Tag: Help-U-Sell

Flashback Friday: I Am Help-U-Sell

Flashback Friday is what?  About 8 1/2 hours late this week.  For that I apologize.  But I think I have a good one to recycle today.  It’s from December 2009 and it’s a bit of a mantra or maybe an affirmation.  Since all good things begin with gratitude (not the other way around), here’s a little juice to prime your attitudinal pump:

I am Help-U-Sell.

I am grateful for a business model that generates a profit while saving sellers money

I am grateful for market data that enables me to make logical, structured marketing decisions

I am grateful for premeditated marketing that maximizes results

I am grateful for leads management that enables me to know when marketing produces results, where I need to work harder to convert leads, and who on my staff is performing well

I am Help-U-Sell

I am grateful for ‘Sold and Saved’ properties that tell the world that I am here, people use my service, and it works

I am also grateful for testimonials that say the same thing

I am grateful for my own special color:  Red, and for the signs that are recognizable a block away

I am grateful for car wraps

I am Help-U-Sell

I am grateful that I produce so many buyer leads that I need help to manage them all!

I am grateful that I can provide a place for a good agent to sell more real estate than they ever dreamed possible

I am grateful that I don’t need a huge retail space and dozens of desks to run my business

I am grateful that I am so feared by my competitors that they spread false rumors about me

I am Help-U-Sell

And I am IN the real estate business, not the recruiting business

I am Help-U-Sell and I live and die by the quality of the work I do for buyers and sellers and by the money I save them

I am Help-U-Sell, and I am grateful for the opportunity

I know that the system works and I am grateful to work the system

I am Help-U-Sell and even in the darkest hour I am optimistic about the future

I am Help-U-Sell and I will always find a way

I am Help-U-Sell and you can’t kill me

No matter what the turmoil, the chaos the bad decisions and broken promises, you can’t destroy me

I have a life of my own and I am bigger than any of the dogs that nip at my hem

I am Help-U-Sell.

I am well.

And I am ready for 2010.

Bring it on.

Zip-It

Inman News has a headline story today about Zip Realty launching a new mobile-friendly website. This is really important in today’s real estate world. Increasingly, consumers are using mobile devices (cell phones and tablets) to access the Internet and therefore listing information. Clearly, if your property website is not mobile optimized, the consumer using a phone for access is going to have a very funky, scroll-heavy experience.

Here’s the rub: Help-U-Sell has had a mobile optimized website for almost two years.

Really. I can’t say we were the first . . . but (as usual) we were in the first wave. Consumers who go to helpusell.com using a mobile device are automatically redirected to a mobile optimized site. They have the same powerful helpusell.com experience, but they have it on their phones and tablets.

What I can’t understand is why, when we innovate, when we are ahead of the curve, when we point the way (as we have done and have been doing for years), the national media, Inman, RIS, NAR et.al. ignore it. They will faun all over Re/Max when it does something we did last year . . . but recognize us when we do something remarkable? Never.

It underscores the fact that, in real estate, there is the status quo (populated by nearly a million REALTORS) and those who earn a living off them (the real estate media, the National Association of REALTORS, et al) and there is Help-U-Sell. We may be the best idea since sliced bread, we may have the best program for consumers, we may be technologically WAY ahead of the status quo, but as long as THEY are supporting the media, our story will never be told.

The only thing we can do is to succeed, as we always have done. We build and grow, build and grow. Ultimately, the contest between the status quo and Help-U-Sell will be decided by consumers. The more of them we serve (and the better we serve them), the more the scales will tip in our favor. And someday . . . someday . . . someday most consumers will be having a quality set fee real estate experience, wondering why it was ever done any other way!

Survey Sez

I sent a short survey to our members yesterday to help in putting together the plan for 2012.  Though I may still get some responses, most are already in and I thought I’d update you on the results.

92.5% of respondents believe business will be better in 2012.

