WASHINGTON MORTGAGE 12-4-23 by Top Agent Magazine

WASHINGTON MORTGAGE EDITION

BODY LANGUAGE:

How to Read Your Prospect Like a Book! COVER STORY

KATHY COLKITT

5 Reasons Why

YOU NEED A MENTOR

Why Employee Appreciation Matters & Can Boost Your Bottom Line How to Overcome Your

WORKPLACE FEARS

WASHINGTON MORTGAGE EDITION

Branch manager and loan officer for Geneva Financial, Kathy Colkitt serves all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond, including Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, California, Hawaii, and Arizona.

KATHY COLKITT

CONTENTS 4) WHY EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION MATTERS & CAN BOOST YOUR BOTTOM LINE 6) 6 METHODS FOR BUILDING BETTER EMAIL LISTS

Kathy fuels her professional and personal life by repeatedly asking, and then answering, the same question each and every day: “Why are we here if we’re not helping people?” This simple interrogative spurred Kathy to launch her career as a broker, and later as a lender, twenty-six years ago. “I got started back in the day when you had a three-page application, you weren’t allowed to touch the computer, and you called from a phone book. Now, I’ve basically been my own person as far as a loan officer, and for seventeen years I’ve worked from home.” The ability to work remotely helps Kathy support the clients she serves all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Kathy Colkitt’s team prides themselves on both their geographic and financial flexibility, and they

15) 5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A MENTOR

18) BODY LANGUAGE: HOW TO READ YOUR PROSPECT LIKE A BOOK! 22) HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR WORKPLACE FEARS

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Why Employee Appreciation Matters & Can Boost Your Bottom Line Attracting and retaining talent creates a positive working environment for your business, but it’s also good for your bottom line. When team members come and go constantly, your office becomes a revolving door, with no steady workforce, abiding company culture, or continuity for your clients. What’s more, breaking from your duties to post ads, interview applicants, and train new hires takes up valuable time—and time is money. Instead, creating a working environment with built-in 4

perks and morale boosters makes everyone happy, including you as a leader. You’ll have fewer fires to put out or squabbles to referee if your employees are motivated, feel appreciated, and inclined to work together for the business’s greater good. In that vein, let’s consider the concrete benefits of employee appreciation and how to apply these principles to your business in meaningful ways.

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What is employee appreciation and how do you enact it? Whether built-in through perks and benefits or by hosting regular events, employee appreciation is about making your team feel valued and part of a whole. No one wants to feel replaceable or voiceless, so it comes down to this basic truth: employees who feel heard and appreciated invest more in their work and your business. Likewise, no one wants to hop jobs every six months. Employees desire reliability and consistency in their work options, but they’ll be forced to move on to greener pastures if they don’t feel like their talents and contributions are recognized, or if there isn’t enough value to match their output. By displaying gratitude through employee appreciation, you’re sending the message that your employees’ efforts are respected and considered integral to your operation’s success. Employee appreciation also sets the right tone for professional relationships in your office to flourish, which makes for better workflow and communication on an interpersonal level. Motivation and morale are closely tied to employee appreciation, so there is a clear symbiotic benefit to investing in your employees’ happiness in order to breed a happier, more productive work environment. How do you make employee appreciation an active part of your business model? To start, keep it simple. Treat your employees to a bagel spread on a Monday morning to boost morale ahead of the workweek. Or, consider Top Agent Magazine

an employee happy hour on a Friday, or a group lunch mid-week. Well-timed moments of generosity can lift spirits and signal your intuitiveness as a leader, while creating fuel for upcoming projects and deadlines. If you want to take it to the next level, consider in-office perks from which your employees can derive value or morale. For instance, some offices allow employees to bring in their docile pets. Other offices keep the communal kitchen stocked with sparkling water, fresh fruit, and quality coffee to keep team members satiated. Maybe your office would benefit from a modern décor update, which might make for a more compelling, progressive workspace for your employees to enjoy. Whatever route you take, cultivating a positive office environment can extend employee appreciation on a daily, hands-on basis. Perks and benefits are another way to build-in employee appreciation and demonstrate your investment in your team. Bike-to-work benefits, subsidies for public transportation or gym membership costs, or even supplying your team with their own smartphone—all demonstrate a company culture that’s focused on fueling your team’s morale and productivity. While some of these steps may seem like a costly investment, the returns are unequivocal when it comes to lasting employee retention. Turnover is a blight on your bottom line, so taking a proactive approach to employee appreciation can inspire a dynamic team, lead to a more positive work environment, and boost your financials for the long term.

