WASHINGTON 11-19-18

WASHINGTON EDITION

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THINGS YOU NEED TO DO TO BE A GREAT MENTOR

How to Incorporate Current Events to Your Email Blasts and Stay Relevant

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TIPS FOR MASTERFUL TO–DO LISTS

FEATURED AGENT

CARLENE "CARLI" RYEN COVER STORY

Brandon Wooten

WASHINGTON EDITION

Swift Plumbing & Heating is proud to congratulate

CARLI RYEN 6

CARLENE "CARLI" RYEN

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BRANDON WOOTEN

on being featured for the state of Washington in Top Agent Magazine!

CONTENTS

4) HOW TO OVERCOME 17) HOW TO INCORPORATE SWIFT PLUMBING YOUR WORKPLACE & HEATING,CURRENT EVENTS TO YOUR INC. FEARS EMAIL BLASTS AND STAY 360-297-9592 RELEVANT www.swiftplumb.com 8) 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO TO BE A GREAT 21) 3 TIPS FOR MASTERFUL MENTOR TO–DO LISTS

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How To Overcome Your Workplace Fears Fear is something that can help protect us from danger, but it is also something that can be a hindrance to us in our lives, especially when it keeps us from potentially thriving and growing as a person. This is especially true in the workplace. Here’ a look at some proven ways to overcome common workplace fears.

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ASSESS THE FEELINGS BEHIND THE FEAR

Really owning the emotions that are putting you in a place of fear, is the first step. By just naming it and then talking it out in your head, what exactly you’re feeling and why, it can help deflate the fear. Think of it as releasing some of the fear into the ether. Yes, you’ll still be nervous about your presentation, but a lot of what was holding you back is gone. You’ll feel lighter, and hopefully have just enough butterflies to make your soar.

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TALK ABOUT YOUR FEARS WITH A TRUSTED CO-WORKER

Nothing can make you feel more isolated than going down the path of “This is something that only happens to me.” Trust me, it doesn’t, and you might be surprised to find out that some people have had it even worse. Talking to someone you trust and admire, hearing their own fear horror stories and how they overcame them, will help normalize what you’re feeling. Releasing yourself from the idea that it’s something about you, will be an enormous relief.

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THINK OF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO

Although it might seem counter-productive, truly assessing what the worse outcome of the situation you’re afraid of serves two purposes. It might lead you to realize the worst case scenario isn’t that bad 4

after all. Of course it could also lead you to a really uncomfortable thought, you could lose your job. As bad as that is, it also gives you an opportunity to start focusing on what really matters, and how you might grow from the experience and possibly end up better off. Countless people in their dream jobs now, were once fired and thought it was the end of the world.

Hopefully, that won’t happen to you, but learning to have confidence in your abilities to always find a way, will be a great tool in overcoming fears.

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COMPARTMENTALIZE

If you’re a super-organized type, you might try actually setting aside time in your day to focus on your fears. It might seem odd, but it will let you NOT focus on your fears during the other hours of your day. Think of it as a task, you aren’t just sitting there worrying, you’re taking in your fears and figuring out ways to overcome them.

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START THINKING OF YOUR FEARS AS OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

Start thinking of fears as challenges. As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed. A lot of fear is based on inexperience which leads to a lack of confidence.

A common fear is workplace evaluations. Instead of looking at it as hearing everything that is wrong about you, think of it as an opportunity to see where you can improve. Going into it with a positive attitude rather than a defensive posture, will make the whole thing better for both parties.

Overcoming fears is oftentimes about a simple attitude adjustment. Like anything it takes practice, but the results of that practice will lead to a life that you’re able to thrive in both personally and professionally.

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Swift Plumbing & Heating is proud to congratulate

CARLI RYEN

on being featured for the state of Washington in Top Agent Magazine!

SWIFT PLUMBING & HEATING, INC. 360-297-9592 www.swiftplumb.com

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CARLENE “CARLI” RYEN How did Carlene ‘Carli’ Ryen become one of the most trusted real estate agents in Washington? For Carli, real estate has been a lifelong passion. She started as a receptionist at a mortgage, escrow and insurance company when she was only eighteen years old. She gained experience in insurance and mortgages before spending ten years on the escrow side of the business. She then decided to pursue her dream of becoming a real estate agent!

