ARIZONA 11-7-22

ARIZONA EDITION

BE THEIR REALTOR® FOR LIFE:

24-HOUR TOUCH-UPS to Maximize Your Price List

How to Build a Relationship with Your Clients that Will Last a Lifetime

3 Surefire Methods That Make For a

PRODUCTIVE MEETING FEATURED AGENTS

JOHNATHAN MULLANEY USVALDO LOMELI

L to R: Bee Francis, Karen Baldwin, Maddi Elfgren, Kathleen Benoit Photo by Sara Waterman Photography

COVER STORY

THE POWER OF 4

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3 Surefire Methods that Make for a Productive Meeting Sometimes a business meeting can achieve exactly what it sets out to do: communicate, assess actions, set goals, or otherwise. Other times, meetings can feel like a drain on your time and energy, and only advance your agenda in marginal ways. While meetings are an integral form of communication in the professional world, how can you ensure that they are both productive and worthwhile?

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The truth is, it takes intentioned planning to make a meeting a success. A well-curated meeting makes partners and employees feel unified as a team, excited about what’s to come, and motivated to achieve a collective goal. With that in mind, consider a few approaches below to maximize your next meeting and ensure that all parties involved leave with a renewed sense of direction and inspiration.

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1. Create a detailed agenda in advance Oftentimes meetings are scheduled with a loose goal in mind—to hash out the terms of a contract or to strategize a new marketing campaign, for example. To ensure your meeting is productive, time-efficient, and achieves its end, create a detailed agenda in advance. This means breaking down your overarching goal into pieces and outlining what’s required to complete each component. You might also consider making time blocks for each respective component, so there is a clear structure and hierarchy in place. Not only does this ensure that time is used wisely and evenly, but it also creates order and momentum for the greater task at hand. What’s more, you’ll want to distribute this detailed agenda in advance of your meeting, so that all attendees will be familiar with the format and delineated goals of your gathering. This will set a professional tone, while keeping team members and conversation on task.

2. Reserve off-topics ideas and comments for later Too many meetings are derailed when an off-topic question or comment is made and hijacks the attentions of attendees. While it’s natural that outlying issues may arise when all team members are gathered, you can ward off distractions by creating a so-called holding area for off-topic talking points. This holding area will serve as the receptacle for any off-topic or lower priority addendum, and you can create a chunk of time towards the end of your meeting to readdress those Top Agent Magazine

points separately. Once you’ve achieved the highest priority goals of your meeting, you can then return to the items in your holding area. Note: be sure to familiarize your staff with this approach so that the expectation is already in place and interruptions won’t distract from your meeting’s true intent.

3. Conclude every meeting with a brief summary and action items The very last thing you should do before concluding your meeting is to reemphasize the main takeaways of your gathering and outline a specific list of action items. Again, successful meetings are clear and give attendees a sense of direction. That’s why reiterating action items—or next steps in need of completion—to each respective employee is an essential component of a productive meeting. Likewise, summarizing main takeaways unifies a team’s understanding of what’s important and why the meeting was called in the first place. Ending on a concrete yet proactive note helps launch team members toward the next event in their day and gives them a sense of confidence as they tackle their duties.

Meetings don’t have to be a formality or a bore. When planned and executed with incisiveness, they can inspire your talent roster and streamline productivity in your office.

Especially in the world of real estate, ensuring everyone is on the same page and doing their jobs effectively is key to success and longevity. Put a little planning into your next meeting, and you’ll save yourself valuable time and energy as you move forward.

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Cooperation, Not Competition, Creates

Mutual Success for Agents When people get along during a business transaction, everyone comes out happier. And in a service industry like real estate, agents have the power deliver that happiness. By working cooperatively, sharing advice and helping each other help clients, agents not only enhance their own reputations, but that of real estate in general.

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“Bring everyone together” Matt Kobelski, with Credentials Real Estate Group in Massachusetts, points out that providing good service involves more people than the party you’re representing. “I’m not afraid to bring together all the parties in a deal and say, ‘OK, let’s figure out a solution that works best

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Teaming up with an agent from a different brokerage on a transaction is not as uncommon or complicated as it might seem

for everyone,” he explains. “My goal is to avoid being adversarial.” Real estate, he believes, should always be a field in which each person can win. “It’s about working toward a mutual goal, shaking hands, and walking away happy that a seller sold, a buyer bought and everyone got what they wanted.”

