EVERY PLAYER IS

Every Player is Valuable: How to Boost Your Team’s Morale

In the fast-paced world of real estate, it can be easy to overlook the contributions of those lower-level employees who are instrumental in our success, yet are overlooked when it comes to recognizing the important roles they play in keeping our business operating smoothly.

Even a task that seems simple, such as answering phones, can be overwhelming at times. Letting these employees know that they are appreciated is something that often goes overlooked at busier companies, and can often result in impaired morale overall, as employee dissatisfaction tends to be contagious.

Here are some things that you can do to increase morale and productivity in your workplace:

While it’s important to point out when an employee is doing something wrong, it is equally – if not more – important to acknowledge when that employee is doing something right.

1While it’s important to point out when an employee is doing something wrong, and sometimes to reprimand, it is equally – if not more – important to acknowledge when that employee is doing something right. Even a simple compliment can go a long, long way towards building that employee’s morale, and therefore their willingness to go the extra mile for your team. An example: “Sally, I just heard you on the phone with that client. You sounded very professional and I really appreciate your representing our business that way.”

2Determine what all of your employee’s goals are, and what their expectations for growth might be. There may be lower level employees who are perfectly content doing what they’re doing, and who have absolutely no expectations for growth in your business. Others, however, may have an interest in moving up the ladder. Make it your business to determine this early on, and try to take a personal interest in your employee’s growth with your company. Knowing there is room to grow is an important factor in employee satisfaction, and knowing who wants to grow and who doesn’t is something you should be aware of. Groom from within, and your employees will be grateful and work harder.

3If your workplace is highly stratified, with multiple levels of employees (agents, senior agents, loan processers, assistants, etc.,) make an effort to ensure that everyone feels valued as part of the team regardless of what they earn. Various team building exercises that encourage trust and a sense of familiarity can go a long way towards fostering an environment that is less unnecessarily competitive and more productive and cooperative. A quick web search for “Trust Building Exercises” will help you locate many good ways to achieve a newfound level of camaraderie amongst your team. Many of them are quite a bit of fun, too.

Hopefully these tips will assist you in creating a better-functioning, higher-achieving team of motivated, caring employees. Remember, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so be sure to keep everyone feeling appreciated, supported and valued, and your company will only benefit.

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Laughs!We’re still here!

Making the workplace happy is what we do.

A Graham Harrop Cartoon can enhance office materials, training manuals and add zing to that worrying power point presentation. Graham Harrop

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Companies large and small call on award-winning cartoonist Graham Harrop to create unique, fun and Putting the power memorable cartoons especially for them… of humour to work for you! Working with you to highlight aspects of your organization or celebrate that special someone, Graham is just an email away! gtoonist@shaw.ca

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24-Hour Touch-ups to Maximize Your List Price

Sometimes it takes a full-scale overhaul to prepare a house for market. Other times, only a series of small adjustments are required to make a listing’s true potential shine. Whether you’re gearing up for an open house, assessing a list price, or maximizing a property’s appearance prior to photography—the devil is in the details. However, touch-ups and refreshes don’t have to dominate your schedule or break the bank. For a few ideas of where to begin, consider our handy check-list below for quick home projects that will fortify your bottom line.

Refresh grout for a sparkling clean look. Perhaps the quickest and most cost-effective way to make bathrooms, kitchens, and other tiled areas shine is to refresh grout until it looks

good as new. Specialty grout stain removers and cleaners are inexpensive and sold at most home improvement stores. Plus, the project only takes a bit of elbow grease and an hour or two for a major makeover effect. Suddenly, dark, stained, and worn-down bathrooms gleam as if tile has just been placed.

Create mood lighting with soothing bulbs and fixtures. A warm white light from specially chosen LED bulbs creates a welcoming environment when potential buyers come calling. If outdated fixtures are bringing down a home’s otherwise modern styling, consider more design-neutral replacements that won’t detract from the property’s charms. These are inexpensive but highly noticeable and impactful upgrades that shift a home’s ambiance for the better.

Repaint doors for an updated and inviting entryway. It may sound like a hassle, but repainting doorways with a fresh coat signals a wellkept property—and that’s before prospective buyers even pass through the threshold. You can also change out generic doorknobs and switch-plates to add an updated flare while on a budget. Color-of-the-year trend choices can turn heads, while neutral paint choices signal less hassle for future homeowners.

