ARIZONA 10-19-20

ARIZONA EDITION

BE THEIR REALTOR® FOR LIFE:

How to Build a Relationship with Your Clients that Will Last a Lifetime MILLENNIAL BUYERS: WHERE THEY ARE & WHAT TO KNOW Turning Your Profession Into a PASSION

COVER STORY

JODY SAYLER FEATURED AGENT

TOM HENSCHEN

ARIZONA EDITION

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JODY SAYLER

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TOM HENSCHEN

CONTENTS 4) 4 REASONS WHY MULTITASKING CAN ACTUALLY DERAIL YOUR DAY

15) TURNING YOUR PROFESSION INTO A PASSION

6) BE THEIR REALTOR® FOR LIFE: HOW TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CLIENTS THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME

20) MILLENNIAL BUYERS: WHERE THEY ARE & WHAT TO KNOW

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4 Reasons Why Multitasking Can Actually Derail Your Day Common wisdom dictates that a master multitasker is likely to garner the most success. After all, doesn’t juggling multiple projects at once mean you’ll work faster than if you took each one as it came? While multitasking is often cited as a desirable skill—and surely serves its purpose now and again—studies show that a mere 2% of individuals can actually multitask effectively. Meanwhile, the remaining 98% might be doing more harm than good by trying 4

to tackle too much at once. Take a look below at some little-known facts about the risky side of waging a routine built on multitasking.

1. Multitasking decreases productivity While multitasking gives us the illusion of completing two tasks at once, it actually means

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our focus and productivity is split. In other words, switching back and forth between two activities doesn’t mean they’ll each be completed sooner; it means that you’re getting half-as-much complete as you would if you focused on a singular task. Multitasking fatigues your brain, elicits stress, and make you less efficient in retaining new information.

2. Multitasking is actually addictive While watching TV or taking a walk, have you ever noticed the impulse to check your smartphone or scroll through your social media feed? Even though we think about multitasking as a workplace skill, it’s also an addictive form of mental stimulation. By satiating our need for distraction with constant check-ins online, we become accustomed to frequent breaks in our focus, training us to crave updates, messages, and push notifications—we even hit refresh when we’ve checked in five minutes prior! This negative habit-building makes it difficult to complete sustained bouts of concentration.

3. Multitasking has negative physical side effects Studies show that those who juggle multiple focus-intensive activities actually show spikes in cortisol, a stress hormone. Likewise, frequent multitaskers display symptoms of sleep deprivation: fatigue, disorientation, and lack of focus. Studies in Europe have recently Top Agent Magazine

discovered that those who consistently multitask may actually show decreases in empathy and emotional control. What’s more, a constant sense of anticipation—readying to switch from one task to another, or persistently checking for e-mail updates—can potentially cause a decrease in overall IQ.

4. Multitasking breeds mistakes When our attention is split between tasks, it’s difficult to perceive and retain detail-oriented information. Because of this, mistakes—typos, clerical errors, mislabeled documents, and the like—occur with greater frequency. We’re in such a hurry to complete a portion of a task and switch to the next project that we lose sight of prompts, deadlines, and tying up loose ends. This means multitaskers are far more likely to overlook a glaring error than an individual who is devoting 100% of their attention to the task at hand.

Now that we understand some of the dangers of multitasking, what can we do about it? While our tech-driven day-to-day might make focusing on a singular task a difficult endeavor, it’s the surest way to produce efficient, error-free work—while cutting down on stress, fatigue, and miscommunication.

Try approaching your tasks for the day with a clear-cut schedule, moving one task at a time down your to-do list. This approach can eliminate some of the inefficiency inherent in multitasking and make for your most productive work routine yet.

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Be Their REALTOR® for Life: How to Build a Relationship with Your Clients That Will Last a Lifetime In the world of real estate, an agent’s relationship with their clients can make or break their career. This industry revolves around working well with people, and being able to develop a strong relationship with your clients is the foundation that you business is based upon.