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6 Methods for Building Better Email Lists By Kendra Lee

Email lists can be a blessing or a curse. When they’re composed of real email addresses of people in your target micro-segment, and those people recognize you or your company by name, an email list is an invaluable lead generation resource. When the list is filled with contacts who don’t know of you or your company, i.e. a cold list, lead generation can be though – really tough. Likewise, if your list is populated with fake, inactive, or irrelevant accounts you’re at risk of being banned by your email software provider. Not surprisingly, I hear from clients all the time asking how to build an email list that will get results for their campaigns. Should they purchase? Should they attempt to build their own? Remember that with email list building your goal is to build a list of people within your micro-segment, so quality is more important than quantity. The more similar the contacts, the easier it is to tailor your nurturing and lead generation content to their specific needs. Here are six methods that will help you build a quality email list. 6

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Nurturing and lead generation activities: When you engage in social media, nurturing activities, SEO, and Adwords, those mediums provide forums for you to drive people to your website, start a conversation via a social channel, attend an event you’re hosting, and add people to your list. People who respond really do want to be part of your list.

Membership organizations: Whether it’s through industry associations, mastermind groups, or networking events, these types of organizations provide an excellent means for collecting contact information. Generally, people will update or provide their own information because they want other members to have easy access to them so you know the data is current.

Shared lists: By finding a peer who targets a similar microsegment with a non-competitive offering, you may be able to forge a partnership in which you promote to each other’s lists. This happens frequently within the high tech space, with consultants, and with professional services organization where they understand the value of collaboration.

Research the web and build your own: Increasingly, we’re seeing companies comb LinkedIn, Zoominfo. com, InsideView.com, DiscoverOrg.com and other websites for contact information, and then follow-up with companies to confirm the validity of that information. This approach is time consuming, but it can be very effective. A client who we coached through this process recently got a 41% open rate on their email nurturing campaign. I really like DiscoverOrg for the detailed information they have if you’re selling in the IT or telecom industry.

Purchase lists: There are numerous companies that sell email lists, but you need to be careful which vendor you buy from

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and how much you spend. Prices typically range from hundreds to several thousand dollars depending on list specificity and size. One warning: Expect higher bounce rates with these lists and negotiate for that issue when you purchase. To avoid high bounce rates, look for a list company that validates the information. In this way I’ve been very pleased with ExchangeLeads for new lists and validation of current lists. If you don’t have any list, this may be the way to get started.

Trade information for information: Sites like ExchangeLeads and Data.com community give you credit for providing contact information for companies you’ve worked with in the past. As you earn credit, you can use it to acquire lists for free. These services generally have a fee option as well, and the data integrity is dependent upon users keeping it current. Again, look for companies that validate data to reduce bounce rates and wasted time. I really like ExchangeLeads for trading information as well as purchasing it.

Ultimately, my advice would be to focus as much on the organic list building methods (#s 1-4) as possible, and supplement with the purchased methods (#s 5 and 6) when necessary. If you start with a purchased list, plan to nurture it and build your recognition. Don’t toss it away if you don’t get immediate results. At the end of the day, you want to strive for list quality over list quantity. Pushing your messaging out to unwitting, uninterested, or unsuspecting prospects won’t do anything to help you close more deals. Contact details for Kendra Lee: Phone: 303-741-6636 (Old fashioned, but very effective.) Email: Info@klagroup.com (Yes, I get every one of these personally.) Twitter: @KendraLeeKLA (And I do follow all direct messages on Twitter!) KLA Group is a sales consulting and training firm focused on helping clients get more customers in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment through lead generation, prospecting, hiring and onboarding strategies. Copyright©, Kendra Lee. All rights reserved. 8

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KATHY COLKITT

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Branch manager and loan officer for Geneva Financial, Kathy Colkitt serves all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond, including Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, California, Hawaii, and Arizona. Kathy fuels her professional and personal life by repeatedly asking, and then answering, the same question each and every day: “Why are we here if we’re not helping people?” This simple interrogative spurred Kathy to launch her career as a broker, and later as a lender, twenty-six years ago. “I got started back in the day when you had a three-page application, you weren’t allowed to touch the computer, and you called from a phone book. Now, I’ve basically been my own person as far as a loan officer, and for seventeen years I’ve worked from home.” The ability to work remotely helps Kathy support the clients she serves all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Kathy Colkitt’s team prides themselves on both their geographic and financial flexibility, and they 10Copyright Top Agent Magazine