But Is it that simple? Most agents have experienced the ways conflicting personalities and tension during a transaction can heat up even the most cordial relations. In reality, however, it’s more productive to let down your guard and work with others as a team than it is to allow stress and competition to preside. South Florida REALTOR® and broker associate, Risë V. Siegrist, for instance, has zero interest in competing with other agents. “It’s more important to be professional and associate with competent, caring people,” she says. By serving others with a cooperative spirit, experienced agents like Risë set an excellent example for emerging real estate stars. Risë hopes to be a model for the next generation of agents, training people who may one day become part of her team.

Risë’s position on cooperation inspires more reasons for nurturing relationships with other agents. Over the decades, many agents change brokerages several times. Who knows if that agent across the table will one day work at the Top Agent Magazine

same brokerage you do? Perhaps you’ll even have an opportunity to partner on an exciting, future transaction. Good relations keep doors open to endless possibilities.

Co-listing cooperation Teaming up with an agent from a different brokerage on a transaction is not as uncommon or complicated as it might seem. In fact, some agents cleverly capitalize on their collective attributes, rather than competing against one another. South Carolina REALTOR® Kimberly Pannit is a perfect example of the universal benefits of co-listings. Although she has always been an independent agent, Kimberly works hard to form professional alliances that give her business the feel of a cooperative network across brokerages.

This cooperative approach may be nontraditional, but it benefits clients in unique ways. By working closely with agents at other brokerages, she shows how agents can improve client service while helping one another.

Kimberly’s cooperative approach began in her own neighborhood, where an agent friend from a different brokerage also lives. “Several years ago, I approached her because both of us were friends with our neighbors. I asked, ‘Why don’t we give our neighbors superior service and

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co-list together? We both love our area and are passionate about our jobs, the location and schools.’” She also didn’t want to make their mutual friends choose between them when they could work together. “I said, ‘Let’s give them amazing service together!’” With their brokers’ permission, two weeks later the agents co-listed their first home and put extra energy into ensuring uninterrupted client service.

Networking and “Co-opertition” When the ultimate goal is to match a client with the perfect home or create optimal terms of sale for a listings, networking with other agents can facilitate that ideal buyer-seller match.

Nashville REALTOR® and broker/owner Lisa Land embraced every opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the real estate industry and to her local market, even before building her own team. “Agents would frequently ask me for help or advice,” she says, noting that she shares, rather than guarding, the methods she uses to get through difficult or confusing transactions. “I was fortunate to have great mentors when I started in real estate, so I’m always

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willing to offer help, even to agents outside of The Luxe Collective.”

Meanwhile, on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Janet Leigh Scott describes the climate between agents as relaxed and professional. “While the real estate market is highly competitive, we’re truly a ‘co-opertition’ market; agents work together and a have greater sense of community than you might experience in off-island brokerages,” Janet says. “If I have buyer coming into town, I’ll reach out to agents I’ve done transactions with to ask if they have anything coming up that might not be on the market yet.”

Even in hot, competitive L.A. real estate, independent agents such as Andrej Nagy of The Agency RE knows the importance of receiving and providing professional mentorship.

“My relationships with clients are extremely important,” he says. “But my relationships with agents on the other side of a deal are also important.” For REALTORS® like him, working smoothly with other agents is a privilege.

Doing so builds rewarding relationships while ensuring win-win transactions for everyone at the closing table.

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L to R: Bee Francis, Karen Baldwin, Maddi Elfgren, Kathleen Benoit Photo by Sara Waterman Photography

THE POWER OF 4 Top Agent Magazine

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As the Desert Mountain Home Experts, the Power of 4 know their community inside and out. “We have so much knowledge about this community of 2,000 homes for the last 25 years,” says team member Kathleen Benoit.

