ONTARIO 5-9-22

ONTARIO EDITION

From Chaos To

BE THEIR REALTOR® FOR LIFE:

CONTROL

If it’s Good for the Soul,

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

IT’S GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS

FEATURED AGENT

AMBER JENINGS

COVER STORY

JENNIFER GALE

ONTARIO EDITION

AMBER JENINGS

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Top Agent Amber Jenings – Co-Owner and before replying. “One reason 7 15 Broker of PEAK® Point Real Estate in muses, “is that my entire team Sauble Beach & Springmount, Ontario – is aholics. We truly love what a hardworking, dedicated Realtor® who is think that our honesty has pl consummately committed to helping her part in that as well. Realtors® many Buyers and Sellers achieve their real get lumped in with the “used estate goals. Tireless in her pursuit to obtain approach”, and I work hard to the very best outcomes for her clients, Amber for that. I’ve never lied to, or m is both a member of the $50 Million Club ent, and they always get the tru (having sold over $370M in her career), and is committed to her profession as well, havThere are many other factors t JENNIFER GALE AMBER JENINGS ing earned the prestigious CLHMS® (Certified Luxury play when assessing Amber’s business s Home Marketing Specialist) Designation from the and chief among them would be exper Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, among several skills and thorough, intelligent marketin other exceptional industry achievement recognitions.

“I would say about 85% of what we do JENNIFER GALE ing is done online now,” says Amber, w CONTENTS Amber, who oversees an equally dedicated team of no-stone-unturned approach to maximiz management and support personnel, works closely for her listings, including targeted socia ® 4) BEherTHEIR REALTOR FOR VP LIFE: 17) FROM CHAOS TO and high-tech with husband Jason, Co-Owner, of Operations boards, drone technology and Media PEAK® Point Real Estate. CONTROL “I methods such as Matterport tours. All of HOW TO Manager BUILD for A RELATIONSHIP started working real estateTHAT in 2007,” recalls Amber. bined, translates into fast sales for top WITH YOUR in CLIENTS WILL “My husband and I bought a house in Sauble Beach, mention happy – and referring – custom LAST A LIFETIME 22) IF IT’S GOOD FOR and our Realtors® thought the industry would be a THE SOUL, IT’S GOOD good fit for me. I started with a different company for When she’s not working, Amber enjoys 13) 6 WAYS TO GET YOUR FOR THE BUSINESS the first three years, but then the PEAK® franchise than spending time with Jason, their y CLIENT TO TRUST YOU began courting me, and we ended up buying our own ter, and their three dogs. “I also love t franchise for this area in 2010 and created our own says. Additionally, Amber is extremely Company from scratch.” ic, and her company donates over $10k community sponsorships, as well as to ch Phone 310-734-1440 | Fax 310-734-1440 Since then, Amber and Jason have expanded to open nizations over the years that include the mag@topagentmagazine.com | www.topagentmagazine.com a second office location, in Springmount, Ontario (just Society, Local Kid’s Sports & More.

No outside portion of of thisOwen issue may be reproduced in any manner without prior consent of the publisher. Top Agent Sound), and business has whatsoever been boomMagazine is published by Feature Publications GA, Inc. Although precautions taken to ensure accuracy of published ing, growing exponentially year after year, based in are“I think our the team is really proof that no materials, Top Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. large part on the significant number of repeat clients is going on in the world, just remain po To subscribe or change address, send inquiry to mag@topagentmagazine.com. and referrals Amber – who has a third office in the w Published in the U.S. they serve. “We’re on track for a $40 million sales volume this year,” says Amber. When asked what advice she might have for gr asked how she manages to instill so much trust and “Keep working hard, being there for oth loyalty amongst those she and her team have worked as you stay positive and keep working h Top Agent Magazine with, Amber grows thoughtfully silent for a moment pretty much accomplish anything.”

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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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JENNIFER GALE

Top Agent Jennifer Gale serves the fast-growing Oxford County, Ontario, in the central corridor of Toronto’s urban sprawl.

Jennifer Gale is driven by customer experience. Of all the ways to measure a successful real estate deal, client satisfaction is number one. “Our motto as a team this year has been we’re not competing against anybody else; we’re competing against our last client experience,” she says. “We’ve made that our vision, and the byproduct of it just continues to be success and deals.” Deals Copyright Top Agent Magazine

are more fun, she says, when the numbers are secondary to client satisfaction. “Quite fulfilling.”

Jennifer began her real estate career in 2005 after a less than five star experience buying her own home. She entered the industry knowing firsthand that customer experience matters. A top seller as a solo agent, she

began assembling a team in 2017. For five consecutive years, the team produced the region’s rookie of the year, each of the agents having doubled income in a single year.