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receive back. I write thank you notes for referrals, congratulation notes when people get funded, and even notes to people who are joining the team. I’m a big proponent of giving gratitude, because without them, I wouldn’t be in business.” At the center of this eternal gratitude sit her two senior team members, Courtney Anderson and Melissa Coleman, who support Kathy Colkitt’s team with their industry expertise on banking and marketing. “I love my team. They’re just the best thing ever, ever, in the world. I always look at it as ‘us’ – we are a partnership.” By consistently growing over the years, Kathy has empowered herself to extend

are comfortable working with every loan imaginable. Their efforts have culminated in an annual volume that ranges between $28 and $30 million spread across 85-100 units a year. For Kathy, the most important number in her book of business is her rate of referral: “We are 100% referral based – I’ve been that way since my third year in the industry.” Kathy attributes her tremendous success to a practice and disposition that she has maintained during her entire career. “We do a lot of things here that help us succeed, and giving gratitude for service to clients and partners is more important than everything else because when we give, we Top Agent Magazine

Kathy’s Speaking Engagements • • • • • • •

Lending Education Homebuyer 101 Real Estate Industry Updates Community Workshop Events Business Partnerships for Employee Benefits Education Program Lunch and Learns “Make Your Money Magic” Reverse Mortgage Seminars “Cookies with Kathy”

Kathy’s Here to Serve!

her gratitude to her family and greater community. She is a former Kiwanis president and board member, a basketball and softball coach for seventeen years, and she and her husband were foster parents. “We have two daughters who both raised pigs or rabbits that went to market at our local fair, and for numerous years now, we’ve bought steers and hogs to have them butchered and sent to Citygate Downtown. They feed about 46,000 people a year, and they don’t have any meat, so we started donating that way. We also started AdoptA-Family for Christmas food, gifts, etc. and over Thanksgiving, we founded with 12Copyright Top Agent Magazine

friends the ability to feed families on Thanksgiving day. I just love to give – I don’t even care who it is – if we have a friend in need, we just make it happen.” When she’s not busy growing her enterprise or supporting her neighbors, Kathy enjoys celebrating with her family, particularly her youngest adopted daughter who recently graduated from college! “I’m in the process of writing a book on my oldest daughter – as she passed at age 26 and the book is about advocacy and being heard. When I can I work on my daughter’s book and keep an eye out for our wildlife like Top Agent Magazine

Client Appreciation / Homemade Fudge for the Holidays

Mac the Moose who lives in my backyard, that makes me very happy.” Kathy has a grand online presence with video series including “Kathy’s Corner,” “Lender Alerts,” “Mortgage Minute,” and more. Find Team Kathy Home Loans on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, & YouTube. Kathy and Melissa have also developed two phenomenal interactive digital books: “Lending Your Way” for traditional loans and “Retire Your Way” for reverse mortgage loans with numerous videos from clients discussing their reasons for choosing a certain loan program along with their 5-star experiences with Kathy’s team.

Giving Back to the Community / Ronald McDonald House

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For more about Kathy Colkitt, visit kathyhomeloans.com, www.

email teamkathy@genevafi.com, or call (509) 999-6464 http://www.justingrable.com 14Copyright Top Agent Magazine

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5 Reasons Why You Need a Mentor As great as it might feel to start your own business, and be solely responsible for its success, at some point, every entrepreneur reaches the limit of their potential, and needs a boost that only experience can provide. But how do you get a lifetime of experience when you’re just starting out? Sure you can read countless books, but no book can replace the real life experience and advice of a mentor. Mentors not only provides valuable insights, but they also have access to valuable connections as well. In fact a majority of the Top Agent Magazine

most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs in the country have said that having a mentor early on was instrumental in their success. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. They’re able to see where you need improvement, when you can’t When you’re working non-stop to get your business off the ground, you might feel sensitive to any criticism from people who aren’t going through what you are. A good

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mentor knows exactly what you’re going though, and has probably made every mistake. When you’re in the thick of it, you might not be able to see where the problems are. A knowledgeable outsider, who knows exactly where you’re at and has only your best interests at heart is just what you need. When you have a trusting relationship with someone like that, you will be more willing to listen to that brutal honesty, even if that constructive criticism stings.

energy into it. They can see things in a completely logical way and guide you based on the facts rather than emotion. A good mentor helps you work smarter, not harder. They help you focus on your goals and how to get there, as well as setting boundaries for you so you don’t overextend yourself. They teach you how to say no and help you let go when you need to move on from a setback.

