MODERN EMAIL

Modern Email Etiquette for Today’s Agents

In today’s tech-forward culture, consumers are constantly inundated with promotional emails, alerts, invites, and social media blasts. As a real estate agent or a loan officer, how do you stand apart from the noise? What’s more, how do you stay relevant in a digital landscape that’s constantly changing?

For starters, there are a few timeless techniques you can apply to up your skillset when it comes email and digital communication: asking questions that inspire conversation, politeness, and following up regularly—to name a few. Likewise, there are surely new tricks you can add to your arsenal to stay ahead of the curve. Let’s outline a few ways you can refine and update your email etiquette to compete in today’s virtual marketplace.

Make your subject line count

Too often, we labor over the content of our emails without giving much thought to subject lines.

Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity.

However, these little headlines can go a long way in luring the consumer to open your email and ultimately click through to your website in search for your services. An enticing subject line should be short and sweet, ideally less than fifty characters. You might also include the name of the recipient, and be up front (though concise) about the subject matter of your message. Remember: the first thing a client will see is your name and subject line—be sure to make this prime real estate shine.

Think mobile

Research tells us that 79% of Americans check their phones within fifteen minutes of waking up. In fact, much of modern day correspondence occurs by smartphone. Accordingly, you’ll want to account for email readability on a mobile phone. For instance, incorporating paragraph breaks for each new thought allows information to be parceled out in a palatable way for readers utilizing small screens. Also, any sort of graphic flair or links within your email should be shortened and streamlined for mobile consumption. Send yourself an email every now and again and access it from your phone—you’ll be able to double-check that all the elements of your emails are working well on a mobile platform.

Incorporate email tools

There are excellent tools out there to enhance your email experience. With just a quick download, you can add spellcheck, a URL address shortening feature, or a delay option that holds emails for thirty seconds before they’re sent. Think about the possibilities! Haven’t you sent an email without including the attachment you intended, or realizing you sent correspondence to the wrong client? If that’s the case, a delay feature can help you save face and build in a window for error— just in case. Regardless of which tools speak to your email habits, there are plenty of add-ons out there that can revamp your digital correspondence style.

Use email to maximize your online presence

These days, there are plenty of ways to communicate—email, text, phone, apps, and social media. When you interact through email, consider it an opportunity to invite your client to follow you elsewhere online. Ensure that your email signature includes unobtrusive, streamlined links to your social media accounts, professional website, or review page. This will build in an opportunity for clients to engage with your brand, and you may even add an online follower for the long term.

Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity. Keep these approaches in mind as you reenergize your email technique and fortify your communication in the digital era.

BETHANY CULLEY

Bethany Culley grew up in the Real Estate business, with her parents and grandparents working in the industry. “When I was about 15 and had my driver’s license, my mom would have me drive her and her clients around town so she could show them around,” Bethany remembers. “By the time I was 16 or 17, I knew where everything was in Jackson!” Bethany got her Real Estate license in college and started working in the family business soon after. “Once it gets in your blood, that’s what you’re going to do for life,” Bethany says. For 33 years, Bethany has been serving her clients and helping them achieve their Real Estate goals.

With Keller Williams Realty, Bethany serves Jackson and the TriCounty area, including Brandon, Clinton, Flora, Madison, Pearl, and Ridgeland. An impressive 95% of Bethany’s business comes from repeat and referral clients, a feat that speaks to the trust and confidence she inspires. “Clients keep coming back because I’m fun to work with and I know what I’m doing,” she says. “I always keep them updated, because I want to make sure everybody knows what’s going on and understands what’s happening in the process.”

One area where Bethany stands out is her Certified Residential Specialist designation. “I’m one of only a handful of CRSs in the Jackson area,” Bethany explains. “I got that certification because I value education, and that sets me apart. I often get referrals from other CRSs from

out-of-state because they know that it means I keep up with my training to better serve my clients.”

The results speak for themselves: Bethany averages between $8-12 million in volume per year, with a total of around 50-55 houses annually.

Community involvement is important to Bethany, and she is on the board of the Central Mississippi Realtors®. She also helps out with fundraising for the Special Olympics, and is looking forward to helping out any way she can with a new organization called Lily Pad that aims to teach and train special people to work in the restaurant business. Since all three of Bethany’s sons are special, it’s a cause that is near and dear to her. She is also active in her sorority alumni group and in raising funds and awareness for autism.

When she is not working or giving back, Bethany loves spending time with her husband Mike McGehee, twin daughters Julia and Flinn, and three sons Culley Harless, Paul Harlen McGehee and Hutch McGehee. She also enjoys going to concerts, hiking, kayaking, hunting, and shooting. She and her husband love getting outdoors together.