Jennifer’s secret sauce is personal development for her agents. “While other people are

learning about sales and stuff, we’re reading Think and Grow Rich,” she says. The result is they end up bettering themselves, which leads to more success and better deals, she says. “So I love that. I love the personal growth in it.”

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Jennifer still bases her success on customer satisfaction.

“We want you to come off of our experience and (say) that was five stars all the way from start to finish.”

The formula works, as her agency is on pace to close a deal for every calendar day of the year. “We’re a team of four agents selling and we’re on pace to do 365. We’re crushing it.” The area they serve is fast-growing Oxford County, Ontario, in the central corridor of Toronto’s urban sprawl. In an agency that grows in part from lead building, referrals remain a staple of the business. The Copyright Top Agent Magazine

agent celebrates with top referrers and other customers at well-attended client appreciation events.

Jennifer spreads community goodwill well beyond her client group. As a member of the Business Improvement Association, she lends her talents to attracting visitors and commerce to the downtown district. As a

team, the agency sets aside a percentage of each home deal to add to a charitable fund.

At the end of the year, team members take a portion to donate to whatever cause or person they see in need. “It’s called our ‘feel

good.’ That’s not something that we publish or anything but within the team, we are heavy on that.” Through RE/MAX, Jennifer is among eastern Canada’s top donors to the Children’s Miracle Network. With her local Copyright Top Agent Magazine

focus, she also sponsors youth hockey and baseball teams.

Jennifer looks forward to another 20 years in the business. “There’s no way to go but up,” she says. Already in a growth period, Jennifer plans more mentorship and development for her current and new agents. The group also

anticipates growth through joint investment properties. “Just that learning and growing,” she says. “I want to see how far we can take it.” With the top-rated Oxford County agency on Google, Jennifer still bases her success on customer satisfaction. “We want you to come off of our experience and (say) that was five stars all the way from start to finish.”

To learn more about Jennifer Gale, call 519-536-7743, visit jennygsells.com, www.

or email jgalesellshomes@gmail.com

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6 Ways to Get Your Client to Trust You The word “REALTOR®” can leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths. Many of today’s home buyers and sellers grew up during the 2009 recession. They are wary of anything

or anyone who comes off as too salesy, and they want to work with individuals who they can trust.

But how do you prove to someone you’ve likely never met that you can be trusted?

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Put Testimonials or Case Studies on Your Website

When something goes wrong, own up to your mistakes. Don’t hide bad news from your clients. Be upfront and responsive.

Testimonials and case studies are social proof that you have both the experience and the skills to do the job your clients are hiring you for. People often leave testimonials when they are either incredibly disappointed or extremely happy with the service they were provided, so they’re a good indication to prospective clients of the treatment they’ll receive.

Case studies, which you can post on your blog or website, have much of the same effect, but even more than testimonials, case studies demonstrate your real estate and finance expertise because they explain how you achieved a specific set of results.

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Be Responsive and Accessible

Can your clients reach you easily? That doesn’t mean you need to be available 24/7, but you should respond to your clients within a few hours of receiving their message. When agents don’t respond to their clients’ calls or emails for days on end or fail to provide them with a direct line of contact, their clients’ experience can quickly become frustrating.

Agents are busy but so are their clients. If you constantly show up late to or reschedule meetings, your clients won’t feel like their time is respected or their business is valued. Make sure you set a realistic schedule for yourself rather than spreading yourself too thin.

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Be Honest and Transparent

Sometimes you don’t have the answer to a client’s question. Be honest about your strengths, weaknesses, and the limits of your knowledge. A good response might be, “I don’t know, but I can find out.” Be transparent with your clients, and they’ll respect you for it.

You should always act in their best interest.

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Go the Extra Mile

If you do the bare minimum, that’s what your clients will remember. Their experience won’t be memorable, and they won’t gush about you in online testimonials or in real life to people they know who could use your services. It’s that simple.

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Put Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes

Clients understand that you need to earn money, but that doesn’t mean they want to feel like they’re just a dollar sign to you. Be empathetic to your client’s concerns, even if you’ve heard it all before. Your clients should know that you are there for them.

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Be Consistent

Being responsive, friendly, and knowledgeable shouldn’t be an act. If you “turn on” your personality for clients and then suddenly become a different person when they leave the room, it’s likely that the cracks in your mask will eventually become apparent.