Just like with a house, if that foundation is weak, the rest of the structure is also going to be unsteady and fragile. The mark of a good REALTOR® is their ability to build up a good referral network and following of loyal clients. This isn’t something that just happens by accident. Building healthy, strong relationships with your clients takes work and knowing how to gain another person’s trust, respect, and friendship. Here are some ways to make sure you are building the right kind of relationship with your clients.

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1. Use Your Friendliness and Optimism to Win Them Over: No one wants a pushy, overly confident salesperson for a REALTOR®. Clients are much more inclined to put their trust in the hands of someone who is friendly when it comes to one of the biggest financial transactions of their lives. A pleasant, outgoing disposition will win you more clients as well as friends. You want to establish rapport in the first few minutes of first meeting prospective clients. Rather than starting with business right off the bat, begin your meeting with some small talk such as similar interests, hobbies, and family life. This will immediately help to put your clients at ease, and show that you are not simply trying to “sell” them something.

People also respond well to optimism. During what can be a very stressful time, clients need someone to help them stay positive when a situation looks difficult and challenging. Optimism also tends to radiate charisma, and people want to be around and do business with charismatic people. You want to learn how to understand, motivate, and inspire people.

2. Be an Inquisitive Learner and an Empathetic Listener:

On the other side of this coin is knowing how to listen empathetically. Empathy involves actually putting yourself or your mind in their shoes so you can genuinely understand their concerns, needs, and opinions. That understanding and empathy is then reflected in your conversation with that client. Your clients want to know that you care about their situation, and that they’re not just another sale for you to make. People are much more willing to put their trust in you when they can sense that you are actually making an effort to feel what they feel in order to understand their situation.

Showing your interest through questions, and then thoughtfully listening goes a long way towards gaining trust. Showing empathy and acknowledging the feelings and emotions involved in your clients situation helps build a relationship founded on genuine care and trust.

3. Watch for Nonverbal Clues:

Don’t be afraid to show your curiosity and ask your clients a lot of questions. Some of these questions may even be difficult and uncomfortable. You want to discover and learn as much as you can about your client. Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into the role of the know-it-all. Every different client has unique needs, so you want to learn as much as you can about their specific situation before trying to propose a solution. You want to uncover their primary motive for buying or selling, and flush Top Agent Magazine

out any potential concerns they might have.

After you’ve gained as much information as possible, you can then gauge their interest in your possible solutions by asking “what if” questions. Being inquisitive also demonstrates to your clients that you are genuinely interested and invested in their situation.

Most communication happens nonverbally, so knowing how to interpret your client’s body language can be incredibly helpful. Here are a few things to pay special attention to: Eye contact: Be careful with the level of eye contact you use with clients when first meeting.

Too much and too little eye contact can send the wrong impression. You want to try and maintain eye contact around 70 percent of the time. That is the amount that most people are comfortable with. Pay attention to your client’s level of eye

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contact to determine how comfortable they are.

When someone avoids eye contact that could mean they are not engaged in the conversation.

A good way to quickly build a feeling of rapport when first meeting clients is to make eye contact when you first meet them and then start nodding yes to what they’re saying. If the client reciprocates the eye contact and nodding, you’ve established a connection.

4. Prove your honesty and credibility:

Choose the right handshake for each client: One handshake does not fit all people, and that first handshake can be crucial to making a good first impression. The way to do a good handshake for each client is to try and mirror the other person’s handshake in strength, keep your shoulders aligned as you are preferably standing when you shake hands. While you shake your client’s hand make sure you make eye contact and give them a sincere smile.

Showing a little weakness can actually be to your advantage in this situation, and will actually make others more inclined view you as honest. You don’t want to come across as too good to be true. When revealing this weakness, however, the key to coming out on top is turning what sounds like a weakness into a strength. For example, your service may be more expensive, but that’s because you offer more personalized and extra services than your competitors.

Honesty and integrity are the two traits that 98 percent of buyers and sellers report are qualities they consider “very important”. The thing is you can say you have these traits all you want on your website, bio, etc., but trust has to be earned, and the only way to do this is to prove your credibility.