Bethany loves helping mentor new agents, and she has a group of 5 she works with whom she affectionately calls her “crash of rhinos.” She says, “I love training and teaching new agents because if they’re better, we’re all better.”

Above all, Bethany says, “I love helping people. I really care about what I do, and not a lot of people can say that. I’m fiercely loyal, and the clients I work with become lifelong clients and lifelong friends.”

To find out more about Bethany Culley, you can contact her by cell at 601-941-5285, or by email at bethanyculley@gmail.com. You can also find her online at www.zillow.com/profile/BethanyCulley

KAREN HARRISON & BRIDGET DOLMAN

Karen Harrison and Bridget Dolman – Top Agents with RE/MAX Alliance in Huntsville, Alabama – are a dynamic, powerhouse real estate team who are truly committed to helping every one of their many buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals. Both Karen and Bridget share a deep knowledge of the industry, and that, coupled with their true concern for their clients’ wellbeing, have earned the pair their stellar reputations as trusted, honest and ethical real estate advocates for everyone they work with.

Together, the team are approaching nearly forty years of combined experience in the real estate industry, with Karen obtaining her license in 1999 and Bridget in 2006. The pair teamed up officially in 2016, and they have since combined their thriving businesses to provide their clients with top notch customer service and a level of know-how few of their competitors can claim.

Currently, almost the entirety of Karen and Bridget’s considerable business is based upon repeat clients, referrals and positive word of mouth, a significant achievement in the highly competitive Huntsville market. “I believe it’s because we nurture our clients,” explains Bridget, when asked how she and Karen manage to instill such impressive levels of trust and loyalty amongst those they work with. “It’s never a onetime deal for us.” Adds Karen, “we also work very hard to remain in contact with our clients long after the closing table.” This includes sending out holiday cards, and also honoring them with gifts at

Christmas and pies during Thanksgiving week, among other outreach efforts during the course of the year. “A lot of our clients become close friends of ours,” says Karen, who also points to use of social media as another method of maintaining those relationships.

There are many other factors that come into play when assessing Karen and Bridget’s ever-growing success story, and chief among them would be their expert negotiation abilities and comprehensive, intelligent marketing strategies. Professional photography is utilized exclusively, as is staging when necessary. Social media is also exploited deftly to ensure maximum exposure for their many listings, and all of these combined translate into fast sales for top dollar, not to mention happy – and returning and referring – clients.

“I just love working with people,” says Bridget, when asked what she enjoys most about what she does for a living. “I particularly enjoy working with military families (she herself is a military wife) and first-time home buyers.” Karen says she enjoys the excitement of the process. “It’s incredible to be able to find the right home for someone. It’s very rewarding.”

When they’re not working to make their clients dreams come true, both Karen and Bridget enjoy nothing more than spending time with their families, including their grandchildren. They both love to travel, and also give back to their communities in a variety of ways, particularly through support of local schools and teachers and, via their churches, the Downtown Rescue Mission.

Looking to the future, Karen and Bridget’s plans are to continue growing their business, and to add like-minded and equally dedicated team members who share their client-first business ethos. Above all, however, remains their overarching, constant objective: to continue providing the incredible, unparalleled customer service that has become synonymous with their names.

For more information about Karen Harrison & Bridget Dolman, call Karen at 256-226-5062, Bridget at 256-384-5326 or email KJHarrison32@yahoo.com or Bridget.Dolman@gmail.com

HELEN LEE TOYODA

Helen Lee Toyoda has been in the real estate industry for over thirty-two years. She started out managing rental properties in Seattle, building a sizable portfolio and learning the business from the ground up. One day, she realized that real estate, in particular, could perfectly balance her professional experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for helping others, so she decided to earn her license and jump in. In the twelve years since, she hasn’t looked back.

Today, Helen leads the Toyoda Group at HomeSmart Real Estate Associates, where she supervises an elite team to assist clients throughout the greater Seattle area. There, she caters her process to the direct needs of her buyers and sellers, having established a boutique culture around compassion, integrity, and open communication. “We treat our clients as we would members of our own family,” she says. “Everybody here gets the same stellar service, whether it’s for a two million dollar house or a half-million dollar house.” When listing a property, Helen provides clients with a comprehensive strategy. With the first walk through, she assesses what updates, repairs and maintenance she would recommend to prepare the home for market. After, she leans on her extensive professional sphere and full service team to ensure each step of the process is completed seamlessly. “From beginning to end, we do everything. The client doesn’t have to worry about anything. Our business is built on the solid foundation of trust.” From in-house contractors for renovations and

maintenance, to providing professional staging and photography, she blends her tactical game plan with targeted digital and social media campaigns.

