Sept. 15, 2008 Edition

Apply Now To Become A Development Agent

New franchisees join Team HVA; franchise seminars set
By Jason Killough

Jason Killough

Special kudos to Detroit franchisees Jeff and Kim Drake of Motor City Homebuyers. The Drakes helped promote and participated in our well-attended Detroit franchise seminar earlier this month.

HVA's next two seminars are scheduled for:

- Chicago (Des Plaines), IL - September 24, 7 p.m.

- Memphis, TN - September 30, 7 p.m., the day prior to a speech by HVA President and CEO John Hayes at the Mid-South REIA on October 1.

The seminars offer a great opportunity for your local investors and prospects to learn more about becoming an Associate Franchisee. 



New Franchisees Join HomeVestors

Since the last Franchise Development update, the following franchises have joined the system:

Cal Smith, Ft. Worth, TX
Traye Wise, Houston, TX
Scott Jelinek, Norfolk, VA

Take the Next Step – Become a Development Agent

Want to enhance your HomeVestors franchise by taking advantage of your years of experience as a real estate investor?

HomeVestors now offers a way for you to take the next step by training, supporting and mentoring Associate Franchisees while continuing to operate as a full-time franchisee.

Many franchisees already mentor other franchisees and investors—this is an opportunity for you to get paid for doing so.

HomeVestors believes that becoming a Development Agent (DA) is a natural extension for franchisees looking for opportunities to enhance their businesses. The DA position is not a franchise entity—DAs are independent contractors who sign an agreement to recruit, train and support HomeVestors Associate Franchises. The term of the DA contract is 10 years.

As a DA, you will oversee a network of Associate Franchises and will participate financially in the revenues generated by those franchisees. There are no additional fees to become a DA, however, the franchisee who qualifies will be required to complete additional training at his or her expense, most likely at UG University in Dallas.

To take the next step in completing an application or to learn more about the DA program, contact Jason Killough, vice president Franchise Development at 972.532.8009. 

Webinars Accessible Every Tuesday

If there are no franchise seminars in your area, consider sending your franchise prospect to a live HVA Franchise Development Webinar.

During these phone and Internet presentations, prospects learn about HomeVestors and interact with the Franchise Development team from the comfort of their homes or offices. They can ask questions via phone or e-mail, enjoying the same opportunity to interact with the team as they would have at a live seminar.



Webinars are offered every Tuesday at 4 p.m. CST, and last from 40 to 50 minutes. For registration information, visit the "Own a Franchise" section of HomeVestors.com, and click on "Upcoming Events/Webinars."


. . . Jason Killough is vice president of Franchise Development for HomeVestors. He can be reached at jason.killough@homevestors.com or 972.532.8009.

Summer Surge Sets Record For Internet Referrals

HVA franchise network received more than 600 calls from campaign

Results are in from the Summer Surge third quarter advertising initiative, and HVA confirms the campaign was a huge success. The HVA franchise network received an all-time high 616 calls to the special Summer Surge Arch line.

The Summer Surge initiative, which was announced in June at the Mid-Year Sales Summit in Dallas, was a six-week network radio campaign “opt-in” program for franchisees, offering a cost per lead of $100, a low cost for any broadcast lead.

HVA knows from years of marketing experience that any time the company runs broadcast commercials, responses increase for all lead sources. And the Summer Surge was no different. The campaign increased HVA’s Internet referrals and since franchisees were charged only for the incoming Arch calls received on the Summer Surge’s dedicated line, many leads were delivered at no charge to every office.

The campaign aired for six consecutive weeks, from July 7 through August 17. As usual, HVA’s media placement guru, June Marie London, negotiated significant bonus weight with the schedule, delivering even more exposure for the investment.

The bottom line for all participating offices was that the Summer Surge provided an overall cost-per-lead that was much lower than the negotiated $100 per call.

Since network radio covers the entire country, Franchise Development also took advantage of the Summer Surge, airing commercials to solicit new franchisees in those markets where HVA plans to expand. They received 677 calls as a result of the campaign.

All remaining markets ran commercials asking investors to log on to a special Web site and sign up for the HomeVestors Investor List. As a result, HVA received a total of almost 600 new investor leads over the six-week period.

"The HVA Marketing Department is constantly testing new concepts to improve lead generation and reduce the cost-per-lead," said Mark Hagen, HVA's vice president of marketing. "It’s important to keep in mind that franchisees' marketing efforts work together synergistically, each one delivering better response rates as a result of the other supporting media."