A Compelling Formula for Success

                      "To be successful in today’s real estate world,                         it helps to have a unique advantage"

When it comes to companies offering a discount model, there is plenty of competition. Brokers and agents have long understood that sellers want to pay lower commission rates. But they also want full service, notes Ryan Elliott, vice president of Assist2Sell, and that’s his company’s premier distinction. Founded in Reno, Nev., in 1987 by a pair of independent REALTORS® who saw a shift in the industry, Assist2Sell was created to marry the two concepts—low commission and full service—in an advantageous way... as a full-service discount business model that exceeds consumer expectations while offering unlimited opportunity to a growing cadre of agents and franchise owners. “To be successful in today’s real estate world, it helps to have a unique advantage,” says Elliott. “There has never been a better time for a business model like Assist2Sell.” In this exclusive interview, Elliott shares the company’s unique vision and the strategies that help their franchisees become front-line competitors.

Barbara Pronin: Tell us a little more about the founding strategy of the company, and how the concept took off.
Ryan Elliott: Actually, the original motivation the founders Mary LaMeres-Pomin and Lyle Martin had was based on their frustration in spending 80 percent of their time looking for their next deal. They were successful agents with a strong base of repeat and referral customers but struggled with adding new business. Theirs was a small, traditional office—just the two of them and a support person. When they did get a chance to pitch a new seller for a listing, they would sometimes lose the listing based on their small office size. Sellers perceived that an office with a lot of agents meant those agents would all be trying to sell their homes. We all know that’s not true, and that the MLS levels the playing eld, but convincing sellers was a challenge. When they decided to try to attract more business by lowering their fees, and took the bold step to advertise this, all of a sudden, the sellers didn’t care about the number of agents in their offce. The concept was pretty simple, and it hasn’t changed: If you charge home sellers a very competi- tive fee, provide the same services your competition offers, and deliver results, you can increase volume more than enough to make up for the lower fees. That’s what Mary and Lyle started with and it’s what has helped us grow into a familiar brand with hundreds of offices all over North America.

Read More

 

Assist2Sell Office Wins Best Real Estate Office

Congratulations to the Assist2Sell team in Utica, NY for winning the Observer-Dispatch’s Best of the Best competition. 

best of the best.JPG

From May 23 through June 11, 39,200 votes were cast at uticaod.com for the best businesses and places in 126 categories including beauty and health, clothing, dining, entertainment and leisure, home, home services, finance, children and education, people and places, services, shopping, spirits, sports, and vehicles dealers and services.

It's a huge honor and a testament to the dedication of the team. 

Assist2Sell Franchise Sees "Craziness" In The Market

A2S Home Sellers.jpg

Fleishman and Remenowsky, who married last year, threw away any offers that did not meet or exceed their asking price, said Tim Tepes, their real estate agent and co-owner of Lehigh Valley-based Assist 2 Sell Realty. Further, Tepes said, the eight remaining bidders qualified for conventional loans — requiring higher credit-score criteria than a standard FHA loan.

After a bidding day that began for Tepes at 5:30 a.m. and ended at 12:30 a.m., they landed on an offer that included no tests or inspections.

“It’s not the norm, but I’m seeing more of it,” Tepes said.

One of the properties Mahon is negotiating has two identical offers in terms of price and financing terms, but one is waiving inspections. And that’s the one the seller is leaning toward, he said.

In the end, such terms are what made the deal for the Rentzes. They removed contingencies — written provisions that must be satisfied before a contract is binding and can cover areas such as home inspections, appraisal values and selling one’s home — and offered a flexible closing date.

“We knew the terms would win the day for us,” Darryl Rentz said.

Read Full Story

Franchisee Spotlight

In this edition of Franchisee Spotlight, we would like to introduce you to one of the newest members of the Assist 2 Sell family. Meet Rick and Amy McGee from Springfield, MO.

Q. One unique thing about you someone wouldn't learn until they got you know you.

Rick. We are Mormon The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints.  We have a Brady bunch (blended) family of 7 kids, 2 out the country as ministers (Ecuador and Chile) for 2 years.

Q. Where would you build your dream home, and why?

Rick. Somewhere warm and on the water.  I would love the Relaxing views.

Q. How long have you been in the real estate business? 

Rick.  About 23 years.  Worked at Re/max and C21 in the day before A2S  

Q. How did you get your start in Real Estate?  

Rick. Always loved it from a young age was trying to buy homes (no money down) while in Middle school. LOL  My parents had a few rentals.

Q.What do you enjoy most about the real estate business?

Rick. Flexibility to enjoy kids and life on my time.

Q. Why Assist 2 Sell? 

Rick. Love the systems it works great for agents and the public.  The support we get from corporate is great! 

Q. The value piece of real estate advice you received? 

Rick. Be organized and block out times for self and family, prospecting , networking etc...  Write down daily task list so you can stay focused. 

Franchise Info. Webinar

Assist2Sell Franchise Info. Webinar Workshop

Wednesday December. 6th at 12pm pacific time. 