But Helen is just as attentive when helping her buyers, carefully guiding them through the process. While her team gives expert support throughout the transaction, she still takes the time to build a hands-on, one-on-one relationship with each client. Through the years, this approach has earned Helen a fantastic reputation throughout Seattle, with the majority of her volume coming from repeat clients or referrals. Regardless of the numbers, though, she cares most about the lasting relationships built along the way. “I truly love the excitement of buying a home, or putting a house on the market and making it come to life,” she says. “These are some of the biggest financial decisions someone can make, and it’s such an honor to join them in that journey.”

Outside her career, Helen plays an active role in the community. Alongside her life in real estate, she co-owns Toyoda Sushi in Seattle with Natsuyoshi Toyoda, which has been a family run business for 32 years. Her life revolves around houses, sushi and her three children Tylee, Yuki and Emma. Elsewhere, she works on community programs and donations within the neighborhood, while constructing a local adult family home to better support seniors in the area, believing the true essence of success can be found in how much one gives back.

Helen has strong plans for the future of her team. As her assistants earn their licenses, she will be expanding her community outreach efforts while scaling the model of personalized service that has anchored her accomplished career. Above all, she is guided by a single motto in business and in life: “They say that if you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life. I’m blessed and grateful to wake up every day doing what I love.”

To learn more about Helen Lee Toyoda email helentoyoda@gmail.com, call 206-383-8182, or visit www.hsreassociates.com

JENNIE WETTER

When she moved from Atlanta to Kingston, Washington for family reasons, Jennie Wetter’s life changed forever. “I went from four million people to four thousand people and four stop lights,” she laughs.

With a master’s degree in an allied health field, she’d dedicated herself to service, education, and treating people well. She applied her knowledge in the aviation industry, traveling from her home in Georgia to cities across the Country to teach the airlines how to safely transport people with disabilities. In Kingston—too far from the centers of Seattle or the aviation industry— she began looking for another career where she could apply her values and skillset.

“Real estate had been the furthest thing from my mind. I didn’t see myself as a salesperson, and I’d had a couple of bad experiences with real estate agents. The industry had a bad reputation in 2004, with many agents only interested in making money without regard for the impact on clients. I saw an opportunity to provide a better kind of service.”

After getting her license, it took six months to sell her first house, but things took off from there. Inspired by that success, Jennie launched Infinity Real Estate in 2007—right into the teeth of the recession and housing crisis. By the end of 2008 she had lost everything.

“I did a ton of soul-searching. I was deeply in debt. I almost declared bankruptcy, but canceled the meeting with the lawyer at the last minute.” That turned out to be a defining moment in Jennie’s life. She paid off the debt instead, working a day job in the medical field again and selling houses nights and weekends.

“I’d intended to quit after that. But I’d been so successful that I decided I had to be doing something right.” Others agreed. When brokers began calling to work with her, Infinity was reborn. Jennie finally realized her dream of offering a better kind of Realtor®. “In my previous career I’d taught classes on empathy. I wanted to build Infinity on that—along with a commitment to integrity, strong customer service and good risk management. I wanted clients to know we had their back.”

It worked. Since 2012, Jennie has averaged 50 home sales per year. Infinity’s volume in 2020 was $105 million, with Jennie personally accounting for $45 million and 64 transactions. Most clients these days are repeats and referrals. Jennie feels that blessing to her core.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the hard time I went through in the crash. Last year, our profession was booming while so many people were struggling just to get by.” In answer, Jennie launched the 2021 Great Give Back campaign, with the goal of supporting different local community charities each quarter. She also continues her other community work, including Girls on the Run of Westsound, dedicated to promoting a sense of well-being for young girls, and teaching them to be strong, ethically-oriented members of their communities.

Jennie spends most of her time off with her fiance and their dog, Enzo. But she’s also a Formula 1 racing fanatic, and occasionally even hits the racetrack herself with an instructor. “It seems counterintuitive, but racetrack driving is actually very relaxing,” she explains. “It requires perfect presence, so everything else just disappears.”

As for Infinity, Jennie has no trouble resisting the lure of becoming another super brokerage. “Being a boutique brokerage allows us to adapt much more quickly to changes in the industry than larger firms. More importantly, we can maintain our commitment to empathy and integrity as the foundation of our service to clients.”

And have their back forever. For more about Jennie Wetter, please call 253-225-5602 or email Jennie@infinityrewa.com. To find out how you can contribute to the Great Give Back visit Jenniewetter.com