Composed of Karen Baldwin, Bee Francis, and Kathleen Benoit, the Power of 4 Team draws on their lifetimes’ worth of experiences in luxury real estate. The three teammates, along with a fourth who recently retired, joined together in 2011 because of their shared work ethic and dedication to serving their clients’ needs. In the years since its formation, the Power of 4 Team has become a household name in the Desert Mountain community, connecting buyers and sellers to make real estate dreams come true. The Team has recently welcomed Maddi Elfgren as their licensed Executive Assistant, who assists full-time in marketing and many other aspects of their day-to-day business.

As the Desert Mountain Home Experts, the Power of 4 Team knows their community inside and out. “We have gleaned invaluable 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

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knowledge about this community of 2,000 homes for the last 25 years,” says team member Kathleen Benoit. “There are so many amenities they are hard to enumerate. With seven clubhouses, ten restaurants, seven golf courses, and a beautiful health and fitness center, we’re like a little town. The whole lifestyle is what we’re selling.”

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The Power of 4 Team embraces an approach where the client becomes part of the team effort. As Kathleen explains, “We don’t make our clients’ decisions; we provide our clients with expert insight and market knowledge so they are able to make the best decision.” To that end, the team is constantly available to assist clients at any time, seven days a week.

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We’ve all been in this business a long time, with over 80 years combined experience,” Karen says.

“We really love and enjoy what we do.”

They work closely with their clients from the very beginning of the transaction to the closing table and beyond. Even years later, clients call on them with questions involving their home ownership, for market updates, and for providing family and friends with an introduction to real estate opportunities in the area.

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And it’s not just the Power of 4 Team that clients can count on. In addition to their own depth of market knowledge, experience and personal staging services to prepare a home for market, The Team also brings with them a roster of reliable professionals to help clients with everything that accompanies buying, selling Top Agent Magazine

or maintaining their home. “We have a very deep list of contractors and inspectors, so we can help buyers understand what they’re buying and help sellers make repairs if necessary.

We know who to go to, and how to get it done efficiently,” says Bee Francis.

days of the development. “We really love and enjoy what we do. Desert Mountain is a beautiful environment to work in, and the people here are fabulous. We enjoy being part of the fabric of our community. People have known us for so long, we’re a tradition here!”

The Power of 4 Team looks forward to continuing to serve their clients and their community for years to come. “We’ve all been in this business a long time, with over 80 years combined experience,” says Karen Baldwin, who has been a marketing executive here since the early

It’s a tradition that’s sure to continue as more people discover the magic of the Desert Mountain community. Karen, Bee and Kathleen wholeheartedly agree, “We all feel fortunate to live, work and play in Desert Mountain, and this enables us, in a unique

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way, to help our buyers become integrated into our community. Our real joy is to see people become involved —whether it’s golf, tennis, mahjong, cooking classes, pickleball, yoga

or hiking—people find what they love doing, and they love being here. It’s so rewarding to know we’ve helped people make lifelong friends.”

www.DesertMountainHomeExperts.com

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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 Top Agent Magazine

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

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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.

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scrub, or with the addition of new shelves or styled bulbs.

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

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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

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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 18

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.

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JOHNATHAN MULLANEY Johnathan Mullaney is keeping a tradition of honest, educated service alive and well in Arizona real estate. His roots in the area go back to him as a young boy attending open houses and walking lots with his father, a broker who started Village Land Shoppe in 1988. Johnathan, who earned his license in 1998 and later emerged among the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce’s and Arizona Daily Sun’s top 20 under 40, now heads a team of 10 at the brokerage and manages annual sales in excess of $65 million.

Most of Johnathan’s customers are repeat or referral clients. They return for an insightful sales style that comes with being an agent comfortable in his market knowledge–no pressure. Just “honest, educated service,” he puts it. In addition to his sales success, his leadership in the region has landed him positions as director for the Northern Arizona Board of Realtors and various posts with the Pioneer Valley Home Owners Association.

Raised in the real estate industry and established as a REALTOR® for two decades, Johnathan knows the Flagstaff market like no other. While he markets properties locally and on Phoenix MLS, he understands the differences between buyers shopping from mountainous Flagstaff and those from two hours away in the desert-hot capitol. Johnathan brings that area knowledge to bear when marketing a listing.

