Center for REALTOR® Development

All real estate begins with the land. Today's episode features two guests who are experts in land sales. Jeramy Stephens (Arkansas) & Justin Osborne (Colorado) are both members of the REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI) and join Monica on the show today to talk about how land sales differ from residential sales. They discuss the different types of land and the certification that's available for land agents, as well as some of the important things to note about land sales in the East and the West. Jeramy Stephens has been in land and real estate for many, many years. He is currently the president of REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI). RLI is part of the NAR family and provides expertise, camaraderie, and resources for real estate professionals. It also offers the Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) designation. There are several different types of land: agricultural land, timberland, recreational land, and transitional land. The RLI promotes education to understand different land uses and purposes for these types of lands. Just like in other facets of real estate, there are different specialties in the land business, and they each have their own rules. There are six required courses to get the ALC designation and 104 hours. The three core classes are Land Investment Analysis, Land 101, and Transitional Land. In addition to these three core classes, there are "elective" classes, depending on where your interests lie. A portfolio of $10 million is also required. When looking at the value of land, it's important to consider what it's being used for or what it's been used for in the past. As a residential agent, if someone comes to you with a piece of land, you can ask questions to determine its highest and best use. Then you can direct your client to an expert in one of those areas, who can appraise or assess the land appropriately. Some land properties are comped regionally, so they are compared with other similar properties in neighboring states or regions. When it gets to a specific activity, it needs to be priced as close in proximity as possible. Jeramy's passion is farmland, which tends to be a little bit easier to price than some other types of land property. Despite some of the struggles farmers are facing, the demand for ag land is still quite strong. Farm and ag land are also a potential investment opportunity. There is a lot of due diligence required for farmland, so it's important to know what to do and who to ask when you need help. Residential real estate agents and land agents can work together to meet their clients' needs. If you're not the one to help them, be the one to get them another agent. You want to make sure that as a Realtor®, you are operating in your area of expertise, and referring your clients to someone else when it's not your area of expertise. Jeramy is also interested in developmental or transitional land. This is taking raw land, usually on the outside of a growing community, and figuring out zoning, sewage, water, taxes, etc. This process can take a long time and varies from state to state. These properties can be a win-win for the agent and the community, but it's important to make sure it's done right so everyone benefits from it. There are some new developments in technology in land sales, including better maps and more complete data. Having all of this technology makes things work a lot faster and smoother. The company Jeramy works for offers 360-degree land tours of properties, so clients can see properties on their computers before seeing the land. In the Eastern United States, one of the biggest things to consider is wetlands and water rights. Mineral rights are also important, though maybe more so in the West. There are also many areas in the East that are developing and bringing more people in, and this is especially important for agents who work with transitional land. Jeramy's final word is to remind and encourage REALTORS® that we're all professionals in what we do. Know what you do, what you do well, and what's best for your client! Justin Osborne is joining us from Durango, Colorado. He is currently president of the Colorado chapter of the REALTORS® Land Institute and an RLI instructor. One of the biggest challenges in land real estate is figuring out how to price it. It can be on the market for a couple of years, and sometimes they have to travel over 200 miles to find comps for a similar piece of land. The potential market is pretty vast in the West, but Justin tries to remain within the same state due to changing property values. As a buyer's agent, it is important to do due diligence on a property, including inspections on the property and the infrastructure. Properties need to be brought up to code before closing or handled properly after closing. The permit process in Justin's area is relatively easy, but all the different landscapes will affect how long it takes to get the property ready. Sometimes large transactions get held up because due diligence was not done