But “faking it till you make it” is so common it’s become a cliché. When we are starting out, we don’t always have the systems or resources in place to create a smooth client journey, from onboarding to closing, so instead we constantly try to reinvent the wheel. Give yourself time to pause, slow down, and reevaluate your workflow. Creating systems creates

consistency, and those systems can and should be constantly updated.

Developing trust between you and your clients will take time, but doing these things can give you a running start.

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AMBER JENINGS Top Agent Amber Jenings – Co-Owner and Broker of PEAK® Point Real Estate in Sauble Beach & Springmount, Ontario – is a hardworking, dedicated Realtor® who is consummately committed to helping her many Buyers and Sellers achieve their real estate goals. Tireless in her pursuit to obtain the very best outcomes for her clients, Amber is both a member of the $50 Million Club (having sold over $370M in her career), and is committed to her profession as well, having earned the prestigious CLHMS® (Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist) Designation from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, among several other exceptional industry achievement recognitions.

Amber, who oversees an equally dedicated team of management and support personnel, works closely with her husband Jason, Co-Owner, VP of Operations and Media Manager for PEAK® Point Real Estate. “I started working in real estate in 2007,” recalls Amber.

“My husband and I bought a house in Sauble Beach, and our Realtors® thought the industry would be a good fit for me. I started with a different company for the first three years, but then the PEAK® franchise began courting me, and we ended up buying our own franchise for this area in 2010 and created our own Company from scratch.”

Since then, Amber and Jason have expanded to open a second office location, in Springmount, Ontario (just outside of Owen Sound), and business has been booming, growing exponentially year after year, based in large part on the significant number of repeat clients and referrals they serve. “We’re on track for a $40 million sales volume this year,” says Amber. When asked how she manages to instill so much trust and loyalty amongst those she and her team have worked with, Amber grows thoughtfully silent for a moment

before replying. “One reason,” she finally muses, “is that my entire team & I are workaholics. We truly love what we do. I also think that our honesty has played a large part in that as well. Realtors® sometimes get lumped in with the “used car salesmen approach”, and I work hard to compensate for that. I’ve never lied to, or mislead a client, and they always get the truth from me.”

There are many other factors that come into play when assessing Amber’s business success story, and chief among them would be expert negotiation skills and thorough, intelligent marketing strategies.

“I would say about 85% of what we do for marketing is done online now,” says Amber, who utilizes a no-stone-unturned approach to maximizing exposure for her listings, including targeted social media, billboards, drone technology and high-tech virtual tour methods such as Matterport tours. All of which, combined, translates into fast sales for top dollar, not to mention happy – and referring – customers.

When she’s not working, Amber enjoys nothing more than spending time with Jason, their young daughter, and their three dogs. “I also love to cook,” she says. Additionally, Amber is extremely philanthropic, and her company donates over $10k per year into community sponsorships, as well as to charitable organizations over the years that include the Alzheimer’s Society, Local Kid’s Sports & More.

“I think our team is really proof that no matter what is going on in the world, just remain positive,” says Amber – who has a third office in the works - when asked what advice she might have for greener agents.

“Keep working hard, being there for others. As long as you stay positive and keep working hard, you can pretty much accomplish anything.”

For more information about Amber Jenings, visit PeakPointRealEstate.ca or email AmberJenings@PeakPointRealEstate.ca www.

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From Chaos to Control

By Barry Eisen

Below are 24 great ideas designed to give you back your time and life.

Managing time, rather than letting it manage you is an art form. Little changes can make huge differences. Look at what is offered below and incorporate 1 or 2 ideas that make sense to do. You can always come back to the list for more when you’re ready for more.

1. Get Ready the Night Before. Get it out of your head. Plan

out your next day by writing a “killer” To-Do list and prioritize A, B and C business and personal priorities. You’ll sleep better too.

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2. Focus on the Important Things. Less is more. Commit to

doing the A things on your To-Do list. Stop randomly playing games and surfing social media. Focus on what’s important. Here’s the procrastinationbe-gone formula: Do the important stuff first. No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts” do it.

3. Remove the Clutter. Much of our “visual noise” is caused by

stuff. Practice a three-part clutter rating system that will help you prevent and remove clutter: • It’s important now. Use it and then put it in its home (where it’s supposed to be).

• It will be important. Put it in its home (where it’s supposed to be).

• It’s not important. Get rid of it: Toss it or if possible, consider donating it.

4. Get Organized and Stay That Way. Pick an organizational

system, execute it, and stick to it. Your new system may feel foreign at first, but it will eventually form into a habit. If you slip or feel like you’re ready to give up, recall the benefits of being organized and pick up where you left off. When necessary, make adjustments, but avoid switching to new organizational systems or you’ll lose the benefits.