“We’re a mountain town, and we get snow and we get four seasons, where Phoenix is desert and hot, hot, hot,” he says. “So there’s a lot of seasonal folks, a lot of Airbnbs and a lot of people that want to get out of the heat. That’s a very important aspect to it. So, then we tailor the marketing experience.” Johnathan also understands the nuances of marketing year-round homes versus seasonal properties or lots.

Johnathan has made his mark in Flagstaff real estate, and he brings the same passionate commitment to service into giving back to his community. Village Land Top Agent Magazine

Shoppe has engaged with Flagstaff so long that some of its efforts have become traditions. The group’s highly anticipated community garage sale – 24 years running – attracts as many as 100 host families each year. Johnathan and his team provide advertising and promotional items for the day of the sale. The agency also sponsors a communitywide Easter egg hunt, complete with a pizza lunch and equipment demos with fire trucks and a medical helicopter. During its 25th year anniversary, Village Land Shoppe donated 3 percent of all commissions to local charities. “The community is very important to us,” Johnathan says. ”And we do give back in every way possible.”

Strengthening those local ties is part of Johnathan’s long-range plan for Village Land Shoppe. The industry is seeing fewer and fewer independent local brokerages as corporate franchises expand their footprints. For his part, Johnathan will keep the Village Land Shoppe as a family-owned business. “To continue to help people with all their real estate needs and stay a local, non-franchise brokerage is quite important to me.”

To learn more about Johnathan Mullaney, visit villagelandshoppe.com, email johnmullaney@hotmail.com or call 928.606.7455 www.

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Be Their REALTOR for Life: ®

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

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

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

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

2. Be an Inquisitive Learner and an Empathetic Listener:

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

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

3. Watch for Nonverbal Clues:

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

out any potential concerns they might have.

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

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

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

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contact to determine how comfortable they are.

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

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

4. Prove your honesty and credibility:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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USVALDO LOMELI Raised by real estate investor parents, REALTOR® Usvaldo Lomeli, or just Valdo, as everybody calls him, grew up surrounded by the industry he would eventually work in. From an early age, he assisted with listings, lead generation, and remodeling, learning as much as possible about the complicated business. As soon as he turned 18, Valdo got licensed and joined his family business.

While he is still beginning his career, you could say that Valdo was born into real estate.

He has already had early success in his career, completing over $3 million in listings and purchases in his first three months as an agent. Backed by a wellequipped team and possessing a passion for homes, Valdo has more knowledge and support than most agents with up to 1 or 2 years of experience.

California-born but Phoenix-based, Valdo represents clients across Maricopa County and beyond with their home buying, renting, selling, foreclosure, refinancing, and even investing needs. While many of his listings come from investors, he also takes the time to help ordinary families accomplish their life goals. Being both an English and Spanish speaker opens up the possibilities to help more clients throughout Arizona.

Valdo is active on MLS and social media to get the word out about his listings, including using Instagram Reels to do home tours. “Right now, I’m working on expanding my reach in every way that I can to bring in new clients and build a strong network,” he explains. No matter how a client reaches out to him, Valdo takes the time to build lasting relationships.

“It’s important for me to get to know about their lives and families so that I can help them achieve their real estate goals,” he says. “That’s why I focus on making memories with clients, like naming properties funny names or making crazy promises, like Top Agent Magazine

jumping into their new pool with clothes on if we get the offer accepted - true story!” Even after the closing table, Valdo makes sure to check in on clients to see how they are enjoying their new home.

“It’s not just about the sale — I want my clients to feel completely satisfied with where they live in the long run.”

When he’s not working, Usvaldo enjoys spending time with his family, playing instruments like guitar, piano, ukulele, and more, going to the gym, and playing sports. He is also involved with his local church.

Looking to the future, Usvaldo plans to focus more on the commercial side of real estate. Eventually, he would like to have his own investments, including both residential and commercial properties. For now, he is concentrating on sharing knowledge and learning from his team’s experience. “I’m very motivated by the challenge of working with so many different people in new situations. Every day is different, and I’m growing so much as I learn more about this industry.”

To learn more about Usvaldo Lomeli call or text 623-692-3936 or follow him on Instagram @realtor.valdo 23

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