before the property was listed. When the proper due diligence is done, those listings normally sell for higher than the listing price. Recently Justin has noticed people coming from Arizona, California, and even Florida to purchase these large parcels. Location is important — people tend to want properties that are closer to national hubs. In the West, especially, water is key. Just because water is on your property, you don't necessarily have the right to it. It's important to make sure you're working with someone who understands water and the rules surrounding it. Mineral rights are the same way. The state of Colorado has a lot of laws in place that protect the property owner. With the large tracts of land out West, there are cases where they are downsizing to make the properties a little smaller and more affordable for some investors. It is important to realize what your clients want, especially in terms of privacy, to determine which size property is best. In the West, there are also several National Parks to consider. It is a risk to own a property that is sitting on leased land. Buyers should do their due diligence on the risk associated with ownership of this property before buying or developing that land. Out in the West, there is a lot of opportunity for things that are hard to put a value on. Many buyers are looking to establish some type of family legacy, or find a place where they will be able to go and unplug. Similar to what Jeramy says, Justin encourages REALTORS® to be prepared and know where to go to get the right information. If you don't know, offer to find out or provide an additional resource for your clients. Don't be afraid to be the source of the source. Guest Links: REALTORS® Land Institute Website Additional Links: OnlineLearning.realtor for NAR Online Education Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses for REBAC and REBI classes. CRD@Realtors.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com Additional Bio: Jeramy Stephens is a Partner and Managing Broker at National Land Realty (NLR) where he oversees the company's Mid-South region office in Little Rock, Arkansas. Jeramy is an Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) with the REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI) and currently serves as the National President for the organization. He has also held several positions at RLI as Vice Chair for the Education Committee and Arkansas Chapter President. Jeramy has over 20 years of experience in the real estate business, working in the Farm Credit system and land industries. He is a three-time winner of an Agent of the Year award for a National Real Estate Company and was recently named National Land Realty's Arkansas Top Producer for 2016, 2017 and 2018. He is an Arkansas native and graduate of Arkansas State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture business with an emphasis in Farm Management and Ag Marketing. Jeramy is licensed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee where he specializes in selling agricultural, recreational properties (specializing in duck hunting properties), timberland and commercial development properties. Nationalland.com/jeramy-stephens 870-672-3250 jstephens@nationalland.com Justin Osborne has been selling Real Estate since 2002 when he was still in college. He attended Fort Lewis College where he received a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and a minor in Agribusiness. He is with The Wells Group in Durango Colorado and has consistently been a top producer in both volume and total number of deals closed. He was just recently awarded the Colorado Land Realtor® of the Year by the Colorado Realtors® Land Institute for 2016. Due to selling more vacant land than any other broker in all of Southwest Colorado the past few years, and his sincere passion for the outdoors, Justin is currently the president of the Colorado chapter of the REALTORS® Land Institute. Justin is also involved in the REALTOR® Land Institute at the national level, as he is currently a board chairperson of both their Future Leaders Committee as well as their Chapter Development Task Force. He is also one of their instructors. His community involvement includes being an assistant coach for his son's DYSA competitive soccer team, recent past president of the Durango High Noon Rotary Club, and past area chairman of the La Plat County Ducks Unlimited. He is also a certified PSIA Cert 2 ski instructor at Purgatory in both alpine and telemark skiing. Justin sells residential, commercial, vacant land, farm & ranch, and recreational real estate. Wellsgroupdurango.com/broker/justin-osborn/ 970-946-3935 Justin@wellsgroupdurango.com

