CwK Ezine Issue #2 by GoodLife Team

Coffee with Krisstina a jolt to your career

APRIL 2012 | ISSUE # 2

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sa Canavos Martha Melis Monika Mcgillicu Luce Th rez ddy an M eres l Pe han c u be ick Ratliff Susan Rog ary P a Ine e r e ari rt B la N M Cu l Abo t White Elizabeth Bouc s Jeff aco s H d e H c u h Lim s Pa e Jan vchuk Jim Bass Sam ard J arin k g L e g t er ollin ris Le wk-Humphrey Ama ee D nnif h o-c a n C y C ark Donahue Vicky-cw da M vid y n S Terr er Labrescia Da k- No c w e ic ertn s Jenine Keel son y Ga oke r e E k l d a St Sp M W an glen Josh r T u K. da

Shah Chuck Yeager Cindy vels Chuck K uck Re assedy Jeremy Lehm eil Chris La ss Ch ell Jeff Burke Jack C g an Joy e g r u w ce Ho arde Jim o B in i h M a n e k M i o M H n n a a a t R m t t i z d t i ge Mi llan S ris dge ssy K r Ch unn Bri Difonzo Mi ewell Shelly O'Neil Terry Booth Trav chael Rice d Jill Br lack Je a r r i o s Close M f a Mad l Fa es D bbie Ted H ary Ste nkhors f Cub aro z Jam ton De ock Katrin elia Hoy Valerie Strevell Vicki LLoyd Laura Ja w ins tJ a C ar rd ffe r c n ring utierre Thor usan B ordon Ce neta Paul Davis Maxima Esteves Greg Le Karen W en Teha t Melis J Joh ki Ch e t a e ann rist l w S i lliam ne W sa e P G is Ron G Mik y L r e d o h r s a i e e F T P u k c c i s k c n R e W t r e n t s i C u e indy J nie le Li ni in u rL Curn ig es y V ia mo aro asm Pocc Red Emma r Brewe yal Robert nne Whyte Wayne Gurowsky Tod ones Sco Flagiell sa Pec rdem gan Joh ail C C o s J a ia t n d Rub ith es elle teve Roy ar Pete ges-Ro erson Mar a Hamaker Betsy Serafini And inste t Kenne Bill W k Ste n Te Nan Ma yndi in R ph rri rew P dy ag b M c n od Sm Re ich e S on Donn mm le ane e M Wad ko R a Dun race H oe Gu rd Antick nd Tad Navle Amanda Eckart Barbar eck Julia eid Fer Marie ner S en K New y Gi neh ino o r J a g o a M p e s n l B t i m J r u B a n a etts C artin o a Jon Zu ale ley G otte son ara eve ese nd bbs Jus Tim ld Mike Parker Billy B a am n o e d c H C L M K m a e harle ohmh Tan ka n R J Ja Te Ni tin a ar gha Mc ells Ron z An und om C rrison to Stev Barone Lis o unette Amy Smythe Harris Lynn Ha ldt Nyss s Sulliv ya La n Du t Jill M obe ulie S rry cole Ki in ary W on che ve H lly T a Ga kimo elinda n v eve Br M acie arris San Ste Ske onn n Ka son B xwell St orn Bird Jessica Donigan Dave Kerl yes Tim a Smit an Ch oie S son allo rtso and Orie C i a n o n J St h H ce an nna llen D ez Be John lice M VandenT erry Donahue Jonathan Kauffma Athena ohnso h Ron arlott helle Bett ry Te Su ers nn Jo P e y et Gra verm Do k E Lop ster lard A Russ chutte T e Va eterse n Mar Rocz Vol y Bu Se rry Z san s yer e l Sil ore dric da eb Col essa Rick S Jus n Kar iana Chr ch K ffalo ldin yb W u e G en an iel exis Van eed O e L t a i i s n R v a H Am an r Al ck Nie Cha ber tian iyon Ric i lse ffin sc th ell fe D elle uma dy n D L hi Kyle na e w n R i K W x Ke n ea ind at K C ' e ck n R a H hy g Ri ise ou ic ur yer n W so k e oh J

