Coal Miner's Daughter - More Than a Survivor, Sharyn Stenvall, Grande Prairie, AB

Take this job and love it! Kim Willey, Hamilton, ON

Fashion Do's and Don'ts

Tons of new stuff on the blog

Help me, help you... improving search engine performance

5 Simple Rules to Stay in Business, Sheldon Johnston, Edmonton, AB

A few weeks ago, we sent out the first edition of "Network News" expecting that we might get some positive feedback here and there that we might be able to build on. Turns out we were wrong...we got an overwhelmingly positive response to the first issue! The goal of Network News is to create an online community to boost referral business and give you a chance to get to know other real estate professionals across the country, and we are well on our way to achieving that goal.

So many of you wrote in congratulating our efforts it took days to respond to everyone's email. We are pleased to report that Moe Noormohamed (who was featured in the newsletter) has already received a referral as a result.

Remember, each issue will feature submissions from different brokers and agents – if you’d like to be featured in Network News just send your contact information and story idea to sara@teamjohnston.com and we’ll interview you and publish the story in an upcoming edition.

Also, be sure to visit the Network News "Blog" and post your comments about anything and everything. So far on the blog you'll find comments, opinions and questions about IDX and Capturing Leads Online, Search Engine Marketing, the Network News Funny Stories Contest and our recommendations for visiting San Francisco for IBC 2006. We'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading! Your feedback and suggestions are always appreciated.
Sara.

Sharyn Stenvall was a coal miner's daughter, a city slicker turned farm girl at age 11, whose perseverance and business savvy today are unquestionable. Imagine for a moment that you are a 19 year old paramedic and you’re responding to the scene of a plane crash or you’re transporting your good friend to the hospital and their heart stops three times. This is just a taste of her experiences, before a young Sharyn Stenvall chose real estate over her dream career in medicine. She felt the pull to follow in her Auntie Carol Clark's footsteps (Broker/Owner Coldwell Banker ONTRACK Realty in Red Deer, AB – A success story in her own right).

She began her real estate career at the ripe old age of 22 and by the age of 25 had taken over the company she worked for becoming the broker/owner. Her story is one of perseverance and survival. “My first couple of years as a broker were very tough, but I worked very hard to prove myself in this industry.” Not only did Sharyn face the departure of her more senior partners, and the difficulties of an acrimonious divorce, she often faced prejudice towards her age and experience. She feels her dedication to her work proved many wrong, but more importantly proved herself right.

Today, with a decade in the business behind her she still finds herself “maturing, listening and learning.” Spending 6 years as a director on the real estate board has kept her up to date with the goings on in the industry. She attained her first Million Dollar award from her Local Real Estate Board at the age of 23, and has been a top producer ever since. Sharyn is very proud that every agent within her company achieved Million Dollar/MLS GOLD status last year except her rookie agent, and she pledges to help him get there too. “We are small in numbers, but mighty in sales volume!" Sharyn's office has received the Coldwell Banker Premier Office Award every year since inception.

Sharyn has two wonderful children - Mikayla, 8 (almost born at an open house) & Brayden, 10 - that proudly support their Mom's success and are the greatest inspiration in her life. "They continually drive me to achieve my goals, and in turn I show them how hard work and dedication really can make your dreams come true! I often tell them IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN BE IT!" She’s proven that being a successful business person does not rule out being a great parent. After talking to Sharyn I felt like I too could overcome anything; she is definitely an inspiration.

Broker/Owner
Coldwell Banker
1st Grande Prairie Realty,
Grande Prairie, AB

stenvall@telusplanet.net

Awards Designation:
President's Elite

“When someone tells me I can’t do something, I turn around and show them just how
well I can do it.”

If you're reading this newsletter, then you have an email address and you check your inbox every now and again (or someone does it for you and has printed this out and left it on your desk – I know who you are, do I need to name names?). Either way, you obviously see there are benefits to being online, and if you don't already have a website, you must feel the need to have one. Having a website is a good start, but the thing is, "If you build it, they will come" does not apply in the online world.

So you have a choice:

1. you have a website as a backup to your business – the clients you’re already dealing with can go online and check you out and see how serious you are about this business

- OR -

2. you have a website that generates business.

Not five minutes ago Sheldon’s phone rang and on the other end of the line was a woman named Denise, who had a multi-million dollar property she was thinking of selling. Where did she find Sheldon’s number? On the internet. Yes, I just gave myself a big pat on the back – I’ve been working at improving his search engine performance and the results are already starting to show.

As those of you who have attended one of my workshops on search engine marketing know, there are many strategies to improve your search engine performance. One of the most effective strategies is linking your site to as many others as possible. Since we are all part of a network, we have a huge opportunity to help each other improve our search results that is incredibly easy - link to each other!

Linking works for a very simple reason; the search engines automatically crawl their way through the Internet by following links, the more links there are to your site, the more chances there are it will be found, and the higher it gets ranked. Not convinced? Look at what the Re/Max companies in Edmonton got together and did – www.edmontonrealestate.com links all the Re/Max offices in this area through one central site that performs very well on the search engines.

So, lets help each other improve our collective search engine results and link our websites together. If you are interested in exchanging links with us, email us your website details. We will review your site and check if our link - www.edmonton-homes.ca - is present on your website and then add your link to our site.

DO: Call ahead and coordinate with your friends.