Today's episode is the final installment of a three-part series that highlights some of the NAR member benefits. RPR® helps REALTORS® provide and analyze data for your clients when they request it. Today's guest, Veronica McManus, is the director of industry relations with RPR®. In this episode, she and Monica discuss some of the benefits of this program for REALTORS® and their clients, as well the many reports available in the system and how to engage with them. Veronica is in her 7th year with RPR®, and she works with MLSs and associations to encourage their engagement and usage of RPR®. She and her team are the connection between RPR® and the REALTORS® that use it. Realtors Property Resource® is a parcel-centric property database that contains over one hundred million property records from over 300 data sources on commercial, industrial, residential, and land parcels across the country. RPR® originated when the NAR noticed that clients were coming to their REALTORS® with this data already. They housed it in a central location so their REALTORS® can provide accurate data to their clients. The public seems to love this data, so it's important to know how you can best engage with the product. For a basic beginning webinar, visit the blog: blog.narrpr.com. One of the key benefits for the RPR® is that once their client comes to them about a house or a piece of property, the REALTOR® can immediately look up the address of the property and access the data. One of the things that sets RPR® apart from accessing information on your MLS is the report section where there are many different reports that can be created, how they can be shared with the consumer, and the quality of data they contain. Some of the reports they have on RPR® are property reports, mini property reports, sellers reports, valuation reports, market activity reports, school reports, and property flyers that can be easily linked to other platforms. They also have neighborhood reports that share economic, demographic, quality of life, and market statistics. The REALTOR® is able to put up to 10 PDF documents into their reports. Veronica describes how we may use some of these reports in our marketing. Many of the reports are very long, but you can go into the report details and pick and choose which information is most pertinent or most appealing to you and your clients. You can go in and create a custom template that will easily generate your reports going forward. This also makes it easier to create a report that suits your clients' needs, in a very short amount of time! This has helped REALTORS® get a client because they are able to connect with them quickly. You have the ability to go into reports and suppress some of the estimated values for values. If you're responding quickly to a lead, they don't necessarily need to have the RVM. This keeps people from getting too far ahead with pricing with the customer. The AVM is the automated valuation model, and the RVM is the REALTOR® valuation model market. This was one of the biggest data points NAR hoped to deliver with RPR®. This can be compared to the data that other places are using, such as Zillow. There are some differences between RPR® and Zillow. To determine the RVM, RPR® uses the averages of three different algorithms and also looks to the MLS for accurate and up-to-date information on active and pending list prices. The RVM also show you details, so you or the client can know which comps were used to estimate the price. The reports are also very helpful to share with your industry partners, as they add value to both you and your partner. The REALTOR® is bringing their wisdom and experience when they interact with the reports within RPR®. They know what is going on in the markets and have often seen the properties, so they are able to change and engage the data in ways other companies are unable to provide. Some of the other tools RPR® has to offer are traffic counts, flood maps, and heat maps. You can also view distressed properties on RPR® and provide resources to those homeowners. Some other ways REALTORS® are using the resources provided by RPR® are while door knocking and during open houses; utilizing the app has been a game changer for many people! When you can have some of the general information available for people asking questions, it creates a strong initial impression and makes the REALTOR® central to the transaction. If you're not using RPR®, now is the time to start! Your competitors are likely using RPR®, and they are closing more business. Visit the blog for more ideas on how to use this free member benefit to save money, save time, and close more deals. Guest Links: NARRPR.com — Realtors Property Resource® Blog.narrpr.com — RPR® blog Additional Links: OnlineLearning.REALTOR® for NAR Online Education Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses for REBAC and REBI classes. CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com Additional Bio: Veronica McManus is a director of Industry Relations with RPR®. Before she joined RPR®, Veronica was a full-time agent, office manager, and education director. A REALTOR® since 1994, she was her association's past president, REALTOR® of the Year, and Massachusetts Women's Council of REALTORS® State President. A graduate of the Instructor Training Institute, Veronica is a certified continuing education instructor in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. She also has her broker's license.

