turned more favorable and I’m hearing from most everywhere that there is activity this month at a level we haven’t seen for some time.  Buyers seem to be out, trying to take advantage of low prices and low interest rates while they still can.  As a result, everyone’s talking about marketing.

We’ll be talking about it a lot over the next few weeks.  I know our Wednesday Rountable and Training calls will  feature segments on using Facebook pay-per-click ads, new marketing capabilities at Listingbook, and a reintroduction of 1 to 1 and Excel, their websites, tools and product offering.

So go get your marketing hat out and dust it off.  Let’s start planning for that Spring selling season!

2010 – The Year In Review

2010 was a great year for Help-U-Sell Real Estate.
As we continue to re-tool our technology to lead the industry in systems for the broker and the consumer, we experienced a number of milestones.  The first quarter saw a buildup of excitement as we worked toward the rollout of the Help-U-Sell Broker websites in March.  They were introduced at the Tech Summit programs held in Sarasota and Las Vegas.  Brokers from across the country attended the events, got excited as they learned about the new tools, and enjoyed reconnecting with other Help-U-Sell brokers they’d not seen in many months. Rallies were also held across the country and weekly training and round table calls saw plenty of great ideas and content being shared amongst brokers.
Thank you for being part of this magnificent team.  There is no lack of passion in Help-U-Sell and that is an energizer for all of us.  Let’s all work to make each other proud in 2011!

Gains in Technology
During 2009 we moved our corporate website and email into our own control and onto our own servers. We also started working with focus groups to drive the direction of the new broker websites which were revealed at the Spring Technology Summits. Since then the broker websites have been tweaked and new features have been added.
Being able to build our websites to suit our brokers needs in today’s ever-changing internet world is just one of the many benefits of building our technology in house. This also provides us with the ability to support our products and not rely on third party vendors for maintenance and support.
Another huge benefit is the cost savings. Since these products are built at cost by Help-U-Sell and our in house development team, we do not pay any hefty profits to development companies or third party service providers.
The savings in technology cost has allowed us to offer broker websites, email and MLS integration and data hosting free of charge to our brokers, making Help-U-Sell  the first company to provide all these services to our offices in house.
The broker websites also come with a powerful Content Management System (CMS) which allows you to add and edit pages to your website. You can also easily set all the meta data for each page. This puts the power of customizing and editing your website back in your hands. Our support team is also available to help with localizing your website.
MLS Integration
In 2010 we mapped data from 41 MLS boards covering about 85% of our offices. In October we started pulling additional data fields from the MLS boards which will be vital for our January 2011 project of upgrading our search pages.  New searches will include include additional filters such as school districts, neighborhoods and counties, property views and additional types to name a few.
Tech, Roundtable and Training Calls
Early in the year, we expanded our regular twice a week broker teleconferences to three:  Tech Tuesday, Roundtable Wednesday and Training Thursday.  Each session was well attended, but the strain on brokers trying to make the various meetings was intense.
We elected a few months ago to combine the Thursday call with the one running on Wednesday.  Wednesday’s call now might be a Roundtable call, Training or a National Sales Meeting. The two hour long meetings (Tuesday and Wednesday) remain one of the principal ways we use to communicate with our team members in the field.   Rallies
A full schedule of rallies took place through the Spring, Summer and Fall.  Groups of brokers came together for updates, camaraderie and brainstorming in locations across the country, from Baltimore to Oakland to Minneapolis.  More are planned for 2nd and 3rd quarter 2011 and you are urged to attend. The information shared at the Rallies and the quality of broker-to-broker interaction is not to be missed.
NAR
In November, Help-U-Sell returned to the National Association of REALTORS Expo and Convention in New Orleans. It was the first time in three years we exhibited and we did so to announce to the world that we are ready to start selling franchises and growing the brand again.  We were well received, with a number of attendees from around the world showing interest in Help-U-Sell.
Help-U-Sell Stimulus Program
Finally, we worked through 2010 with the help of the Help-U-Sell Stimulus package.  Royalties for the year were reduced from the current 6% rate down to 5% on transactions closing between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 for those offices that “opted in” on the Royalty Modification Program amendment.
We are pleased to announce that, given the continuing uncertainty in the market, the program will be extended through Dec. 31, 2011.  That’s right:  Royalties will remain at 5% through NEXT December!
New Members
Though we weren’t actively selling franchises in 2010, we did add a few new members to the Help-U-Sell team.
Roy Perry came in to work Elko/Spring Hill, Nevada.  Roy is a 30 year veteran of the industry and is off to a great start.
David Reading recently converted his office in Ventura, CA, recognizing that a strong brand and consumer offering could help him grow as the market begins to turn.
Long time Help-U-Sell Franchisee, Tammy Whitehead, returned to the brand after a hiatus of several years.  Her office in Riverside, CA is doing remarkably well and she continues to be energized every day.