Here are a few tips for how to sound more credible:

When you talk to your clients avoid using filler words such as “um” and “uh”, which can decrease your credibility. You also want to watch the tone of your voice. People tend to translate a deeper tone as sounding more credible.

You want to develop a relationship to last a lifetime when interacting with your clients. There are many things you can do to accomplish this, and using these tips can take you from getting just a few referrals and repeat customers to gaining a loyal client following. Taking the little extra time to make sure you are projecting the right attitude and making sure that you are doing things to gain your client’s trust can make a world of difference for your business.

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JODY SAYLER

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Top Agent Jody Sayler relocated to Gold Canyon, Arizona in 1997 and opened up her own brokerage — Just Selling Arizona, In 2011.

Jody Sayler was exposed to the world of real estate at a very early age. Her parents owned rental properties and she grew up learning the ins and outs of the business. She got licensed in South Dakota in 1992, then relocated to Gold Canyon, Arizona in 1997 and decided 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

to open up her own brokerage. In 2011 she made her dream become reality, and Just Selling Arizona was born. Jody is thrilled to have a team of agents who are knowledgeable and passionate about the area, and able to provide their clients with expert advice.

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Thanks to great customer service Just Selling Arizona has a high percentage of repeat and referral clients. Jody believes that her success comes down to the way she treats clients. “I treat my clients like they’re my family. It’s not about my number of sales or what I make in a year, it’s Top Agent Magazine

about what’s important to them. And they feel that when I’m working with them,” she says. Jody also believes it’s crucial to educate clients throughout the process. “I believe that education is one of the most important things. I like to keep clients up to date on what’s going on in the market.”

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“I love the social aspect of this job. The ability to meet people and help them make the biggest purchase of their life is a truly rewarding experience.”

Part of what makes Jody stand out as a REALTOR® is her thoughtfulness about the demographic of clients she serves.

“A lot of the clients I serve are older, and this type of move can be quite draining on them. So we do our best to minimize their stress and make the experience as smooth as possible for them. I always try to go the extra mile. For example, I have a staging truck and I do free staging for them,” she says.

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Jody averages an impressive 100 sales per year. But her true passion isn’t the high numbers she reaches, it’s the lives she changes on the way. “I love the social aspect of this job. The ability to meet people and help them make the biggest purchase of their life is a truly rewarding experience.”

Aside from deeply caring about her clients, Jody also spends time being involved in her community. She is particularly Top Agent Magazine

passionate about organizations that work to help kids and animals. She’s involved with the Humane Society, St. Jude’s hospital, and the Make-A-Wish foundation among various other nonprofits.

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Outside of real estate Jody enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, shopping and venturing into the mountains. She also has a house in Mexico where she loves to vacation. Her plans for the future are to keep Copyright Top Agent Magazine 13

providing clients with excellent service and continue mentoring her agents. “Our brokerage is so successful because I not only work hard to make our clients happy, but I also go out of my way to ensure that all out agents

work in a positive environment. If their family needs some assistance I’m always happy to step in and help out. We are all supportive of each other and that helps us prosper and continue doing what we love.”

To learn more about Jody Sayler call 480–209–6226, email Jody@JustSellingAZ.com, or visit JustSellingAZ.com www.

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Turning Your Profession into a Passion The old adage goes that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

On the other hand, it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day worries and responsibilities of your career, even if you generally enjoy what you do. While there’s no guaranteeing that every day on the job will be a picnic, there are a few steps you can take to vastly improve your morale and transform your profession into a passion.

After all, cultivating a passion for what you do will not only add to your quality Top Agent Magazine

of life, but will likely make you more successful in the long run.

BUILD YOUR BASE OF KNOWLEDGE Knowledge builds confidence, and confidence breeds success. A sure way to light a fire in your heart for your daily work is to challenge yourself to learn more and expand your understanding of your field. By doing so, you equip yourself for success, create challenges, and find the most inter-

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esting features of your work—especially those that most appeal to your interests and talents. Try reading the top five books on the topic of your industry, or subscribe to a podcast where thriving professionals offer their two cents. Either way, learning more about your industry is bound to reveal a source of inspiration worth pursuing.