Today's episode is the second part of a three-part series that highlights some of the major NAR programs being offered. The Commitment to Excellence (C2EX) program explores professionalism and its application to professional life. Monica and Hagan talk about some key points of professionalism, as well as breaking down the way the assessments work. All of this is so we can improve excellence in our own lives as well as in the industry! The Commitment to Excellence program came from a strategic planning aim to look at what the REALTORS® of the future would look like. Professionalism needed to increase across the association across the country, to continue to keep the industry strong. C2EX is the initiative that gives members a voluntary pathway to the highest level of professionalism in ten key areas of the business. There have been 19,000 members that have signed up so far. The program was designed for REALTORS® at any skill level to come in and learn key points from the ten areas. When you first take an assessment, the program puts together a personalized learning path based on the knowledge you already have and the knowledge you need to gain from the ten areas to be endorsed. Monica and Hagan talk about some of the specifics of the quiz, and why it's important to have an open mindset while working through it. Whenever they present the C2EX program, there is an influx of people who sign up for the program. A key part of the story is marketing and letting people know about it. People seem to enjoy the assessment to figure out strengths and weaknesses, and these assessments could also be done in a large group, focusing on each person's result. It can be an important tool for team building. One of the goals of the C2EX program is raising the bar and raising the goals for REALTORS® around the country. Professionalism is all thinking about the end user and being prepared in each action to make sure the transaction goes smoothly. Some of the traits that C2EX covers are: trust & integrity, client service, and professional reputation. It is meant to help improve everyone in the profession, not just those who are new. Client service includes making sure the client has a copy of all the documents they should've signed and going over the contract with them. Communication is another aspect of professionalism. Getting to know which communication medium your client prefers will go a long way. Take the time to understand how your client best communicates and use that throughout the process. It is also helpful to have one day a week, or something set in stone, to catch the client up on what happened that week. Reputation is another facet of professionalism. We don't often get a chance to redeem ourselves when it comes to our reputation, but you have to keep it in mind so that you keep it untarnished. We have our experience, time, and reputation to offer for our clients. Having a good reputation in your market positively impacts the experience of your client. To manage your reputation online, be careful about what you post. You represent your clients in addition to just yourself. You want to make sure your reputation paints you as someone who is considerate, someone who understands our code of ethics. The Commitment to Excellence program is split into smaller sections, so you can tackle them one at a time. It becomes a lifelong learning tool. You may receive a notification to retake a certification if something in that realm has changed. Trust and integrity are incredibly important for professionalism. Our clients trust us with one of the largest financial transactions they will have in their lives. As agents, we need to look for ways to build trust by staying on top of communication, being prepared, and sharing all options with your client. Put building trust at the forefront of your decision-making when it comes to your client. You also want to develop a sense of trust with your clients, so they feel like you've also listened to them. Hagan and Monica discuss some final thoughts on professional. Some of the things Hagan does are to connect with the REALTOR® when an offer is coming through, and also make sure that your voicemail reflects you as a professional. When it comes down to it, be respectful of your other colleagues in the business. We're all working toward the same end goal for our clients. Log into to take the C2EX assessment: login to www.C2EX.REALTOR®. Choose to be the best you can be in the business. This program will help you sustain your business in a professional manner! Guest Links: TNREALTORS®.com/hagan-stone-2/ Parksathome.com/agents/HaganStone Commitment to Excellence Additional Links: OnlineLearning.REALTOR® for NAR Online Education Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses for REBAC and REBI classes. CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com Additional Bio: Hagan Stone, REALTOR®, ABR, CRS, affiliate broker of Parks in Brentwood, is 2019 President-Elect for Tennessee REALTORS®. A veteran of 19 years in real estate, Hagan has previously served as Secretary-Treasurer (2018) and Division 2 Vice President (2015-16) for Tennessee REALTORS®, and President of Greater Nashville REALTORS® (2014). He is a recipient of the Nashville Emerging Leader Award for RE Services (2014) and a graduate of NAR Leadership Academy (2010). Locally, Hagan also has chaired multiple committees including Professional Development, RPAC/Legislative, and Nominating, and he was named REALTOR® of the Year in 2010. On the state level, Hagan's leadership positions have included RPAC Trustees Vice Chair (2014). Nationally, he has chaired NAR's RPAC Fundraising Trustees (2017) and its Leadership Academy (2015), among other roles. When it comes to his approach to real estate, Hagan credits his father's influence. "He has been a small-business owner and entrepreneur for more than fifty years. The greatest lessons he has taught me have been accepting hard work, taking leaps of faith and never settling for the status quo." Born in Nashville, reared in Clarksville — which he considers home — and a 24-year Nashville resident, Hagan is a proud Tennessean who also loves to travel and experience different cultures and customs. He is a 1996 graduate of Belmont University with a bachelor's in Communications Studies and a minor in History. He and his wife, Laura (a nurse practitioner at St. Thomas West), are the parents of Catherine, 14, and Dawson, 13.