(Coldwell Banker Haida, Leduc, AB).

DO: Show your spirit by dying your hair Coldwell Banker Blue.

(Tina Mak, Coldwell Banker Westburn Realty, Burnaby, BC).

DO: Keep clothes clean with protective covering.

DON'T: Keep bib on for photo with the president.

(Les Higa, Coldwell Banker First Lethbridge Realty, Lethbridge, AB)

DO: Sparkly shirts can attract younger men.

DON'T: Double fisting is SO 90's.

(Carol Clark, Coldwell Banker ONTRACK Realty, Red Deer, AB)

DO: Wear sensible shoes

DON'T: Tell who's wearing them! (Pssst....somewhere in Ontario)

Kim “Smiley” Willey is back to work full tilt after taking a year off after having her second child 13 months ago. When asked what advice she has for people who have to take time off work she quickly shot back, “Become a top producer NOW and start saving. I had to. Being self-employed I needed to make enough money to take time off and raise my baby. Then while you’re off work, keep in touch with your clients. This is a great business to be in, allowing us the flexibility to work when we can, but it also means when we don’t work, we don’t get paid.”

Kim’s enthusiasm for the business is evident and her business background will only help sustain her growth. Her father, brother, and husband are all in the construction industry, and she used to own the largest construction cleaning company in the Hamilton-Wentworth area, employing 12 people. She’s obviously a believer in strong starts having listed a property the day she started back to work and selling it the very next day. If you ask her what her secret is she will tell you that people say she is built for this business. “I finally found out what I want to be when I grow up - most people never do. Since becoming an agent I have never gone to ‘work’. I love this profession; there is nothing I want to do other than this, ever, and my clients all feel it. I think every single client has said that they can absolutely see how much I love real estate.“

Whatever the case and whatever the reason her clients and the rest of us can only be infused by her enthusiasm. It’s not like it’s easy to be a mother of two and working in this business and it’s certainly nice to meet someone who approaches it with so much positive energy…It makes me want to get out and sell.

Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Real Estate
Hamilton, ON
smileywiley@sympatico.ca
www.smileywiley.ca

Awards Designation:
Diamond Society

"I finally found out what I want to be when I grow up - most people never do! "

Over the years you learn many lessons in this business and just when you think you’ve seen it all…Wham! You learn something new, so hopefully these simple rules will give you some new or refreshed perspectives.

If you look at the varied personality types that are successful in the real estate industry it's obvious that success is not brought about by personality alone but by habits. Successful people have found a way to work to their strengths, manage their mistakes, and most importantly, survive the tough and stressful times. Here are a few simple rules (take them with a grain of salt) to help you succeed:

1. Empty your bladder. There is nothing more distracting than going into an appointment that you expect will only take a few moments, only to discover there are some issues your client wants to deal with that will take much longer than anticipated and you’re distracted by a full bladder.
2. Know your way around. Nothing says to a client that you’re an idiot more than driving around in circles. The fact is, your client's confidence in you is in direct proportion to your confidence in yourself. I learned very early on it was worth knowing where I was going (which is a good general rule for life as well). The point is to be prepared.
3. Never panic in front of the client. (If you’re having trouble with rule number two this will help). So you’re lost, and now they want to look in another area that you’re even less familiar with. Add to that another anxious out of town buyer has arrived a day ahead of schedule and wants to start looking now. Plus your child’s school has just called and one of your children has been sent to the office (for something you never would have done), and your spouse is home sick or packing up to leave. Plus, you’ve got an offer on a property you’ve been trying to sell for a year and MUST present the offer in person as soon as possible for it to have a chance of being accepted! The bottom line here is it could always be worse, and this is exactly what you get paid for. Solving problems for you and your clients - that client, in your car, must feel like they are the most important person in the world to you; if they don’t feel that then they will become someone else’s client. If you let them see you sweat it’s over. Take a moment, send them for coffee, get some stuff sorted out, hand them off to a partner, or better yet solve the problems in advance.
4. Dump ‘em - never take on a schmuck thinking it will get better. Face it, some people take way more energy than they are worth, and at the end of the day no future good will come from these ‘drag you down’ people. Fire them. I have and boy it feels good to tell someone who thinks they own you that they will have to find someone else - let your favourite competitor take the abuse.
5. Never stop learning - The moment you stop learning you are finished. I learn daily from my nine year old daughter and from many varied sources. Knowledge is one thing no one can take away from you. Learn it, live it, teach it. Every time you learn something the possibility of a new opportunity is there so seek it out and go for it.

Everyone has their own way of running their business, and some do it more successfully than others but these rules apply no matter how you work. Success is not always measured in GCI and units so figure out what's important to your success. Happy selling.

Break through the rent barrier - this mobile home comes with its own set of wheels! It features covered parking, newer siding, newer windows, and newer truck. Plus - recently upgraded air conditioning!

We've gotten a tremendous response to Network News, many people from western and central Canada have requested profiles in the newsletter. We want to keep things fair and interesting, and feature people from across Canada. Perhaps you easterners are just too modest for something like this but we'd love to hear from someone on the east coast, so drop us a line with your story idea. The interview takes 10 minutes and we'll write the article too.

Check out the Network News blog and share your stories, thoughts, comments. job postings...Heck, if you want to be completely self-serving just post your website address - a first step at improving your search engine performance. Want to know why? Read the blog and find out!