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e Debi Orr Debra Davis De tt Dawn For laine G ramble as Burks Drew Gaebelein D avid B eb Stre ton Diane awyer Drew oni D ffrey Don L r re K o o a t M h i e i R a h o t l b a i K n s on Kath sky Eunic France atty e C nna Je P l l v e y e e a i G an ck Do Netch bin Rogers Adrian La Fosse Yvonne Arnold regory K Swans Steve e th D Irina atie Ro Rob H Wal on Edw Wickl rclo rnold B bhardt y Norem x Rich Curtis John King Kimberly Nguyen i a n a n l Th an afor F Den in A nd Ge l Fo ana John Pam pie We n Michae Ellen Hartzell Steven Robertson Pam Bud is Johnst d Law eresa Hojn d Dia D s o o s a fin n n a s D ory enso amo ia Gille Patters Mark Grif el Edith Schrieber Vladimir Shursky Rachel B Kellie M n Scot on Ph 'Ant cki E e g h e t e u c R r r r c s A ar Gr Ann Schreiber David Floyd Mik uner Kare yer Rob Marq yllis C ono ric H Nan atri avid urne in Ku uet e Olse rd aren Osc ski P ore D Jeff T ck Dust ad Pederson -cwk-Skiera Amy Yo nM h K e i r a a ayd cy ta te ld ungren L n Jer is h K er in be abco wn Ch m Mitchell iz Ha ry D trot R Brow Pa ress y W en Ste Ric ett ng Lip Gil roe o atricia in arr Bitti om ston ah G ecky B igh Br Lynch P -cwk- Nancy Mathis Nobu Hata Carol Lyn rrison Da ePina ichard nfie ul Hib Vick ooda Eliza war a T e B l e ld n n k J lin n b t l Lub arile Paul Gunning Dave Meister Ji Seifert C Westb essic Niels Ros bs R i Ma rd K eth Ste y D y oe hs -Pr be d B er L Joh mM th Jud r N oug -cwk Re War Moy outts man Bil rey Diane B a R en s o cK e hri ro C ie Kirkland Jack Attridge Becky aki Larry s Norc ok Ca olfe De Dom ger V inn lly M tte Debb m ope urr avis app nthia beth ge C ichter rt Vick e n A b Jack o B D n-S Cy liza eor y S s Ba Steele Dar ross thy Ba bi ke ois on Drew Gaebelein Susan Ro s e c Benitez r y Tim inda nno low on E es G el Tra William Sharon Jennifer n Judy Johns Karen Ruffner W gers Jane on Lar l Rog Dolc Nea bara Wo Bre inet E la ry t e e in Gla n L ha eg bs oy etz na lan htso s Mi Hester Row rs Dr Iba nd B Aks olard d S -P co zi N W an -cwk rge Fe an Wrig ke M Jes an uan rra ria am J ko a Ja l Su nnie e Jo ren i Geo er Kare o R C s i n n n t i a o k c tpe u nd Bos Bo rne tt M owsk ie Ge tit K a Ag bin B Jed rt L Mo k rice We iese lan Jack elly uila ro rey oc P thy l K Ma os Arm r D dsk Di k o a s a os e lleg er nn y A a Cy a M l N Jam Ga nd s am e Ad

rant Brenda Meeks Brenda Wade B Bolster-G ri al Candera Heather Lally Heather an Irion Sh Susan aron fficer Billy Hartman H Ozur H ad O Sn ela n el Ginger Fawcett Loren Sander s i n y G e d s Br e Setia o a Heind Sheri Jennings Juhmad Hollis f McLaug Cohen er Cam hillip lar Haro Grefe Lis Swafford h a i H bP Bo r Agu orey Lis rs Sharon ers Michael Shurr Larry Gray Bon Scott Land lin Marc aley G eron nie S ret P ie to B Nix a Alte e My c h l i n n a M c o ark Roggo rcia S att C re Lisa atheri rad He aron orter Dave Rigney Sabrina P C r C h o e e v v i n Dal g us ara ton J Steve w in B impfe Eadi fford S stafson andez Ste u n rn a ele David Maez Tiffany Kjellander Kevin De im Batc Brunett las Ma Mart an A Pea in h n eb off Z ury Sw hton G scar Fe obin Baran Cew e hele Nixon Christine Kank Ch elor G Co ysoo Bo der rlm O s Ga Ge r La ron y Dietl Mic sR o n u a r A r a n w s i e i n u n s o n e r s a n h t k t rew wab enc s S rance Gord an Rog izmang D ernanda Dozier Scott Rose Tania Gard i Karen G ine No ger Fa ney B Al-H ma M on T Ca r e F e s F r D ll D ch Sp er e c u l n shall Beau Eckstein Jessic re macleo ibbons cross wcet uie B asso aril hom rme ne y S elly Flow yan anie no S s Pau es Har y lanie Mar a t l K Lin gor s K na nn R mm ntuo Harti hi Jam trowke Me hris Newell Dale Chumbley Ka Hickok A d Deb Corey aren Leo eth Mik n M as C a Et Ca e S cA u g tie Ho Bru nne tsy re ark are Du ld E Da cott aks enen C y Mi w n K g Gu Ar Sh d e i n t s C l e n h d h r i E B s n a t G y i n e S p arks M ard Mela enned gem errer lick D aw J ster pec liste n n y Sp y S mes Arno eres eck S ave ith Tiffa ren Cle Newkirk Henr h one Ja ve Th Dilb ins D Sm ne Ka Kevin en Theresa D'Antuono Steve ichelle M nie Ca y Ca an M o Br avid on Mar iale r a Trapp Wick inch llah role ary end S Mo y B al ge Ste ette ce pp ssa chra alzon Debr la a ean Grove Heather Wr o n i g h t L a rid ller An Bru ah T z Ny ie Co rard F ia Dea Chavers D urie A nd Eve Tara n To Pete Lou a B tone den K m lbrec T L ro r Fu elor ves Sar Roc aur y Ge Virgin Randy ht L homp night Om ing D yon w S Pa h ie all on no L av lark kley aV so S n t e s b N c e n o le B d R ucia si Je ica C n Bu da n Gw arah us D be M Mar e y eo L Le es on lee e C en D Roo anie a cL uck ht J t Ver Kath lar au ne l O h n g n i y Ro ben y J wr s Hu saae be m ce Ro rts n