Now that you're in the real estate game, what's your plan for your money? What are your plans for retirement? In today's episode, in an interview-style episode, Monica and her guest, Kasey Stewart, talk about defining financial wellness, how to achieve it, and what resources can help you manage your money for the future. In 2017, NAR's president wanted to help REALTORS® prepare for retirement. In a career where they get paid commission checks, planning can be hard for REALTORS®. The Center for REALTOR® Financial Wellness covers several different areas of investment. You can also set goals for yourself and explore the resource library. Kasey shares some statistics about their members. 43% are not preparing for retirement and 42% are not prepared for a financial emergency. What does financial wellness mean? For Monica, it means she is in a place where she doesn't have anxiety about her finances. This includes having reserves, having some idea of retirement, and flexibility and finances to tend to personal or family issues. It's a subjective term depending on your situation — it may be different for everyone. Think about what you need to feel financially healthy. Every form of debt has interest that will compound. Debt can also cause anxiety and might even physically manifest itself. If you're in debt, work on getting out of debt. There are people who can help you get out of debt, but be careful with the help you choose. Once you pay off your debt, it might be a good idea to roll those payments over into another account, maybe for retirement or a savings account. As independent contractors, it's important to keep your business reserves separate from your personal reserves. To create a budget as an independent contractor, write down all of your necessary expenses in your personal life. Also, do this for your business, so you have a number that you know you need to get by each month. At some banks, you can set up different accounts to set aside the money to pay your brokers, your taxes, and other anticipated expenses. To build her reserves, Monica has a business checking account (you could also open a personal checking account for your business funds), and only uses it for business expenses. Monica also uses financial software to help her keep up with her finances. She uses QuickBooks, but there are many different financial software packages you can use. NAR members can get a discount on QuickBooks Self-Employed for $5/month. A couple of ways to build up your reserves are to take a percentage of each closing check and distribute it to your different reserves; if you find you've had a generous season, you can move larger chunks of money. How do we prepare for retirement as independent contractors? Paying for retirement can be difficult if you don't get consistent paychecks. One of the first things you can do for the future is to improve your amount of business today. You need to define what amount of money would make you feel comfortable for retirement. There are also different avenues you can use to fund your retirement: stocks, bonds, IRA's, etc. Investing in stocks can be a good way to start funding an account to purchase real estate down the road. The closer you get to retirement, the more conservative you should be. It would be wise to work with a financial investor that can help you modify for your level of comfort, and also help you understand how your real estate investments play into that. Invest in what you know! You can also determine which type of IRA you might want to invest in. There are several different ways to invest in real estate: buy a rental property for long-term tenants, Airbnb-type rental, commercial properties, or a real estate investment trust. When considering these avenues, think about your tolerance for management and your tolerance for risk. Estate planning is part of the financial wellness program. It's incredibly important to have a will and a Power of Attorney, in case anything should happen to you. For more information, visit financialwellness.REALTOR®. Financial planning is important for people just getting into the industry or people who have been in the business for a while and are starting to look ahead toward retirement. Guest Links: Financialwellness.REALTOR® nar.REALTOR®/REALTOR®benefits Additional Links: OnlineLearning.REALTOR® for NAR Online Education Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses for REBAC and REBI classes. CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com Additional Bio: Kasey Stewart is the director of Member Development at National Association of REALTORS®, and the program director for the Center for REALTOR® Financial Wellness. Nar.REALTOR®/REALTOR®-benefits-program Nar.REALTOR®/center-for-REALTOR®-financial-wellness

Great customer service is one of the key ways we can set ourselves apart from other people in the industry. Everybody wants (and expects) a great customer service experience. Pete Blank joins Monica on the show today to talk about his customer service background working for Disney. They share ideas about customer service through a discussion of the seven guest service guidelines Disney uses, and fit them into the real estate industry. Now that so much is available online to consumers, customer service in real estate has become that much more important. The face-to-face connection is something clients value and the way we present ourselves and our product contributes to the customer experience. This is similar to the idea at Disney that employees are always in "the show." For real estate, this would involve staging, materials, etc. At Disney, they teach that the relationship between you and the