They ranked the biggest challenges facing them this year as follows:

  • Marketing:  45%
  • Staffing/Recruiting:  42.5%
  • Lead Incubation:  37.5%
  • Finding qualified & motivated buyers:  27.5%
  • Controlling expenses:  25%
  • Pricing listings properly:  15%
  • Financing and lenders:  12.5%

Write-in responses to the question were:

  • Keeping ahead of new technology & its cost
  • Selling homes that are NOT in a foreclosure or shortsale status
  • finding equity sellers who are willing to price at today’s values
  • Managing and following up on leads
  • Implementing everything I have learned
  • The number of sellers
  • Finding sellers. Really need listings
  • Focus on Highest and Best use of my Time
  • Getting my company back to where I was 2 years ago

As I look at these responses I can see that everyone is gearing up to do MORE in 2012.  We want to explore new ways of marketing because we believe marketing will drive leads – that hasn’t always been the case in the last few years.  We interested in staffing and recruiting because we know we’re going to need help as the market heats up.  We want to learn how to better incubate leads because, heck!  we’re expecting to have leads to incubate!  And so on.

When asked where we should hold the next Help-U-Sell Success Summit, respondents said:

  • A California Beach location:   40%
  • Las Vegas:  34.3%
  • Orlando, inconjunction with NAR:  25.7%

Write-in responses were:

  • San Diego
  • Somewhere in the Mid-West
  • Milwaukee
  • East Coast or Mid-Country location with inexpensive airfare
  • Santa Barbara
  • Driving Distance (!)
  • Anywhere

When asked about the time of day to hold the Wednesday Broker Roundtable call, the majority said 9am Pacific time – which is when we currently hold them!  8am came in second and 11am, third.

I was encouraged that when asked how we at Home Office could better support them, respondents gave us pretty good marks, saying things like ‘nothing,’ ‘support is adequate,’ and ‘you’re doing fine.’  There were also some meaningful comments relating to how we can better partner with our members to achieve greater penetration in local markets.  All comments are appreciated and we will consider everything you told us.  Thank you!

 

 

 

3 Objectives of Marketing

Visibility – Lead Generation – Client Base Development

In that order.

First rule of Marketing:  Be Visible! Which means to be seen . . . frequently.  In real estate we do that largely with signs: For Sale Signs (listings!), directional signs, open house signs, Blitz Signs, Car Wraps, Billboards, Bus Benches, office signage.  You are visible when you hear the magic words:  ‘I see your signs everywhere.’

However:  Visibility can be accomplished in other ways as well.  Richard Cricchio (whose office is on an ISLAND, which is a pertinent detail) has used a weekly radio show for the past 9 years to boost his visibility.  Maria Powell and Michelle Morgan have become active on local television to be more visible.  Kim Zelena and Kimber Regan have used community involvement and charity events to increase their visibility.  Julie Wright is deeply into her Chamber of Commerce.

Lead Generation is all about Targeting, which means honing in on the people most likely to need your services in the future.  Lead generation might take the form of direct mail or door hanger distribution.  It used to take the form of newspaper and homes magazine advertising (and still may in some cases).  Increasingly, lead generation is about maximizing your web presence . . . essentially being electronically VISIBLE and easily found online.

Many of our folks are generating leads by optimizing their Help-U-Sell websites.  Good News:  if you haven’t done that yet, call Tony – he’ll help you.  Others are pulling them in regularly via premiere agent programs at Zillow, Trulia  and Realtor.com.  Robin Rowland is using Facebook to create new business.  Maurine Grisso has 5 websites (and counting), each targeting a different segment of the market.

Client Base Development means we look backward as often as we look forward.  As we move contacts to contracts and closings, we move those clients back into our cache of fans.  We cultivate the relationship with regular meaningful contact.  We seek and get their help in further developing our business.  You are doing client base development right when you have former clients functioning as advocates in the field for your service.

Rather than single out anyone doing a good job of client base development I’d simply congratulate all Help-U-Sell brokers.  Truth is:  nobody is making it through the tough market of the past several years without the help of a strong client base.  No matter how many leads you are developing, the power of a personal referral will almost always be your best option for doing business.

Top Producers at the Help-U-Sell Success Summit

Four of our top five Brokers were in attendance at the Summit, Nov 14-16 in Anaheim this year.  I asked Jack Bailey to facilitate a panel discussion around what they’re doing to grow their businesses in this market.  Here are:

  • Patrick Wood – Help-U-Sell Prestige Properties – Chino Hills, CA
  • Richard Cricchio – Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties – Honolulu, HI
  • Karen Detwiler – Help-U-Sell Detwiler Realty – Carlisle, PA
  • John Powell – Help-U-Sell Galleria Realty – Tucson, AZ

Because of time limitations on YouTube, there are four videos here, ranging in length from 12 – 14 minutes.  Sound improves about half way through the first segment, when we miked the group.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

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