2. They will encourage you to think outside of the box

In addition to expertise, building a strong network is something that can only come with time. A mentor will most likely have that already, giving you access to people and resources that would take others years to gain. These connections will lead to opportunities that might never have happened otherwise. It’s also a great confidence boost knowing that your mentor trusts and believes in you enough to invite you into their inner circle.

Years of experience can give someone a great idea of what works and what doesn’t. They’ve seen things first hand, not just in theory. At the same time, mentors recognize the importance of taking chances, calculating risks, as well as cutting losses and moving on. A good mentor isn’t trying to encourage you to be a carbon copy of them, they are trying to create the best ‘you’ possible. That includes encouraging you to take chances, and then being there pushing you to keep going forward if it doesn’t work out. A good mentor knows that even failures can be opportunities.

3. They take the emotion out of decisions and help set boundaries Unlike you, a mentor has no emotional investment in certain business approaches that you might have decided to try. There’s nothing harder than admitting something isn’t working when you’ve put a lot of time and 16

4. Networking

5. Encouragement At the heart or it all, a mentor offers you encouragement and motivation along the way, in good times and in bad. After a failure, it can be hard to get back on track and keep forging ahead. It helps to have someone who has spent year getting back up after being known down and coming out stronger than ever. It’s during those moments, when you feel alone and isolated, that having someone around offering you advice and positive feedback will be a much needed salve. They’re your cheerleader, they want you to succeed, and hopefully, you’ll pay it forward one day when you become as successful as them.

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Body Language: How to Read Your Prospect Like a Book!

By John Boe Are you aware that your body language gestures reveal your deepest feelings and hidden thoughts to total strangers? The very first sale you must make with each new prospect is to “sell yourself”. If your prospect doesn’t like or trust you, he or she will never even remotely consider buying your product or service. Understanding body language gestures will help you build trust and rapport quickly with your prospects and customers... face-to-face or over the phone. 18

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Body language is a mixture of movement, posture, and tone of voice. Top sales reps and the most successful managers recognize the importance of nonverbal “buy signals” in the selling process and have learned to “listen with their eyes”. They understand the power of body language and know how to use their gestures and voice tone to establish trust and build rapport quickly. Body language research shows that nonverbal communication has a much greater impact and reliability than the spoken word. Therefore, if your prospect’s words are not congruent with his or her body language gestures, you would be wise to rely on the body language as a more accurate reflection of true feelings. The good news about body language is that you were born knowing the information. This explains why people from different cultures can communicate effectively without having to speak a single word. In the animal kingdom, every cat, dog, bear, horse, etc. on the planet will use the same body language gestures to communicate with each other. For example, when an animal is angry, they will pin their ears back flat against their head. Even though people understand body language instinctively, the meaning of “finger gestures” may change from one culture to another. Finger gestures, such as the V for victory sign or the okay gesture are “learned gestures” created by the culture and the meaning often varies from country to country. For example, on January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a Navy intelligence ship, was engaged in a routine surveillance mission off the North Korean coast when it was intercepted by North Korean patrol boats. The 83-man crew were captured and imprisoned in Pyongyang, where they were interrogated and beaten. In an attempt to gain propaganda value from the crew, the North Koreans conducted a news conference. When photographed during the press conference, some of the ship’s crew expressed their disdain for their captors by sticking out their middle finger. While this finger gesture was noticed by the North Koreans they didn’t understand the disrespectful meaning that the gesture implied. After the photos were released worldwide and the meaning Top Agent Magazine

of the finger gesture was revealed, the North Koreans were politically embarrassed and severely beat the crew. During your sales presentation, it’s critically important to get started on the right foot. Research shows that we decide in the first few moments whether we like someone or not. Yes, we also judge a book by its cover too. There’s absolutely no substitute for a positive first impression. Create a favorable first impression and build rapport quickly by using open body language. In addition to smiling and making good eye contact, you should show the palms of your hands, keep your arms unfolded, and your legs uncrossed. Body language is

a mixture of You can build trust and rapport by delmovement, posture, iberately, but subtly, “matching and mirand tone of voice. roring” your prospect’s body language in