Thank you for your recent interest in Assist-2-Sell franchise opportunities. I hope you’ve had a chance to review the information we sent about our value driven real estate sales model.  

Consumers are cutting back, saving more, and looking for value more than ever. Real estate is no different. Our full service with savings concept gives sellers the best of both worlds, services they have come to expect from a professional real estate agent with significant savings.

One of the best ways to get more info. about Assist-2-Sell and franchise opportunities is to join us for an information workshop.

Our next workshop will be Wednesday, December. 6th at 12 pm Pacific time. 
 


What we'll discuss - 

  • The new reality of the real estate business. 

  • How Assist2Sell works. 

  • Is Assist2Sell the right concept for you?

  • History and evolution of our concept.

  • Is a franchise right for you and your real estate business?

  • What you get if you buy a franchise.

  • The future of the real estate business. 

And much more! 

There is no cost to attend but space is limited. Click to link below to register and get more details.
 

If the above links do not work, you use the link below. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4807750219410011138

Franchisee Training Class

Our last franchise training class of the year will be held December 8th, 9th, and 10th.  Classes are conducted at our corporate headquarters and training facilities in Reno Nevada. 

Classes are intended for new franchisees and current franchise owners who want to attend a retraining. 

 


You're interested in attending this training class please contact franchiseinfo@assist2sell.com



New Assist-2-Sell Office... Making it easier for homeowners

Julie Quesnel and Tracy Wheeler have been working as realtors for nearly a decade. Despite the numerous clients they've served over the years, many have become like friends to them.

"It changes a person's life, whether you're buying or selling," Quesnel said. "You can't imagine how much of an emotional and overwhelming process that can be.

"We go through all the emotions with the clients," she said.

The pair is hoping their new discount, full-service real estate brokerage, Assist-2-Sell Cornwall Realty, which opened at 714 Pitt St. on Monday, will make that experience a little bit easier for residents of Cornwall and SDG.

The new office is part of the Assist-2-Sell franchise that offers brokerage services at a flat fee commission, instead of commission at a percentage of the sale price of a home, according to the company's website.

Quesnel said she believes all home buyers want to save money when purchasing a house, including those in the Cornwall and SDG area.

"It was an opportunity to purchase the franchise (office) and be able to provide to homeowners a full service with great savings," she said -- adding that's money people can spend on things like furniture, or another property in the future.

The office's focus is mostly on helping homeowners through a home listing package, Quesnel said, but she and Wheeler do service home buyers as well.

"We do everything that a traditional real estate brokerage would do," she said. "It's just the savings to the homeowners -- that's how it would differ."

The two women began their business venture in May, after working for different companies for several years.

Quesnel said it was high time for them to open their own brokerage office.

So they hopped on a plane to Reno, Nev., and spent a week learning more about Assist-2-Sell from the founders of the franchise, Quesnel said.

The company also has offices in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

"It was an intense week, but it was amazing," Quesnel said "We knew we did the right thing."

Buying or selling a home can be a huge life decision, but having someone there to guide you can make things easier, she said.

"It's all about helping others -- that's what it comes down to," she said. "It's not the volume that you do, it's how you change lives."

Each day is different, which is what makes the work exciting for Quesnel and Wheeler. They could be viewing properties, out doing listings or doing inspections.

The amount of time Quesnel and Wheeler spend with each client differs from case-to-case as well. But it's not a race to the finish line.

"It's a matter of making sure the house is the right fit," Quesnel said, adding that's one of her favourite parts about working with first-time home buyers.

"Every experience is unique," she said. "It's a wonderful process."

http://www.standard-freeholder.com/2016/08/25/making-things-easy-for-homeowners

Assist2Sell Embraces Video & "Social" Marketing

Social media platforms have become a great conduit for engaging with real estate customers and delivering a message. The challenge becomes finding a way to  deliver your message in a way that's effective on social platforms and  doesn't get lost in all the noise. Let's face it, unless people are buying or selling a house Real estate is not the most interesting topic.   

The good news is the Assist2Sell message is interesting, different, and compelling to the consumer.  This gives us an advantage over most real estate companies.

Most real estate agents Post new listings, Real estate news, Mortgage rates, and other Real estate stats and info.  While this information is valuable it's not the most exciting. 

You'll find that Assist2Sell takes a little bit different approach. Here's a sample of one of the videos we use for social marketing. 

Go ahead, you know you want to watch it!   

    

2017 Top Franchises from Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 List

In the late 1980s, Mary LaMeres-Pomin and Lyle Martin had a small, successful residential real estate office in Reno, Nevada; mostly working referrals and repeat customers. Around that time, large franchise offices and "mega-brokers" started to emerge and increase in popularity. Consumers believed that bigger meant better. Mary and Lyle realized they needed a competitive advantage if they were going to compete successfully with the "big boys." After witnessing the success of discount companies in other industries, they came up with a premise: If you charge home sellers less, you should be able to do enough volume to make up for the lower fees. They were right! And Assist-2-Sell was born.