Help-U-Sell franchisees and their agents enable sellers to market their homes through brokerage services which are paid for at closing. The difference between Help-U-Sell and traditional brokerages is that the system works on a regional fee-for-service schedule.

Sellers who want to save money choose the services they want, but they save the most by advertising the homes through their own phone numbers. Every service is optional, including getting a listing in the local MLS.

According to Ann Reynolds, vice president of franchise sales, Help-U-Sell brokers do everything any traditional broker does - list, negotiate contracts, perform escrow certifications, attend closings, and more. They just don't take buyers to the seller's home. But they can if the franchisee wants to offer that service.

The company charges fees for services which are paid at closing. Each franchisee determines their fees based on extensive market analysis of the area. Pricing is not uniform for the same reason commissions and loan origination fees aren't uniform from state to state or area to area. Some regions will tolerate higher prices for some services than others.

The important thing is that the consumer understands the quality of service for the amount they pay, explains Reynolds, a former Century21 broker. "The consumer has never understood the value of paying commissions. With Help-U-Sell, they feel more in control, and it is less adversarial because they can pay for what they want."

Streamlining services also carries over to the office structure. According to Reynolds, the individual brokers' offices, 158 across the nation, are surprisingly lean of staff. "Our offices are not the mega-offices of traditional brokers," says Reynolds. "The cry to managers that you have to recruit more agents is a Catch-22. It's a revolving door. What that means is that there is usually a handful of agents doing the business, and the rest are escalating the expenses.

"Profitability has been a huge issue, and that is why ancillary revenue streams started to sprout up," explains Reynolds. "Houses have tripled in price, agent splits are higher. When brokers keep anything less than 35 percent of splits, they have lost money.

"You pull up in front of an office and see 4,000 square feet of space and 60 agents and their expenses and overhead, and the broker is taking a $60,000 salary, that business is losing money. A business should be set up with 20 percent pre-tax profit."

Help-U-Sell offices have several working models. One successful office is run by a broker who has two to three unlicensed assistants, a part-time office manager, a customer care representative who closed $22 million in homes last year. A 13-year veteran of the system, she also profit shares with employees so that everyone has a helpful, non-competitive attitude. Some brokers, such as John Powell in Tucson, don't list property. He has 13 agents working with him, and is consistently seventh or eighth in production in his area.

"You look at transactions in the office," suggests Reynolds. "Most of the time, it is less than one sale per person per month. That's why averages can be misleading. But when I look at offices with fewer agents but triple the number of transactions, that to me is more of a measure of profitability than number of agents.

Reynolds maintains that all that staffing contrives to keep buyers and sellers apart. "The brokers have evolved into the setup where they have to have agents answer the phones, sit the floor, show buyers property, and that requires a lot of staff," says Reynolds. "As brokers, they try to keep buyers and sellers apart because they will only squash the deal."

"That attitude raises animosity. When they are left on their own, buyers and sellers will speak to each other and they will work things out. That's heresy to allow buyers and sellers to speak to each other, but it works well.

"Our services appeal to the intelligent, educated consumer," continues Reynolds. "They are reasonable to work with and they know it is the right way to do business."

"All the people are offering the same product - Mr. or Mrs. Seller, we will sell your home for the highest price in the shortest time at the least amount of inconvenience to you. If you offer a different product, unbundled services, you can partner with the seller, and help them save thousands of dollars." And find a way to stand out.

Part 1 of this article: Help-U-Sell: The Timing's Finally Right