customer has to be number one. Pete discusses a little bit about these guidelines and relates them to the real estate industry. The first one is to 1) Make eye contact and smile. This is perhaps a bit easier in the real estate industry as much of the contact is one-on-one, but make sure you're always presenting a good front when you're meeting with clients, or in a situation where you may be around potential clients. The second is 2) Greet and welcome each and every guest. This one is also applicable for when you are out and about. When you're out in public in your community, it's important to consider that you may be around potential clients. Note how you want to present yourself to someone who knows you're in real estate but you may not be having a direct interaction with. You are your own brand. The next guideline is 3) Seek out guest contact. This one is related to the second guideline in the fact that you may always be around potential clients. In terms of real estate, so many people own homes or want to own homes. There is a general curiosity about the market. As an agent, you can try to share some market research when you're out in public (in appropriate situations). This will help you be top-of-mind for people that you've helped previously or they've heard of you through this sharing of knowledge in different environments. One of the most important reasons is 4) Provide immediate service recovery. Pete shares a story about something he experienced during his time at Disney. What's important here is if a client brings you an issue, we try to fix it with service first. Rather than offering a discount or some sort of bonus item during the time of the transaction with your client, we look for a way to placate the issue with service first. This will make your client feel valuable. These standards (the rest to follow!) are non-negotiable. Big businesses may already have these established, but if you are a solopreneur starting your business, take some time to write down some non-negotiable standards for yourself that you will use to serve your clients. Getting back to the guidelines, number 5) Appropriate body language at all times. As with any industry, when you see employees who look disinterested, this can skew your whole perception of the business. In real estate, this could you be how you look before you meet a seller for a listing. You don't necessarily want to be wrapping up previous business when your new client shows up. Your body language should show your client that they are the most important thing during your meeting. Number 6) Preserve the magical guest experience. We don't want clients to see the nitty-gritty of how things work. This would involved keep the "backstage" parts of processes out of the customer experience. Monica mentions that in real estate there is a line between letting the public know what you're doing (how much time it's taking, etc) and also sharing too much. The important thing is how you're sharing this information. It's okay to express the work you've done, but it's not okay to complain about the process, especially to your client. As a real estate agent, you can provide your clients with some information about all the different things you do for them, so they know you are creating value for them. The last service guideline is to 7) Thank each and every guest. At Disney when you leave for the night, people are stationed on the way to say thank you for visiting and provide salutations. In real estate, the close of the transaction is not always the end. You want to make sure you close the transaction with a thank you. This differs from agent to agent — some may prefer different gestures of gratitude. An important part of the close of a transaction is a review or a post-event survey. Some things to keep in mind are the length — you don't want it to be too long or too involved; testimonials are usually a good bet because customers can put their own stamp on it. Even calling it a testimonial rather than a review, may get better results and more response. If you have an exceptional experience with a customer or someone involved in completing the transaction, you may want to consider a well-placed gift. A new development in the industry is working with real estate teams. Many teams don't have the same longevity as Disney employees, and it can be a challenge to keep up team encouragement. One of the most important things when working on any team is to set up some expectations for team operations, communication, etc. The other aspect is personalities; when you get the team together, take some time to do an activity to get know your team members outside of the business transaction. The final topic Pete and Monica discuss is getting third-party vendors who share your customer service values and habits. This comes down to setting expectations and maybe also having a brief training with your third-party vendors so everyone is on the same page about the customer experience. One of the main focuses of the Disney model is savoring the experience. Once the experience is over, we want our clients to look back on it fondly and appreciate how simple it was. As a real estate agent, you want to try to create an experience that clients will look back on and tell others about. Guest Links: Pete Blank's Website BombBomb Additional Links: OnlineLearning.REALTOR® for NAR Online Education www.Training4RE.com - List of Classroom Courses for CIPS, REBAC, and REBI classes. CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com Additional Bio: Born and raised in St. Petersburg Florida, Pete and his family visited Walt Disney World Resort every year since the park opened in 