Coffee with Krisstina | Home | Welcome 03 A Message From Krisstina 04 goodSEMINAR 04 goodFOLLOWS 06 goodTIMES 08 Evernote for Real Estate 09 5 Zapposisms 14 Building a Great Business 23 Save the Date 24 Top 5 Timeline Tips 26 Meet the Community 30 Coming Up Nextâ&#x20AC;Ś

Created By Cecelia Hoy + Lauren Segapeli coffeewithkrisstina.com We are so excited about this second issue of Ezine! We hope this brings you value and inspiration.

A Message from Krisstina Welcome to our second CwK Ezine! I look forward to sharing some of the great happenings here at CwK and to giving you a sneak peek at what’s coming! I would like to begin by extending a big THANK YOU to the community and membership. I feel honored to be surrounded and supported by so many driven and inspiring individuals in our industry. Since launching the CwK Membership, I have hosted a number of great webinars and I am so excited by the conversations happening within the CwK Mild Member Facebook Group. Together, I am confident that we will be the change and influence necessary to move our industry forward. It goes without saying that change is already happening through the many powerful social media spheres of influence. With the introduction of the new Facebook Timeline, Pinterest and Google + we have more ways than ever to connect with our clients and networks. Last month I held a Facebook training session with

Jimmy Mackin and learned a lot of new tips to implement to our GoodLife Team social media practices. Be sure to check out our Facebook Timeline Breakdown on page 24. My amazing Marketing and Social Media Team will give you the lowdown on how to navigate and understand Timeline. Last month I also had the extreme honor to interview Elia Lata, Operations Manager at Zappos Insights. I have long admired Zappos as a company for their strong company culture and their 5-Star Customer Service. In fact, much of the culture we have developed at GoodLife Team is inspired by Zappos. I aim for GoodLife Team to become the Zappos of Real Estate. In this issue I offer five things I’ve learned from Zappos about the necessity of a strong company culture for success.

In this Ezine I’m also taking the opportunity to announce 2 VERY exciting upcoming events. First, the month of May will be “Paperless Agent Month” and CwK will be debuting our Paperless Agent Product Suite™. A series of 3

training modules, this is your opportunity to receive deep-dive training on how GoodLife Team is using the iPad for Real Estate and to WOW our customers. We’ll be showing you what Apps we’re using and why, as well as how to implement them into your daily routine. You won’t want to miss the May Coffee Chat, as Garry Wise will be leading a training session and we’ll give you an inside look at the Paperless Agent™.

Save the Date Lastly, I would like to take this time to officially announce the very first CwK LIVE Event! Named REiNVENTION, I hope you will join me and my Team on September 17-18 for a full two-day event here in Austin, TX. Designed to be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before at a Real Estate conference, at REiNVENTION I’m going to give you the inside access to everything GoodLife. My ambition is that this event be unlike any Real Estate Experience you’ve ever known, and I can’t wait to share with you all of the spectacular trainings and ideas we’re developing for the event. We only have 97 seats, so reserve your space now and mark your calendar. We can’t wait to see you in September! I hope you enjoy Ezine and I look forward to hearing all your “Ah Ha!” moments. Thank you again for being a part of the community; I am truly honored. Live the Good Life, Krisstina

good Seminar See Krisstina speak at the NAR Midyear Conference!

NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo May 14-19 Washington DC Click HERE to Register

goodFOLLOWS Check out this list of industry leaders worth following– Jeff Turner

@JeffTurner Sean Carpenter @seancarp

Teri Conrad

@TeriConrad

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good TIMES

RETSO 2012 Atlanta, Georgia

RETSO is a special conference – it brings some of the best thought leaders and actors in the real estate industry together, but in a way that’s different from any other Real Estate Convention. Instead of relying on the typical “Lights, Camera, Action!” entertainment focus of the traditional real estate conferences, RETSO offers the best in class with an intimate style and environment. This presents attendees an unique opportunity to not only learn from the speakers, but to engage in conversations with them face-to-face, up close and personal. The 2012 RETSO Conference was no exception. Brad Nix and Mike Pennington care deeply about the industry, and it shows in how they deliver this First Class Experience. I am honored to be associated with RETSO as a speaker and as an attendee. ~Krisstina

Good times with good people: > Top Main Photo: Krisstina with Nikki Beauchamp, Amy Smythe Harris + Amy Chorew > Bottom Left: Krisstina with Linsey Planeta

> Middle Right: Krisstina with Rob Halin + Matthew Shadbolt > Bottom Three (Left to Right): Krisstina with Gahlord Dewald, The Geeky Girls + Sue Adler

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In March I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Elia Lata, Operations Manager of Zappos Insights. For those of you who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, Zappos is the #1 company for Culture (in my opinion, anyways). Much of the culture we have developed at GoodLife Team is directly influenced by Zappos, and I aim for GoodLife Team to be the Zappos of Real Estate. Before my conversation with Elia, I knew culture was important, but afterwards I realized that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essential. Any person looking to succeed needs a powerful, emotional and strong company culture supporting them. Here are five of my biggest take-aways from my interview with Elia. I call them Zapposisms.

5 Zapposisms 9

“LOVE THE CUSTOMER MORE THAN YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE”

Zapposism #1

Work/Life Integration Zappos doesn’t believe in a compartmentalized life, where you move from work to family, family to work. Instead, they strive for a Work|Life Integration where you don’t need to choose between the two areas of your life.

Zapposism #2

Engagement Before Experience

Culture Drives Everything. This is Zappos’ company motto; The Zappos Culture derives from a word they focus on within the company FIRST– “Engagement.” They discovered that engaged employees produce an en-

gaging customer experience. Zappos believes in “The Happiness Model,” which claims that Happy Employees = Productive Employees. Beyond being more productive, the happiness of employees transcends from the employee to the customer, producing a happy customer. And, we all know that happy customers mean good business.

Zapposism #3

Love the Customer MORE...

..than your product or service. Another Zapposism that I loved is the statement, “Love the Customer more than your product or service”. This is so simple, yet so profound. The product or service is simply a means to take care of (LOVE) the customer.

Zapposism #4

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast Elia asked me this question, “What is the core of Culture?” Most companies’ core culture, he said, focuses on goals, objectives, and strategies. Zappos, on the other hand, believes that the core is what they call PEC – Personal Emotional Connection. PEC refers to how the executive leadership connects with the management, how management connects with their employees and then how employees connect with their customers. This encourages and empowers their employees to do whatever it takes to connect with the customer. For Elia, this personal connection makes working for Zappos a Dream Job come true.

Zapposism #5

People don’t want Customer Service... ...They want customer empathy. Zappos believes that customers don’t really care about getting information, but are instead looking for empathy. When people feel heard and understood is when they relate it as a “Customer Experience.” For this reason, Zappos employees are empowered to be empathetic; they do what it takes to produce a customer experience for every customer. How do you measure empathy? Zappos uses a metric called ROE – Return on Experience. Returning customers are happy customers, and this is how they measure the ROE – their percentage of returning customers. Any guesses on the percentage of returning Zappos Customers? An amazing 75% of Zappos’s customers are returning customers. Every celebration at GoodLife Team calls for a ringing of the Rooster! Check out what the Team has to say about GoodLife culture >>

“

I agree that in order for a business to succeed, they absolutely must love their product, but if they love the customer MORE – then the customer always becomes the primary focus.” - Krisstina

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goodREAD For this issue’s GoodRead, I will share many of the principles from the book, A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business that I agree with so completely that one could hardly not notice the similarities between my business, The GoodLife Team, and Zingerman’s.