She’s now been licensed for eight years, and has spent the last seven years with Mike & Sandi Nelson Real Estate, a small boutique firm in Poulsbo, Washington. She has a thriving business, selling over 50 homes a year, primarily on the Kitsap Peninsula. “Working with Mike & Sandi Nelson Real Estate, I have the best of both worlds!” Carli said. “I’m a full-time employee of the firm, specializing in listings.”

appreciation party, drawings for free gifts, and a big pie giveaway for Thanksgiving. “We partner with a local bakery and give away nearly three hundred pies a year!” she says.

“People come by to pick up their pies and I get to see them in person. I just love it! It’s one of my favorite ways we keep in touch.”

To market listings, Carli posts all listings on the Mike & Sandi Nelson Real Estate website, as well as many other popular sites. She hires professional photographers to take high quality photos of the listing and then creates property specific flyers highlighting the property’s best features and providing interested buyers a text phone number so all their questions can be answered in a timely manner. Carli also markets listings via social media.

The result of her thorough marketing campaigns is often a quick sale at a competitive price.

An impressive 50% of Carli’s business comes from repeat and referral clients. Her commitment to fantastic customer service is what keeps her clients coming back and eager to spread the word about Carli to their friends and family. “I answer my phone unless I have a listing appointment, and then I always call back within a two-hour window to see how I can help. It’s all about constant communication. I make each of my clients feel like they are my only client. They appreciate that!” she says. The knowledge that Carli has gained during her twenty years in the industry allows her to walk her clients through the process and educate them each step of the way. She also has a great reputation with other agents in her community, which helps her buyers to be successful when they place a bid on a house with multiple offers.

Carli’s past clients rave about her accessibility and the amazing customer service she provides. What’s her favorite part of the job? “I love helping people move on to their next goal in life.” she says. To give back to the community, Carli and her firm donate generously to a nonprofit that supports homeless youth. They also host an annual food drive, and last year they raised nearly 2,000 pounds of food to feed community members in need! In her free time, Carli loves to spend time with her husband and their two adorable children, who are one and three-years old. “We love having friends over for barbeque or to watch football,” she says.

For the future, Carli wants to continue to serve her clients exceptionally well and continue to grow her business. Now those are worthy goals that will benefit her customers and her community!

To stay in touch with past clients, Carli sends birthday and home anniversary cards. Her firm also hosts an annual client

To find out more about Carlene ‘Carli’ Ryen, contact her via email at carli@mikeandsandi.com or by phone at (360) 286-6072.

You can also check her out online at carliryen.searchkitsaphomes.com. http://

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Sandi Nelson is proud to congratulate

Carli Ryen

on being featured for the state of Washington in Top Agent Magazine!

Mike & Sandi Nelson REAL ESTATE

Mike & Sandi Nelson Real Estate Sandi Nelson | Designated Broker & Owner 360-930-8150 www.

searchkitsaphomes.com | mikeandsandi.com

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www.

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6 Things You Need to Do to Be a Great Mentor

Everyone reaches the point in their career where they feel they have gained enough experience and wisdom about business and what it takes to succeed, to actually help someone else achieve the same. Although you may have trained or given advice over the years, taking on the official status as a mentor to someone is a whole new ball game.

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Although mentorship is an unpaid endeavor, you’ll be surprised to find out how much you’ll gain from the experience. You’ll also grow as a business person through the process of teaching someone else. It’s also an endeavor that many will pay forward one day, creating a business atmosphere that is based more on mutual success than competition, which is better for everyone.

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If you were mentored, you may already have an idea of what it entails, and what you liked or didn’t like in your mentor/mentee relationship. Although it is a personal relationship that will need an individual approach, there are certain things that are key when it comes to being a great mentor: 1. Be a good listener

est about your own failures. It can be a huge relief to find out someone they look up to has gone through similar experiences and still managed to come out on top. As we all know, oftentimes the greatest lessons come from failures, which can be times when our character is truly tested. Building trust through mutual respect and honesty will make every aspect of your mentorship more effective.