5. Keep One Calendar. Whether it’s a Week/Month at a Glance

appointment book, wall calendar, smartphone app, etc. - keep ONE calendar.

First, keep track of the usual calendar events: birthdays, and appointments.

Second, use your weekly calendar to keep track of bills, plan menus, make appointments with yourself to write or read, etc. This will help prevent the scenario of sifting through bills, notes, and multiple calendars.

6. Focus on What’s in Front of You. Of course, not all tasks

require 100% focus, but for tasks like prospecting or writing, never multitask.

Lots of studies have shown the inefficiency of juggling tasks. If you refocus your attention on another task, it can take more time to refocus on your original task. Don’t do it. Stay focused. Turn off your phone and disconnect from the internet during tasks, like writing or studying, to focus. Don’t drop what you’re currently doing to address something you just thought of or remembered. If you think of something completely unrelated to what you’re 18

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working on, jot down a few quick notes (a word or two to jog your memory will suffice). Keep up momentum: FOCUS. 7. Execute Decisions Faster. If you find

yourself hemming and hawing over a decision, make a decision then and there. If the task Sometimes a has a lot hanging on the outcome, fresh set of eyes is seek/ask for more information if you need it, but the key all you need to get is: make a decision now. back on track.

8. Delegate and Learn to Love It.

We can be greedy with our workloads. Drop the, “if you want things done right, you have to do it yourself” mentality. If it can be done by someone else (more effectively) and it’s not an important task, delegate it.

9. Just Say “No.” Stop agreeing to take on things for which you don’t

have time. If you don’t have time for it or it will take your focus away from other priorities, say no.

10. HELP Is not a Dirty 4 Letter Word. Ask for help. Sometimes

a fresh set of eyes is all you need to get back on track, but be sure your plea is directed at the right person and is respectful of their own priorities.

11. Time Activities. We all can get swept away by television, social

media, internet browsing, article reading, and games. Allot yourself an amount of time for online activities and playing games. Set an alarm. When the time is up, stop the activity.

12. Time Your Conversations and Meetings. I’m not

recommending that you don’t socialize or be rude. I’m recommending that you don’t allow conversations or meetings to completely disrupt your day.

Allot yourself time. For “water cooler” talks, give yourself 5 minutes and keep them infrequent. For meetings, estimate how much time you’ll need to address the needs of those involved, come prepared, and if there isn’t

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already an agenda, propose talking points to squeeze more value out of the meeting.

13. Call, Don’t Text. Text messaging is supposed to be quick and to

the point... not long, drawn out conversations. For anything beyond a quick yes or no question, call. For example, call for emergencies and all of those “how are you?” and “what ‘cha doin’?” questions. If it goes to voicemail, don’t worry. Most people have access to visual voicemail anyway, so it will be like a text. Either way, trust that they will get the message.

14. Turn Aimless Browsing Into Growth Opportunities.

Create an ongoing list of questions, curiosities, or things you’ve always wanted to find out more about. When you sit down to browse the internet, start looking for answers. You might surprise yourself with what you find.

15. Do Your Errands at the Same Time. Schedule time to

do errands and plan a route ahead of time to ensure you’re not wasting time bouncing back and forth across town.

16. Filter Your Email. How much time do you waste in your inbox?

Filter your email: • Create rules for recurring emails that don’t require an action to be archived in a particular folder.

• Set rigorous anti-spam settings to block unwanted email from reaching your inbox.

• Form a habit of touching an email once: If you open it, you have to address it (e.g., respond and file).

17. Automate Responses. If you find yourself replying with the

same or nearly identical responses for clients keep a template to quickly copy/paste the response and tweak it as necessary to personalize the message.

18. Automate Bill Payments. For any recurring bills that you

have: AUTOMATE. Not only will this save you time, it may even save you money and raise your credit score if you’re the forgetful type.

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19. Sort the Mail in Your Hand. When you get your mail, don’t

let it sit in a pile. Sort out the junk right away and then prioritize other items respectively (see weekly calendar). If possible, go green by electing not to receive the hard copy.

20. Avoid Rush Hour. Do you commute to work? Negotiate a work

schedule to travel during non-traffic delayed times. You can easily turn a 60-minute, traffic-jammed commute into 25 minutes by getting ahead of the traffic or waiting it out. Online apps, like Waze, do a good job informing of traffic problems so you can adjust accordingly.

21. Keep a Running Shopping List. Create a policy that for

whoever squeezes the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube, kills the mustard bottle, etc., they are responsible to write it down on the shopping list. In doing so, this will save time from taking inventory as well as keep your shopping trip quick - get into the store, grab what you need, and go (rather than meandering down aisles).