THINK ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE

and excelling in your field, you may find that others’ approaches inspire your own.

Likewise, what you learn from other successful, passionate people in your field can help you shape your own office and work life, in turn creating more opportunities for you to fall in love with what you do, all over again.

TAKE RISKS

CONNECT WITH LIKE-MINDED PROFESSIONALS

One of the biggest hindrances of professional passion is falling into a rut. Routines are familiar and everyday responsibilities vie for our energy. But the next time you tackle a task the way that you always have, take a moment and try to refresh your perspective—is there a more clever or efficient way you could approach this project?

Even better: why not take the plunge and do the things you’ve always been meaning to—throw that client appreciation event you’ve put off planning, take the continuing education course you keep forgetting to register for, even try a creative activity that pushes you out of your comfort zone.

There’s no better way to inject some passion into your life than by going outside your bubble and taking a risk.

Have you ever chatted with someone who was overflowing with energy for what they do? That sort of passion tends to be infectious—often causing us to beg our own questions about professional engagement.

By participating in local organizations or networking with those who are active

Passion comes from all directions—from your own interior journey and from the world around you. To transform your profession into a passion worth having, invest in yourself and venture into the vast world around you. You’ll surely reap the rewards.

Sometimes reinvigorating your passion for your work is about looking outward, rather than inward. Gain some perspective and consider who your work helps in the long run. As a real estate professional—whether you work as an agent, broker, in mortgages, home inspections, or otherwise—your work positively impacts someone else’s home-sweet-home. You make a difference. While it may seem like just another day at the office, taking a moment to visualize exactly who you are helping in the world at large is a great way to add some motivational fire to your daily tasks.

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TOM HENSCHEN Tom Henschen is a true real estate veteran. He got his license in the late ‘70s and still considers himself at the “peak” of his business. Tom’s unique career is rare having practiced many types of real estate transactions. He’s primarily doing residential and small commercial deals now, but in 1995, Tom was the sole broker a $55.8 million apartment transaction between Equity Residential and Beauchamp Enterprises. He’s closed several other sizable apartment deals, worked as the exclusive leasing broker for Western Dental on all 13 of their Arizona locations, and represented clients of flipped homes. Last year, he was hired to sell the late Gov. Rose Mofford’s home. All total, Tom has personally closed in excess of $400 million in sales and is a past winner of the PAR President’s Roundtable Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tom runs Tom Henschen & Associates Real Estate, having served the Phoenix, Arizona area for over 30 years. “I handle the entire transaction from soup to nuts,” he says. “I don’t want anyone else getting involved, so I can be there for my client every step of the way.”

It is because of his esteemed work ethic that Tom reports almost all of his business is repeat and referral clientele.

“For each and every one of my clients, I manage a closing as if I were doing it for myself or a family member,” he notes. “I’ll give the utmost care and pay close attention to all the details while taking care of the many questions along the way.” It is no surprise that his clients give him stellar reviews. One customer recently wrote: “Tom Henschen was the realtor for the sale of my home in Chandler, AZ and it was a pleasure to work with him throughout the entire process. You won’t find a better realtor. When I called Tom with questions, he answered the phone in person, every time. He listened to my questions and he provided valuable feedback and sound advice with my best interest, in mind.

I appreciated his calm demeanor, knowledge, and experience. He’s a professional. Most importantly, Tom delivered.

He got the job done, on time and exactly as I expected.

He’s the best!”

“It’s about service to to the client and creating value for them, a term you don’t often hear other Realtors® use,” he says.

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When it comes to marketing his listings, Tom says he pulls out all the stops. “During these times, I’ve been focusing my energy on creating the best virtual presence, including high-end photography, drone videos, and 3-D walkthroughs,” he states. “This year, I sold two homes without the clients ever having set foot on the premises.”

Tom says what he loves most about his profession is the opportunity to help people attain the American Dream of home ownership. “I recently helped a young couple who had saved $10,000 for a down-payment on a new home. I suggested they apply for a government-grant loan, which they qualified for. In addition, I was able to negotiate their closing costs. Ultimately, they got their first home without having to pay a single cent. It’s stories like that that make my job so worthwhile.”