A Lapsed Anarchistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Approach to

Building a Great Business by Ari Weinzweig

“The Coolest Small Company in America” ~Inc Magazine

Who’s heard of the local Ann Arbor delicatessen, Zingerman’s? Well, neither had I until recently. But trust me, once you learn about this small business, you’ll be itching to know more. At least this was the case for me and why I felt compelled to read their book, A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business. So who and what is Zingerman’s? Inc Magazine calls Zingerman’s “The Coolest Small Company in America” – and after what I learned about them (even without ever having visited one of their stores) I’d have to agree. For this issue’s GoodRead, I will share many of the principles from this book that I agree with so completely that one could hardly not notice the similarities between my business, The GoodLife Team, and Zingerman’s. Now, please don’t take this the wrong way – in no way am I claiming to have a business in even the same hemisphere as Zingerman’s when it comes to success! BUT, I discovered that many of the foundational principles that Zingerman’s is built upon are the same that I have used

to found GoodLife Team. Perhaps this is why I am now in LOVE with this company and why I plan to make a special trip to Ann Arbor simply to experience, in person, what’s described in this book. A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business is authored by one of the partners, Ari Weinzweig. Often asked for the “secrets” behind the Zingerman’s success, Weinzweig shares 18 essays that he claims are the “Secret Sauce” of their brand. In these essays, Weinzweig goes into great detail about how they have built their company and does, in fact, reveal the secrets to its successful operation.

If you are looking to build a great business, you must read this book. In my book report below on Weinzweig’s Building a Great Business, I have picked out my favorite Zingerman’s “Laws of Success” and peppered them with my own beliefs, perspectives and “Aha’s.”

“Great Things come in Small Packages” Nearly 30 years ago, Zingerman’s started with two partners, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, two staff members and two loans. It has since grown to a staff of over 500 and annual sales in excess of $40 million. Weinzweig opens the book with this brief background, and begins by explaining that most people visiting their stores for the first time, after hearing the “big stories” of “big success,” anticipate walking into a massive restaurant and/or an enormous upscale, gourmet supermarket. Each of these visitors inevitably dons a look of surprise upon arrival coupled with the common comment, “Wow. This is really a lot smaller than I thought it would be!” From the very beginning, Zingerman’s intention has never been to be the ‘Biggest’, only the “Best”. I love this intention, as it is our GoodLife motto as well. We, too, could care less about becoming the biggest brokerage in Austin, TX. In fact, our mantra is “Be

Small on Purpose.” This is counter to the majority of our competitors’ philosophies – Most are primarily concerned with growing their Agent count, meaning they focus on recruiting the numbers. At GoodLife Team, we only want the best professionals on our Team; those individuals who wish to be part of a company concerned about being great, not big.

More Units? Due to the huge success of their local delicatessen, what do you think is a regular question asked of the Zingerman’s founders? You guessed it, “When will you Franchise?” The American Growth Model is that when you build one successful store, the way you scale your success is by opening MORE UNITS, first locally and then steadily across the country. For Zingerman’s, however, success is derived from providing high-quality food and 5-Star customer service. Weinzweig and Sanigaw could never picture the possibility of converting a one-of-a-kind business, famous for this high quality and unique personality, into a cookie-cutter franchised model. 17

“Without a clear picture of where you are headed, about the only chance you have of being successful is just that, chance.”

As a result, Zingerman’s moved in a different direction from the recognized franchise disclaimer “Individually Owned and Operated,” and invented a path all their own. The Zingerman’s growth model is called ZCoB, which stands for Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. The entire suite of 10 Zingerman’s “local” food businesses reside in the Ann Arbor area, each operated by a passionate and persistent “managing partner.” Boy, does this resonate with me! Due to the local success of GoodLife Team, I am frequently asked those same 4 words, “When will you Franchise?” I always respond with a one word answer, “Never.” Now, I’ve been told to never say never, and perhaps one unforeseen day I will eat that word, but today franchising is not part of our plan. Why? For the exact same reason that Zingerman’s declined to follow the ‘normal’ growth model; we have something special here at GoodLife Team. Due to the meaning of the words “Independently Owned and Operated,” we would also maintain little to no control over the required full adoption of the GoodLife way of practicing real estate. In addition, I can’t picture how our strong, collaborative and distinctive GoodLife culture could be transferred to other independent owners, who

then transfer it to their agents. It doesn’t work that way.