You’re basically a sounding board who needs to hear your mentee’s ideas, plans and goals in order to advise them. Strong, constant and clear communication is key to any successful mentoring relationship.

Sometimes just letting them talk things out with you, will lead to them to discovering the solution they were looking for.

2. Set expectations and goals at the start When listening to your mentee in your first meeting about the potential relationship, it’s important to establish the parameters of what that relationship will be: What can you give them? What do they need or expect from you? Once the terms are agreed upon, you may want to set specific goals you’ll be working on together so that there’s a defined plan of action, timeline and result you can both expect.

3. Be honest This is important when it comes to offering them constructive criticism or tough love, but more importantly, you need to be honTop Agent Magazine

4. Get them to think, don’t make decisions for them Sometimes being a mentor is being a bit like a psychologist. By asking certain ques-

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tions you can lead your mentee to their own conclusions about their business dilemmas and strategies to reach their goals. Being a mentor is all about guidance. Build confidence by drawing out the best in your mentee rather than just presenting them with solutions.

5. Look at the situation objectively One of the key strengths you offer your mentee is a complete emotional detachment to their business. You have no sentimental attachment to doing things a certain way or working with an incompetent vendor because you ‘go way back’. Your only motive is what’s best for your mentee and their business. Although emotions cans still get in the way sometimes, having a detached perspective on hand to guide you is invaluable.

6. Don’t just offer constructive criticism, be supportive Yes, being a mentor is sometimes advising your mentee that he’s doing something ineffectively, but your main purpose is to alway approach everything like cheerleader.

You need to let them know that through it 10

all, you are a reliable support to them and have a complete belief in their abilities.

Make sure to always praise their accomplishments.

Remember: your job as a mentor is more about guidance than constant feedback.

Your goal is to help someone become the best they can be, not someone who just does everything the way you do it. You’re helping them build confidence in their own intuition, which will hopefully lead to a lifetime of success, and one day, they too might be a valuable resource to another mentee down the road.

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Brandon Wooten

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Brandon Wooten Brandon Wooten, Team Leader and Founder of Brandon Wooten & Associates at Windermere Real Estate in Arlington, Washington has achieved Top Agent status through a combination of hard work, integrity and a true desire to help his clients achieve their real estate dreams. Brandon’s wealth of industry knowledge and his youthful energy and enthusiasm has resulted in a successful business that continues to grow, year after year.

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Brandon got his start in real estate while still in college, as an intern for a real estate firm. “I was helping other agents with miscellaneous document organization and administrative work,” he recalls, “when the owner brought up the idea of my getting my license.” Brandon did, and he has spent the past five years building his business, his reputation and a stellar team that currently consists of four other highly-dedicated professionals who share his “client-first” ethos.

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Brandon takes great pride in the customer service he provides both his buyers and sellers, and as the 2018 recipient of the Seattle Rising Star Award, people are taking notice. Nearly fifty percent of Brandon’s business is based on repeat clients and referrals, a significant Top Agent Magazine

achievement in the highly-competitive real estate field. When pressed to account for the loyalty he and his team inspire, Brandon grows contemplative for a moment before responding. “We are all really young and energetic,” he muses, “and I think people like that. They 13 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

also like that we really take care of them and we’re not just pushing for a dollar. We make sure that they feel comfortable during the process and with the results, and that’s whey they come back to us.”

Perhaps the surest indicator of an agent’s abilities lies in the reviews they receive from their clients. Brandon, who is a Premier Agent on Zillow.com, has received many glowing testimonials on that site, including this one: “Brandon was very helpful and informative through the entire process. He was always available to answer any questions we had, and truly had our best interest in mind, making sure we were getting the best Copyright Top Agent Magazine Copyright 14

deal possible. Thanks to Brandon, we were able to find the perfect home for our family and we could not be more grateful!”

Brandon and his team also employ stateof-the-art marketing tools when promoting their listings, another factor in the continuing success of Brandon Wooten and Associates.