1971. One day, while walking down Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom, he told his parents, "One day, I'm going to work here." In 1989, while attending the University of Florida, he spent a summer as a Disney Cast Member making memories for guests while working in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. That three-month adventure confirmed what he believed… that this was the right company for him. After a stint as a television sportscaster, he returned to Disney in 1994. Over the next 13 years, he managed various areas of Disney's theme parks and resorts, where he learned what it takes to run a world-class organization. Pete was blessed to spend the majority of his time working at Disney University. While there, he led the Traditions program, which is known worldwide as one of the premier employee orientation programs. He also facilitated college-level courses to thousands of Disney College Interns and was a Segment Learning Manager for Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and the Disney Cruise Line. Today, he is the Training and Organizational Development Manager for the Personnel Board of Jefferson County in Birmingham, AL. In this role, he manages a department responsible for providing leadership and management training to over 7,000 local government employees across 23 agencies. His training team has won multiple awards, including Training Magazine's Training Top 125, HR.Com's Leadership 500, and eLearning's Top 100. In addition, he works with organizations and associations all across the U.S., helping them achieve their goals in the areas of leadership, employee engagement and customer service. Some of his clients include DirecTV, Southern Company, LG, Regions Bank, and Coldwell Banker. His first book is Employee Engagement: Lessons from the Mouse House. His next book, Pick Up the Roach! Why Great Leaders do the Little Things, is due out in 2019.

First-time homebuyers are a niche market among all buyers. They all have in common that they have never bought a house before, so the processes involved are new to them. So much of the journey in working with first-time buyers is about educating them and asking better questions to understand where they are and what they need to move forward. In today's episode, Monica and her guest, Rich Sands, discuss many ways that we as agents can help our clients who are first-time homebuyers. Working with buyers and sellers are two different ends of the same spectrum. Having systems are true for working with both; you need effectiveness and efficiency. Thirty-three to 39 percent of buyers are first-time homebuyers. Some challenges that first-time homebuyers face in today's market is that mortgages are harder to get and prices have gone up. The main thing that makes first-time buyers unique is that they have never done this before. As an agent, you have to have an educator mindset. For many first-time homebuyers, you have to figure out what the money situation is. Will they be paying cash or have you arranged for financing? Most will finance their first property, and you can usually find properties that are less than or equal to the cost of renting. One of the challenges of being an agent is working with people from different generations. Each one poses a different set of needs and desires. What is important for agents is finding a good lender for your clients. When looking for lenders, look for lenders who do the products that are most beneficial for first-time homebuyers (HomeReady and Home Possible®). You want someone who is able to effectively implement these programs, not just someone who knows about them. Some of the associated costs with owning a home are the transaction costs — closing cost, fees, etc. — as well as maintenance costs like electric and cable bills or regular service. A good idea for agents is to have a checklist of some of the other costs homeowners have in addition to their mortgage. This will help your clients be prepared for all costs so they aren't blindsided. As we mentioned before, first-time homebuyers are not all young. There are first-time homebuyers from a wide range of ages; with that comes a wide range of experience, situations, and financial background. There are systems we can use to inform our clients. We can help explain the process of buying a home, both looking for one and then writing the contract. They also need help with financing and understanding the market. One of the best things we can do as a REALTOR® is to understand what they want and what they're trying to accomplish. Working with first-time homebuyers also requires a lot of patience. Being a great listener and a great asker of questions is crucial to understanding what your clients want. The three most important questions you can use to clarify are "What do you mean?," "Why is that?," and "What else?" When we give ourselves permission to slow down and really be with our clients, we will be able to hear them better and determine their needs. An agent also has to be a great explainer. They have to be able to take any aspect of the process and make it concise and understandable and present it in a way that works for the recipient. Another requirement is that an agent be technologically flexible. It's also important to have strong leadership qualities. If you are someone who really enjoys helping people and wants to help first-time homebuyers, you can market to your sphere of influence to find those buyers. As a REALTOR®, it's important to be aware of what's important to different generations, so when you're introduced to them and you want to move into something new, you've already learned about some ways