What makes my Team unique is that we are one unit at GoodLife Team, one unit committed to greatness for the sake of living a good life. Our philosophy won’t work for a many-unit model. As my CTO Jack Miller would say, “That dog won’t hunt!”

Natural Laws of Building a Great Business Just as we must obey Natural Laws (the consequences of challenging gravity are not pretty), there are certain foundational laws of business that must be followed. These Natural Laws of Business don’t necessarily guarantee success, but if disregarded increase the likelihood of failure. Zingerman’s is a company built solidly upon these laws, which they consider to be truths of business. By the success of their results, I think we can consider them to be true as well. The Zingerman’s Laws of Business decree

that any business MUST have a vision, a mission and core company values.

Have a Vision What becomes indisputable by the end of the book is that Zingerman’s is a company with a clear vision. And beyond its clarity, their vision is inspiring! Weinzweig goes into great detail about the importance of not just having a company vision, but also of writing it down and holding it close. He says, “What happens when you don’t have a vision? Imagine I asked you to prepare for a long trip, but I didn’t tell you where we were going. It would be pretty tough to get ready, wouldn’t it? Or, pretend you’re trying to plot a course at sea without knowing what the ultimate destination is. Impossible, right? In either case, hard work, commitment and all the best intentions in the world aren’t going to be enough to attain success. Without a clear picture of where you are headed, about the only chance you have of being successful is just that, chance.”

VisionING Zingerman’s has a clear vision, but in addition to that, they attribute much of their company’s success to a standard practice they call Visioning. Visioning is a part of their creation process; visioning is beginning with the end in mind. Whereas the normal project process begins with the present and works out a path forward, the Zingerman’s visioning process starts with what success looks like for the project and then works backwards. This shifts the moods from the normal act of problem solving to what they

call “Preferred Futuring.” This infuses participants with creative energy, leading to a free flow in of innovative ideas. Only after they create the Vision, does Zingerman’s work on the strategic plan. I LOVE this idea so much that we have adopted it here at GoodLife Team. After using this method for our two latest projects I can tell you that it’s a powerful tool (and fun!).

Visioning is a great way to bring the pragmatics and creatives together to produce a far more powerful strategy that enables everyone to truly visualize what success look like. After visioning, the work towards your goals is a completely different kind of experience. Picture it this way: It’s like visualizing your trip to France before you take one action to plan the trip – what do you see yourself doing, who will you be doing it with, what do the French cafe’s look like, what will the French food taste like, what does the French bread smell like, are there people around a large table laughing and drinking French Bordeaux teaching you how to ask for more wine in French? What is your mood, how do you feel, what will you read, how will you journal, what will be in the photographs… Once you complete the vision, then you start planning the trip – probably very excited to do the work of putting the trip together in order to get closer to the experience you have visualized. I found it the same when visualizing our latest project, the REiNVENTION event. We are so excited to put this together as we know what we want it to look and feel like for our customers. HINT: You won’t want to miss it –our visions are BIG! :) 19

Weinzweig describes Vision as an inspiring and strategically sound picture of your chosen future. A vision is specific and addresses what you do, how big you are and may even include how you work together. This is the Zingermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vision:

To Be Better Tomorrow than Today Radically Better Finance Radically Better Food Radically Better Service A Fun Place to Work Grow Locally into 12-18 Vibrant Businesses Intentional Technology An Educational Destination

At GoodLife Team, we too have a Vision for what we want to achieve. After reading about Zingerman’s Vision, however, I realize ours isn’t as specific or long-term enough for our success. I now know I have some work to do. But, we have the beginnings of our Vision, which is documented in our Company Ambition Narrative. Here is what we’ve declared so far at GoodLife Team; you will notice that Franchising is not part of that plan :)

• To have a national identity as a leader in the industry based upon our innovation and advanced adoption and use of technologies, which enable us to deliver a superior consumer experience • To be a leader in the educational space – sharing and teaching our successful philosophies and practices to Agents & Brokers outside of Austin • To be a leader in the real estate products space – offering our tools, systems, and best practices proven to work at The GoodLife Team with Agents & Brokers outside of Austin • To fulfill on our company financial ambition with profits and dividends growing year over year • To help make the real estate industry a better place by being an example of what real estate brokerage “should be” to both the consumer and the agent

• To be the #1 Independent Real Estate Brokerage (GCI) in Austin, TX with the fewest numbers of real estate professionals • To have the highest productivity per agent for a brokerage city-wide • To have 30 competent, trustworthy and happy real estate professionals representing our Brand and Serving our Customers (Yes, only 30) • To be a recognized and trusted consumer brand in Austin • To have the largest number of 5-star public Reviews of ANY brokerage across the country • To be voted as a “Best Place to Work” by our employees every year • To have a 5-star mortgage division that is a trusted mortgage brand in Austin

PART 1 of 3

Stay tuned for Parts 2 & 3 of my Zingerman’s GoodRead - Developing your business’s Mission and Systems & Culture.