Professional photography, cutting-edge 3D Matter Port tours are coupled with a robust online presence to ensure that each property is seen in its best light and by as many potential buyers as possible.

Brandon, whose personable nature is readily apparent when speaking with him, has a Top Agent Magazine

true inclination for helping people, and it is this aspect of his business he points to when asked what he enjoys most about his job.

“I’m a people person,” he says, “so I love getting to meet new people every day. I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people, seeTop Agent Magazine

ing them excited and happy about their new home brings me happiness.”

When he’s not working, Brandon enjoys nothing more than spending time with his fiancé, who is a teacher. The pair love to travel, and a Copyright Top Agent Magazine 15

trip to Italy is on the horizon. Brandon is also civic-minded, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Downtown Arlington Business Association.

He is passionate about coaching youth and high school basketball, and enjoys helping his local animal shelter in the foster care department.

Brandon has plans to purchase his own office, but his overarching plan for the future is to con-

tinue growing his business while sacrificing none of the amazing customer service that has become his stock-in-trade. “I pride myself on being honest, trustworthy, and knowledgeable in the real estate market. I know how important it is for my clients to find their dream home or get the best offer for their property,” says Brandon.

“Therefore, I make it my responsibility to help them achieve those goals.”

For more about Brandon Wooten, call 425-879-0135 or email BWooten@windermere.com

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How to Incorporate Current Events to Your Email Blasts and Stay Relevant Email marketing is a cost effective and straightforward method of getting your name and services in front of clients with just a few keystrokes. This tried-and-true approach to digital marketing is a favorite of many, and there are countless ways to customize (and maximize) your email blasts to reap superior results. Despite this, many real estate profesTop Agent Magazine

sionals are content to standardize their email advertising and take a broad, one-size-fits-all approach to capturing interest and leads. While an up-front sales pitch certainly has its uses and benefits, it doesn’t hurt to shake up your routine and refresh your email marketing approach by adding specifics that draw renewed interest from your audience.

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One way to accomplish this is by tying in current events and local happenings to your email blasts. After all, your sphere of influence likely receives countless marketing emails per day. To cut through the noise, sharpen your message with a few specifics that separate your communications from the pack. Not every email should be focused on closing a sale, or else your audience will learn to stop listening.

How do you build your brand, stay top of mind, and keep the lines of communication open with your clientele? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

against an old rival? Do they host themed fan days honoring veterans or catering to families? Tailoring your communications to a local sports franchise’s big news or next event can draw intrigue and provide added value for your clients. Remember, not every communication you send should be focused on pitching and closing a sale, otherwise your audience will tune out your emails altogether. Instead, incorporate fun, community-oriented content that lets readers know you’re a resource for much more than real estate.

Sports news makes a splash

Become a one-stop-shop for holiday fun and seasonal ideas.

People love to rally behind the home team.

Is a regional, local university, or professional sports team in your area headed to the playoffs or the championship? Are they facing off

From Mother’s Day to Thanksgiving, anyone can send an email wishing clients a happy holiday. While the sentiment is a good one, you’ll be one of dozens flooding inboxes with

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your well-wishes. Instead, go beyond the traditional greetings and good tidings and become a hyper-specific resource for clients. Create a gift guide for Mother’s Day, outline family-friendly local events occurring in your area around the holidays, or engage in a promotional partnership with a local business who’s offering a holiday special of their own. In other words, don’t settle for just saying hello during certain times of the year. Instead, up the value of your email blast by offering clients curated information that relates to their interests and area.

Doing so makes your emails a must-read, while demonstrating your ability to go the extra mile.

Pop culture serves as a fun and timely tie-in.

Is a new gaming app sweeping the nation? Have your social media feeds been flooded with the same viral video? Is everyone gossiping about the same TV show premiere? Pop culture tie-ins in your email marketing campaigns can be extremely effective, but in order to for

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them to work, you’ll need to move quickly and keep your focus on the phenomenon, rather than your service pitch. The goal behind pop culture marketing tie-ins is communicating the progressiveness and hip factor of your brand, while capturing timely, topical interest that’s at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be in on a running joke or trend, and if you leverage trending pop culture moments in your email marketing, you’ll be able to draw views and clicks from a wide audience.