What’s coming in 2011

Franchise Sales
As mentioned earlier, 2011 will be a year of Franchise Sales and growth for Help-U-Sell.  Ron McCoy has created a plan to reach out to the Realtor community that includes email marketing, targeting and even some print advertising.  If you know of a broker in a neighboring town who might be an asset to the organization, please share that with Ron McCoy.  We want to be careful in our growth to bring in the best brokers possible and you are in the best position to know them.
University
As we gear up for Franchise Sales, we’ve put more energy and resources into completing the new Help-U-Sell University.  The new program will be administered online and will include content delivered via multimedia modules with coaching follow-up all the way.  University will also be activity driven so that the new member can complete the learning process with business already taking place.  Jeanne Strayer, whom many of you know is working with us to complete this big project.
Rallies
We will be announcing a Spring – Fall rally series in the first part of the year and will be giving you enough time to make plans and travel arrangements.  Even if you are a couple of hundred miles away, most areas have a regional airline that makes it affordable to go to the meeting early in the morning and return home in the evening.
Retreats
Finally, we’re planning a Broker Retreat for late Fall/early Winter.  Though it’s been a few years since we held such an event, they were always well worth the investment of time, energy and money in the past.  Help-U-Sell Brokers from around the country will come into a location for a couple of days of meetings and fellowship.  We will have details for you by the end of first quarter 2011.
Technology
• We will be adding a free virtual tour service in January that will be added to Listing module in the OMS.
• There will be a Seller back end and tools accessed via the brokers website.
• We will upgrade the Advance Search function on HelpUSell.com and all broker websites.
• A new Leads Management Module is scheduled for March 2011.
• The Drip Email Campaign module is due in June.
• The new Help-U-Sell University will be available online.
• We started with re-branding the OMS and it should be completed before the new year.
Industry Update
From an industry perspective, things appear to be slowly improving around the country.  Interest rates and prices seem to have hit rock bottom, making this an excellent time to buy and consumers seem to be getting that message.  Retail sales are up, the stock market is improving and real estate seems to be waking up.  Just as most of our offices did better in 2010 in 2009, we expect 2011 to be incrementally better as well.

News from the Short Sale Rumor Mill

Short Sales continue to be a huge part of our business, and while I hear little of the ‘I wouldn’t touch one with a ten foot pole’ attitude common a couple of years ago, they remain a challenge.  I consulted a team of experts about the current condition of this part of the business yesterday . . . ok:  I talked with Ken Kopcho and Maurine Grisso . . . and here’s what I learned:

Banks are getting easier to work with.  It’s as if they finally realized that, as remedies go, a foreclosure can cost them upward of $50,000 more to accomplish than a short sale.  It’s taken a long time, but they seem to be getting their processes organized so they can move more quickly in legitimate short sale situations.

Wachovia was the first to become more reasonable.  They have been easier to work with for months.  Recently Bank of America and Welles Fargo have followed suit.  Chase seems to remain ‘difficult,’ sometimes becoming non-communicative.

Bank of America’s Equator system – which was a bear when initially introduced – seems easier to navigate.  It is unclear whether this is the result of a system adjustment or the growing familiarity of broker-users.  (!)

While many short sale attempts don’t work out, there are things a broker can do to increase his or her conversion rates.

Spend time on legitimate short sale candidates only.  Remember:  being upside down by itself does not qualify a homeowner for a short sale; there has to be a real, legitimate hardship: loss of a job, medical expenses, lost income . . . something.

Don’t take short sale listings unless you think you can get it done.  Seems simple, I know, but Maurine – whose conversion rate on short sale listings is remarkable – says she walks away from almost as many as she takes.

Don’t forget about the non-short sale candidates who are still in trouble.  For example, Maurine is targeting homeowners who are 30-60-90 days late but who still have a little equity.  They may not be short sale candidates, but they probably do have a problem.  Plus:  they have some ‘skin in the game,’ something to lose if they don’t get the problem solved.  The broker becomes the solution.  (By the way:  if you don’t know how to find homeowners who are late on their mortgage payments, but who haven’t yet received a Notice of Default, ask me).

It’s January 2011, and real estate market indicators continue to improve slowly.  Pending home sales are rising — they’ve been doing so since October — and even new construction is showing a little life.  Meanwhile I hear that a lot of agents, faced with a fat Board Dues statement and nothing pending, are getting out of the biz.  That’s sad.  (But for the survivors, it’s good:  less competition.)  The sad part is: they’re probably getting out just when things are turning around.

This is a time to squeeze a little more, pay your Board Dues and get busy.  Hold open houses, find 4 or 5 legitimate new buyers to work with, get your blitz signs out and start reminding people you are here to help them save some money.  2011 will be a year of More.

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