SAVE THE DATE

September 17-18, 2012 AUSTIN, TX

Brought to you by:

COFFEEWITH

KRISSTINA

Carlos Reina

Social Media Director, GoodLife Team

Timeline changed Facebook. Facebook is Changing Real Estate. Find out the Top 5 Timeline Strategies to shake up your Page from GoodLife Team Social Media Director, Carlos Reina. 1. Post a call to action in the description of your cover photo.

You aren’t allowed to post a call to action, contact information, purchase or price information within the photo. BUT you can put any and all of that information in the description of the photo. This way anytime someone clicks on the photo to get a better view, they will see your call to action.

2. Don’t post too much or too little.

If you post every hour on the hour you’re going to annoy your friends and fans, causing them to unlike you. In terms of reach and interactivity, we have found that posting no more than twice a day gets the most juice out of our posts. We usually post once in the morning and once in the evening. Don’t ever miss a day! It’s amazing how much it hurts your ability to reach people if you miss a day. With timeline it’s even more important to post regularly. Missing a day will create a blank section in your timeline, and anyone visiting your page will see that.

3. Post more photos (and videos)!

Almost every strategy employed on Facebook depends on something Facebook calls “Reach.” Several recent reviews have shown that photos

and videos have the highest reach among all kinds of posts, followed by links. Regular text status updates are last. Photos are particularly powerful because they are easy to create and also have the highest Clicks Per User of any post type. This means people will actually spend more time looking at them than anything else.

4. Ask questions!

If you are doing a regular text update, make sure it’s interactive–this will draw the highest possible amount of comments, likes and shares. Interactive posts have higher reach. A great way to do this is by asking questions!

5. BE INTERESTING, don’t “market” stuff.

Aggressively marketing yourself or your products on Facebook will turn off fans and get them to unlike you. Facebook is a platform for you to bring people closer to you and your products by being interesting engaging and relevant.

Meet the Community CwK is about the Community and exists so that we may change the industry together. I would like to introduce three Rock Star CwK Members who are individually influencing their Real Estate communities and who have a drive and passion I greatly admire. Jennifer Goodman, Jim Slack and Michelle Poccia are three unique individuals who I feel very honored to know. Please say hello to these three spectacular CwK Mild members and learn a little more about them! ~ Krisstina

Meet Jennifer Goodman JGoodman Homes, Broker Associate Toronto, Canada www.jgoodmanhomes.com

I began my career in the advertising world, where I was a Strategic Media Planner and Buyer, as well as Media Sales. My last role before moving to Real Estate was with an International Sales Company that was focused on consumer engagement and experience. In my professional past, I’ve worked with a lot of leading edge and forward-thinking teams. I learned to honor relationships and people’s time, and also that your brand should resonate with your client’s core values. My wish, as a Realtor, is to be a powerful contributor to my clients in a time of transition. If I am honest, practical, and offer superior services, then my customer’s ROE* is going to lead to referrals and future business. I see myself as a consultant who advises people to help them

make their best decisions. My other ambition is to become a powerful contributor to the Industry. I am newer to the industry, but I believe that we need to move toward creating success together and collectively. I think that ultimately we’re moving towards teams, which is why I think what Krisstina has created at GoodLife Team is so proactive. GoodLife Team is the shining example of the single site, singular message and a culture that spells out the recipe for success at the highest levels. At the end of the day that’s how clients will experience ROE and that’s how we will take care of them in all of these spaces. The true next step towards success is really rooted in the 5-Star Service with a Team behind each realtor. I’m in several different groups, following the industry in a big way, and always watching for the next shift. Part of the value

Krisstina brings is that I truly believe she gives us the keys to the industry, based on her experiences. That perspective allows the rest of us to succeed in a way that you just can’t get as a single agent in any other place. It makes me think outside the parameters of the way we’re working here in Toronto. If you’re willing to take the time to develop your knowledge and yourself, and you have someone like Krisstina to guide you, then all you have to do is your job. At the end of the day you should be successful, and determining success is really up to the individual. –> Read more here....