22. Cook for Tomorrow. Double the amount of what your cooking

and refrigerate/freeze the leftovers. It may take you a small amount of time to double what you’re already making, but it will save you much more time making your next meal by not having to start from scratch.

23. Learn While You Workout. When on a treadmill, elliptical

machine etc., listen to news, pod casts, and audiobooks rather than music to keep up with trends in your niche, current events, books, and learning at large.

24. Exercise More Effectively. Exchange moderation for higher

intensity. You can have a more effective and efficient workout by putting more effort into a 30-minute high-intensity workout than 90 minutes of lowto-medium effort.

Copyright©, 2016 Barry Eisen. All rights reserved.

Barry Eisen teaches personal development seminars and coaches Southern California top producing REALTORS®. “Your business will never grow more than you do” is the theme; self hypnosis and behavior modification are the tools for playing a bigger game. barryeisen.com, barryeisen@LA.twcbc.com 818-769-4300 Top Agent Magazine

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If it’s good for the soul,

IT’S GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS

Visibility, name recognition and knowing you’re supporting the community that makes your success possible are good reasons to take part in community service. But how is it that some people seem to be able to give time to charities while running their own businesses, managing their own families and households, exercising regularly, attending sporting events and concerts, eating well and sleeping seven or eight hours a night?

The truth is, not all agents are able to do everything so easily. But more important is the fact that no one needs to do everything all of the time. The trick is to make sure that, whatever you do holds meaning.

REALTORS® and mortgage professionals who seem the most gregarious in their community outreach are those whose giving seems to fill their own souls. When their 22

volunteer efforts or donations directly impact causes they or their clients care deeply about, “giving back” becomes energizing.

Jason O’Quinn of Prime Lending in Dallas Texas, for instance, says that his family’s ongoing work building homes for some of the poorest families in Honduras fills him immeasurably. “It rejuvenates me,” he says.

“There’s quite a dichotomy between the houses we build there and the houses we finance here,” he says. “It refocuses me, going from financing $1 million homes in Dallas to physically laying cinderblock for $10,000 homes in Honduras. Everything has more meaning when we sacrificially give of our time, talent and treasure.”

The longtime “big picture” for Colorado REALTOR® and property manager, Linda

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Todd, for instance, has included giving back to the community, whether serving as a lead carpenter for Habitat for Humanity, making deliveries for Meals on Wheels, or pitching in for the sake of baseball. And through her lifelong passion for baseball, she harmoniously blended her personal interests, her work and her community service. For many years, she was so involved Little League the local league named a new field after her. “I cried for 3 days after they told me that!” She and her husband also started a scholarship fund for junior college baseball players and serve as a host family for the rookie league of the Colorado Rockies, putting up newly drafted players in their home.

For Florida REALTOR® and property manager, Mario Gonzalez, neither his business nor his primary community outreach would exist without the other. A retired U.S. Navy pilot, Mario formed his brokerage, Navy to Navy Homes, when he saw a need for military personnel to find affordable homes to purchase. “We got into it to help, but that led to a full-blown real estate business.” Besides providing opportunities for investment and homeownership, the company donates 35% of every commission to Homes for Heroes, veterans’ groups, or organizations benefiting fire, police, medical organizations, churches and homeless shelters. “We’re small, but we give so much back that we were the top Homes for Heroes company in Florida and

top-five nationwide.” But he does none of this for the attention. His friends may call him the “Humble Hero of Heroes,” but helping is Mario’s passion. “To be such a small business and be the top Homes for Heroes affiliate is mind boggling!”

Like Mario, for many, the best service takes place in simple and quiet ways. Illinois REALTOR®, Susie Scheuber, for example, takes a humble approach to giving back. Although she donates a portion of every commission check to the Children’s Miracle Network, she doesn’t discuss this with clients unless they happen to ask. “I do it because I want to and because, to me, giving back is the right thing to do when you’ve been fortunate in business and life,” says Susie.

We all know how inertia works; the more energized we get by certain behaviors, the more likely we are to continue those behaviors. For some top agents, community outreach has become such a natural routine of their daily lives that they never find it burdensome. A good way to add community service into your life, therefore, is through the causes that mean the most to you. For starters, consider giving a small donation after closing to the charity of your client’s choosing. Learning the different causes that they care about just might foster a new mission for you.

If you have a unique story to share about how your community outreach has impacted your life and your business or inspired others, click here for consideration in our magazines: www.topagentmagazine.com/nominate-a-real-estate-agent-to-be-featured Top Agent Magazine

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