Make windows shine— both inside and out. Cleanliness goes a long way in communicating a well-cared for home in which buyers can imagine themselves. Cleaning the inside and outside of windows not only refreshes a room, but it allows light to infuse the space while appealing to the move-in ready crowd.

Closet spaces are not an afterthought. Every prospective buyer wants storage options, and you’ve surely led a home tour where guests inspect closets and pantries. Don’t let these hidden spaces go overlooked. Make sure they’re clean, cleared as much as possible, and you can even touch them up with fresh paint, a good scrub, or with the addition of new shelves or styled bulbs.

Remove tough appliance stains with a bit of elbow grease. If you’re packaging appliances with the sale of a property, you’ll want to make sure those big-ticket items are also in top shape to showcase their value. Stainless steel polish, electric cooktop polish, and stain removing pads for the kitchen sink can make your appliances look five years younger with nothing more than an hour or two’s labor.

Organize garage and basement areas to maximize storage and hint at bonus space. It may take a labor of love, but organizing and decluttering these special storage spaces

can add significant value to a property. Instead of telling prospective buyers how much storage space there is—let these areas speak for themselves by giving them a neutral, airy bout of cleansing. That way, craft-lovers, car aficionados, and buyers with interest in renovating basement areas can witness the potential immediately.

Individually, these bit to-do list items might seem like extra work without the promise of a major return. But combined? These small tasks go a long way in crafting a home’s image and projecting pure potential. After all, prospective buyers imagine their lives unfolding inside those walls. That’s why cobbling together these small-scale projects can have a big payoff in the end. Not only will a home present itself in a cohesive, attractively-packaged form, but it can also translate to higher interest and a significant pay-off—in more ways than one.

JOY LARSON

Top Agent Joy Larson – Leader of Keller Williams Elevate’s The Joy Team in Strongsville, Ohio – is passionate about helping her many grateful clients achieve their real estate goals. Hardworking, dedicated and deeply knowledgeable about the industry in which she works, Joy has built her business on a foundation of honesty, integrity and true empathy for her buyers and sellers.

Joy became a licensed real estate agent in 2015. “I got started in the business because my husband is an investor and was buying rental properties,” recalls Joy. “We were going to be a tag team. I would be the real estate agent for the properties he buys, so that’s how it began.” Since then, Joy has built a thriving business based on her exceptional customer service and ability to put her clients at ease during even the most convoluted of transactions, among many other factors.

Currently, Joy – who oversees a small but equally-dedicated team – can claim that a significant and growing portion of her overall business is based upon referrals from satisfied clients. “We want to bring joy to our clients, hence the name The Joy Team,” she explains, when asked how she manages to inspire so much trust and loyalty amongst those she works with. “We want our clients to be happy just in general, and with the entire transaction.”

Joy is clearly succeeding in that mission, and the scores of glowing five-star reviews on Zillow.com – on which site she is a Premier Agent – attest to that assessment. Just one of many reads: “Joy was not only extremely fast moving, responsive, and helpful, but she was an absolute delight to work with. We started looking at a couple of homes we found on Zillow, but we weren’t successful in finding something we really liked. After talking to Joy only a couple of times, she listened to what we liked and didn’t like, and she found us exactly what we were looking for! I would recommend her to anyone.” Other reasons for Joy’s success would be her expert negotiation skills. Joy learned many valuable negotiation skills through her investor background. These skills come in handy in today’s hot market. Also, another component to her success is her thorough and intelligent approach to marketing her listings, both of which translate into fast sales for top dollar, not to mention happy clients.

“My favorite part of this job is investing in people,” says Joy. “I like getting to know people and building lifelong relationships with my clients.” Joy does so through newly instituted client events, and by working hard to maintain a connection to past clients long after the closing table.

When she’s not working, Joy enjoy spending time with her husband and their three children, and the entire family are avid travelers who enjoy visiting other countries and experiencing different cultures. Joy also likes to give back to the community any way she can, and she is currently planning a food drive amongst her clients to benefit the underprivileged.

Joy’s plans for the future are fairly straightforward: to continue growing her business exponentially, and to add new team members who share her client-first business ethos to handle that growth. Above all, however, is her primary objective: to continue offering the exceptional customer service that has become her calling card.

For more about Joy Larson, call 440-503-1730 or email joy@soldwiththejoyteam.com