*ROE = Return on Experience A Zappos Term, ROE is a way to measure your customer’s happiness.

Meet Jim Slack The Realty Nation, Broker Associate Kingswood, TX www.therealtynation.com

Before becoming a Real estate Agent, I was a police Officer in Dallas, TX. I decided to retire from the Force because I’m a single dad*, and being a cop did not allow me to put my daughter first. So I retired, and we moved back to my hometown – Houston, TX. After working in both a big brokerage and boutique brokerage, I started my own team called The Realty Nation. I am always very careful about who I hire, and it’s very helpful to be a CwK member because I get access to the GoodLife Team’s hiring practices and steps, as well as their core values. I’m drawing inspiration from Krisstina and piggy-backing on GoodLife Team’s core values and the techniques they are using to run their team. When I first started following Krisstina, I thought GoodLife Team was this big, conglom-

erate Real Estate team! What I’ve learned, however, is that

home by the phone expecting it to ring. Things have changed.

agents on my team, and we can do great business as long as we’re dedicated to doing it well the first time.

My goal is to make the office fun and energetic. I’m even implementing a 9:07 on Tuesdays! I’m designing it to be an activity and engaging experience, not a meeting. I want

you don’t need to be big to succeed. I have three

I can see that people are trying to change the industry, but they don’t have the mindset and tools necessary to move the industry in the direction it needs to go. This is where I find value in CwK. I can take their practices and systems and immediately implement them into my business. I’m in the business of making friends first. Down the road,I want my clients to remember the experience and the relationship that we shared and still have. I think that’s what is most important. For my team, I am building a culture in the office so that they want to come into the office to work. I don’t believe in the old practice of “working from home.” We can’t wait at

my team busy in the office and going out to meet people and planning events. I’m looking to

engage the buyers and sellers and for them to come experience our team. This helps to build the reputation and culture of our brand. I will do everything I can to keep pushing forward; they call me the “Out of Box Realtor” down here. I think that’s great. –> Read more here....

*Since speaking with Jim Slack, we are so happy to announce that he is now married. We wish Jim and his family much happiness. Congrats!

Meet Michelle Poccia Coldwell Banker Prime Properties, Broker Associate Saratoga Springs, NY www.coldwellbankerprime.com

On Thursdays I have a “Brain Day.”

going to be good with your clients.

When it comes to learning the business, I often like to think of myself as a new agent even though I’ve been in the industry for 22 years and at several different brokerages. It’s always fun to hear the perspectives on what people in our industry think is great and what’s not so great.

I first met Krisstina in Austin years ago, and I’ve been a Krisstina Wise and GoodLife Team addict ever since. Around the time I was in Austin, I read Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, which is all about quitting. I put QUIT into my mantra – I’m a winner because I’m a quitter. I’m opening my mind to new things.

With all of the changes and new strategies, however, it’s so easy to get distracted by each new shiny thing and I’ve been very unfocused. When I heard Elia Lata explaining Zappos’s core value of “Alignment,” it was exactly in line with what I wanted for myself. So this year I’ve chosen what it is that I’m committed to, and that is Alignment. When I’m aligned, that’s when good things begin to happen.

Right now I am currently starting a team and have one other agent working with me. I’m not in a rush, however, I want to develop my team carefully. In this first year I am going to focus on my own business and my own systems. I want to perfect the systems and practices myself before I bring people on with me so that I can successfully guide my team.

What I look for is culture and technology. If you don’t have the right tools and core values, then there’s no way you’re

This is my main gig in 2012; I have my goals and my core values and philosophies all lined up with exactly what I want to do.

On a day-to-day basis, I practice real estate differently than those around me. I’ve exposed myself to things that are simply not in my area. I’m not chasing the dollar anymore. I really have a mindset that now I am getting back to why I got into the business in the beginning. I love houses, helping people and walking them through the experience. There’s a lot of shit that goes with it, but it’s a great business. So, for this first quarter I am going to focus on learning the tools, getting the ball rolling and being consistent with my practices and of course my income. I’m working to keep the peace in my life. I also want to begin doing public speaking and pushing myself to new experiences and challenges. I’m narrowing my focus on myself so that I can help others and move forward. –> Read more here.... 29

Coming Up Next...

Evernote Presents Thursday, April 26, 2012 @ 11am cst

Join Krisstina and Andrew Sinkov, VP of Marketing at Evernote, to learn how to streamline your life and your business by using Evernote.