Plenty of services offer standardized email marketing templates and content for today’s real estate professionals, and while the motivation behind marketing is transactional, your communications don’t have to be. The surest way to make an impact in your clients’ inboxes is to add original value and break apart from the pack. Consider updating some of your routines with these current events oriented techniques and your email audience is sure to take a second look.

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3 Tips For Masterful To-Do Lists

by Rob Flitton

Here are three masterful tips to easyto-prepare and easy-to-perform todo lists.

1-Important v. Urgent.

Always prepare your lists based on what is important, not what is urgent. Why? Let’s define our terms.

“Important” in this context is about what matters to you. “Urgent” in this context is about what matters to others.

People have a tendency to not only assemble their lists based on the needs of other people, they get derailed by interruptions and distractions from the pressing needs of others—they get on phone calls, discussions, text-threads, or emailexchanges that take away their focus.

The corollary tricks here are to (i) negotiate for time and space in advance, and (ii) learn to say “no.”

Since you want to focus on what’s important and not on what’s urgent, it causes you much less friction to negotiate ahead of time with those who matter to you for the time and space you need to be able to focus.

This keeps you from worrying about family matters when at work, and work matters when enjoying your family or leisure time.

When we are afraid in life to politely say “no” to the wrong thing, we makes ourselves unavailable to say “yes” to the right things. Those who appreciate and understand you will cooperate—those who do not will simply have to adjust.

2-Obey The Crow.

Sometimes these urgency-intruders There should never be more than 7 can be close to you and hard to say items on your to-do list. No one no to—your spouse, boss, children, can concentrate on too many things at once. customers, or strangers.

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To be able to focus, a person needs to be able to discern which activities or ideas are most important to him at that moment, and at any given moment a person is only able to hold, focus on, or visualize perhaps somewhere between 4 and 7.

This limitation was understood from an experiment observing a flock of crows gathered in a clearing. When various groups of men would cross the clearing and then enter the nearby woods, the crows would flee to the 22

treetops only to return when the full number of men could be accounted for—i.e., when they felt safe.

If one man went in and then came back they would return to the clearing. If three men went into the woods and only two returned, they wouldn’t. If five men went into the woods and only four returned, they felt safe to return to the clearing.

This means that the crows could only hold 3 or 4 units of the men in their focus.

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Focusing on where the money comes from strips away all of the non-essentials.

For humans, the same is true but may be slightly higher. Look at a forest—you can perceive and focus on and count about 6 or 7 trees at one time, but you can never focus on or count an entire forest.

being the most important, and 1 dollar sign being the least important—like movie, book or restaurant ratings.

At the end of the to-do list period— whether it is a daily, weekly, monthly or annual list—you need not have completed every item, but you need to have entirely completed or accomplished the 4- and 5-star items. You would rather fully complete three 5star items than partially complete all seven items on your list.

The powerful piece of knowledge here is that by using unit economy— by limiting your ideas and activities into manageable groups—you can greatly overcome these limitations and leverage your means to tackle more and more work. By breaking lists down into groups of 4 to 7 Money is a measuring stick for how units, you can accomplish hundreds, effective you are at conducting your if not thousands, of important jobs business—it is really the only objective means of measuring your and tasks annually. effectiveness. Yes, there are plenty of non-monetary goals and outcomes 3-Dollar Signs.

The matter of deciding what should we all want to achieve, but I assert be at the top of your list should that being profitable matters the come down to the money. Money is most, and your to-do lists need to best barometer of what you should establish the mental attitude required spend your time on. Bookkeeping is to achieve maximum profitability. an important task in business, but Focusing on where the money comes closing sales is significantly more from strips away all of the nonimportant—no sales adds up to no essentials. need for bookkeeping.

Rob Flitton is a Seattle Real Estate MarAssign everything on your to do list a number of dollar signs, 5 dollar signs Top Agent Magazine

keting specialist helping independent agents to increase their income. Email Rob robflitton@gmail.com at any time or call/ text him at 206-612-2314.

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