the first few minutes of the appointment. For example, if you notice that your prospect starts off the appointment by crossing his or her legs and sitting back in the chair, you should match them by crossing your legs and sitting back in your chair as well. After you believe you have developed trust and rapport, you can verify it by seeing if your prospect will begin matching your gestures. Try leading your prospect into a more open and receptive body language posture by uncrossing your legs and leaning towards the table. If you notice your prospect subconsciously begins matching your body language gestures, congratulations, this indicates that you have laid the foundation of trust and rapport. Conversely, if you notice that your prospect is mismatching your body language gestures, you know trust and rapport has not been established and you need to continue the “matching and mirroring” process. Be mindful to evaluate the flow of “gesture clusters” rather than isolated gestures taken out of context. Listed below are some important body language gestures that you need to become familiar with. There are two basic categories of body postures; Open/Closed and Forward/Back. In an open and receptive body posture, arms are unfolded, legs uncrossed, and palms are exposed. In a closed body posture, arms are folded, legs are crossed and the entire body is usually turned away.

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Body Movement Gestures • Leaning back and closed = Lack of interest • Leaning back and open = Contemplation and cautious interest • Leaning forward and closed = Potential aggressive behavior • Leaning forward and open = Interest and agreement Head Movement Gestures • Head neutral = Neutral and open attitude • Tilted back = Superior attitude “looking down your nose” • Tilted down = Negative and judgmental attitude • Tilted to one side = Interest Facial Gestures • Eye rub = Deceit, “see no evil” • Looking over top of glasses = Scrutiny • Nose rub = Dislike of the subject • Hand or fingers blocking mouth = Deceit, “speak no evil” • Chin stroking = Making a decision • Thumb under chin with index finger pointing vertically along the cheek = Critical judgment Are you missing your prospect’s buy signals? As a professional salesperson you must continuously monitor your prospect’s body language and adjust your presentation accordingly. By understanding your prospect’s body language gestures you will minimize perceived sales pressure and know when it’s appropriate to close the sale! “As the tongue speaketh to the ear, so the gesture speaketh to the eye.” – King James the First (1605) Copyright ©, John Boe. All rights reserved.

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call 937-299-9001. Free Newsletter available on website. Top Agent Magazine

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

your head, what exactly you’re feeling and why, it can help deflate the fear. Think of it as releasing some of the fear into the ether. Yes, you’ll still be nervous about your presentation, but a lot of what was holding you back is gone. You’ll feel lighter, and hopefully have just enough butterflies to make your soar.

Really owning the emotions that are putting you in a place of fear, is the first step. By just naming it and then talking it out in

Nothing can make you feel more isolated than going down the path of “This is something that only happens to me.” Trust me,

ASSESS THE FEELINGS BEHIND THE FEAR

TALK ABOUT YOUR FEARS WITH A TRUSTED CO-WORKER

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it doesn’t, and you might be surprised to find out that some people have had it even worse. Talking to someone you trust and admire, hearing their own fear horror stories and how they overcame them, will help normalize what you’re feeling. Releasing yourself from the idea that it’s something about you, will be an enormous relief.

THINK OF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO

Although it might seem counter-productive, truly assessing what the worse outcome of the situation you’re afraid of serves two purposes. It might lead you to realize the worst case scenario isn’t that bad after all. Of course it could also lead you to a really uncomfortable thought, you could lose your job. As bad as that is, it also gives you an opportunity to start focusing on what really matters, and how you might grow from the experience and possibly end up better off. Countless people in their dream jobs now, were once fired and thought it was the end of the world. Hopefully, that won’t happen to you, but learning to have confidence in your abilities to always find a way, will be a great tool in overcoming fears.

COMPARTMENTALIZE

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

Start thinking of fears as challenges. As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed.

you’re taking in your fears and figuring out ways to overcome them.

START THINKING OF YOUR FEARS AS OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

Start thinking of fears as challenges. As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed. A lot of fear is based on inexperience which leads to a lack of confidence. A common fear is workplace evaluations. Instead of looking at it as hearing everything that is wrong about you, think of it as an opportunity to see where you can improve. Going into it with a positive attitude rather than a defensive posture, will make the whole thing better for both parties. Overcoming fears is oftentimes about a simple attitude adjustment. Like anything it takes practice, but the results of that practice will lead to a life that you’re able to thrive in both personally and professionally.

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