When not working, Tom enjoys spending time with his family, which includes 12 grandchildren. “I’m proud to say that two of my grandsons received football scholarships to Arizona State,” he exclaims. “We love attending the games, tailgating. We’re very excited.”

Tom does not see any major changes in his immediate future. “I want to keep doing what I’m doing,” he says.

“I love what I do. I love helping people and building new relationships and plan to continue for as long as I can.”

To learn more about Tom Henschen, email tom@tomhenschenrealestate.com, visit tomhenschenrealestate.com, or call (602) 840-8484 http://

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Laughs!

Graham Harrop Graham Harrop Cartoons Cartoons

Putting the power of humour to work for you!

Putting the power of humour to work for you! grahamharrop.com 

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Millennial Buyers: Where They Are & What to Know Homebuyers and sellers come from all walks of life. If you’ve been an agent for long, you’ve likely worked alongside a wide variety of folks—from first-timer homeowners and down-sizers, to second home searchers and those finally hunting for their dream home. While there is hardly a shortage of diversity in the housing market, there 20

is one generation that is making big strides in homeownership these days: Millennials.

Millennials can be loosely defined as those between the ages of twenty-two to thirtyseven. As you can see, this constitutes a wide swathe of the population. If you’re an agent who stands to learn a bit more about

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a demographic whose influence and homeownership goals are rapidly evolving, tune in below for a few pointers that can help you expand a segment of your clientele in the process.

Where do Millennials prefer to buy?

Many Millennials came of age during or immediately following the Great Recession, and as such, many of them relocated or returned to mid-size cities and smaller communities where the cost of living was most affordable. Of course, there are countless Millennials that call the U.S.’s major cities home—especially those in the

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tech industry. The good news is that you can court Millennial clientele no matter where you service area is located. That said, community amenities are of great importance to this generation. They value public transportation, green space, and entertainment—from coffee shops and topnotch restaurants to farmer’s markets and boutiques. Emphasizing those attributes will be key in selling to Millennials and locating neighborhoods they’re most interested in.

What sort of communication do Millennials prefer?

Most Millennials are digital natives, or close to. That means they grew up learning

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how to navigate digital spaces, and prefer to communicate through mediums like email, text, and social media. This isn’t to say that Millennials aren’t good communicators, but they’re often on the go, and have learned to research and shop online. To accommodate this, it’s best to build a presence across the most popular listing portals and social media platforms. Although, it’s not enough to establish a site and wait for the calls to come in. Responsiveness is a key factor for Millennials, who expect speedy response times. Make sure you’re checking your inbox frequently, responding accordingly, and engaging with your audience online. This will let Millennials know

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that you’re savvy, available, and understand the value of their preferred method of communication.

Are Millennials ready to buy?

It’s a common misconception that Millennials are uninterested in the rite of passage of purchasing a home. While Millennials maybe waiting a bit longer than their parents did to buy a home, there are good reasons to explain this phenomenon. For starters, Millennials entered the job market during the downturn, which means they are more conservative when making big purchases, and have to play catch-up to reach a sound

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financial position. Likewise, student loan debt has proved a major financial inhabitation for Millennials. Instead of socking away a few hundred a month to save for a home, they’re forking over that cash to pay down their educational loans. How does a Realtor compete with this reality? For starters, a bit of understanding goes a long way. Work with your mortgage partners to find financing possibilities that cater to this younger demographic. Recognize that Millennials—like most buyers—have some trepidations when buying a home.

Also consider fielding Millennial clientele with the long view in mind. You might be Top Agent Magazine

courting them for months or more until they’re ready to take the plunge, but they’re also famous for their reviews. When a job is done well, Millennials shout it from the rooftops—or at least share it a dozen time from their phone.

As time passes, Millennials will continue to dominate the marketplace when it comes to buying and selling homes. A little self-education on this powerful demographic can go a long way. If you know your clients and your audience, you’ll be in a far better position to serve their interests and make a customer for life.

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