to adapt. Another way to find first-time buyers is to make sure you have a good website and have a social media presence. You can find the right platform based on your skill set; if you can write, make a blog. If you have a personality, maybe think about video. And if you have a lot of information, maybe the podcast route is the way for you. You can get started by sharing to a wider audience your answers to questions from clients. As a REALTOR®, we have to be the person that our buyers need. It's not necessarily changing who we are, but being flexible so that we can understand and accommodate first-time homebuyers. Instead of thinking about them as a transaction, think of them as people who are going through one of the most fundamental aspects of the American dream. Guest Links: Mental Toughness Training for Sports: Achieving Athletic Excellence, by James E. Loehr http://richsandsseminars.com Guest Bio: Rich Sands has been a teacher his whole life. He started out as a high school teacher and a running coach. He became a REALTOR® and also the Director of Education of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Colorado. There isn't a time when Rich Sands doesn't remember leading a class full of students. For fifteen years he brought out the best in high school students. He took that leadership to the real estate industry where he rose to the position of Director of Education, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Colorado and revolutionized the company's training services for more than 2,000 managers, agents and staff. Now, an experienced international presenter, instructor, and keynote specialist, Rich specializes in helping people master their sales skills in any situation. His flagship presentations, "Why Your Grandparents Should Direct Your Marketing," and "Creating Listing Abundance" integrate the key practices needed to engage and impress consumers of all kinds. Presently, he is President of Rich Sands Seminars and works closely with international real estate franchise systems, independent brokerages and companies in all industries that want to bring out the best in their people. As a NAR/REBAC and Certified CRS instructor, he conducts dozens of courses each year for the National Association of REALTORS® and Council of Residential Specialists. Rich and his wife, Linda, live near Denver, Colorado. She is a kitchen and closet designer and an elliptical girl. He has two sons: Matt and Ryan and two step-daughters: Angela and Alicia. Additional Links: Training4RE.com Center for Realtor® Development — Onlinelearning.Realtor REBAC.net ABR Course CRDpodcast.com — Podcast Website CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/Realtor Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com

No matter what the stage of your business, you can always get started using video in your business. There are several ways to consider using video in your business: to film an intro, open houses, to go live on Facebook, or connect with local businesses. Monica's guest, Jeremias "JMan" Maneiro, joins her on the show to discuss these different ways to use video in your business, as well as what equipment to use. All of these discussion points can help you improve and strengthen your connections with your clients. As we've entered into 2019, it is a time of video. It is a great way to build rapport with your clients and get to know them before an initial meeting. Community video is a great place to start. You can share things about restaurants, amenities, accessibility; you want to make the communities where you live and sell appealing to others. Another way to do community videos is to interview business owners and share it with the people. This not only helps you but also helps promote the business itself; it's a win-win! You can also stream live events going on. An even easier place to start may be listing videos. You already have all the content and the listing, and it could be a great way to do the marketing. JMan does a "coming soon" video where he does a live walk-through of the home and shares it on his business page. Everyone has equal access to the listing, and the clients can see when agents leave comments on the video, which boosts the quality. You do have to be careful when you do Facebook live videos — be strategic about how you are "conducting business" between personal and business pages. You also have to respect your clients' privacy. It is the same as when you're staging for photographs — you want to make sure only things that should be on display are on display. There are options for more formal videos. Animoto and iPhoto are great applications where you can import images and videos to produce a stylized video. You don't have to be in these videos, but you should brand it so people know who you are and where you are. More recently, drone video has entered the video marketing strategy. They can provide some really awesome shots but it may an instance where you want to hire a professional to help you. There are so many different things the drone allows you to see. Some of the most popular business videos are virtual open houses. This allows you to take interested buyers on a virtual tour of the house and also leaves the option to provide feedback or questions via some sort of form, so you are reacting to the video you just saw. This also allows for live engagement. Nearly all social media platforms have the "story" feature — these are a GREAT way to start! They are short clips, but they also only stick around for 24 hours, so there's a little bit less pressure. These story videos encourage you to keep your message to-the-point, as well as get frequent practice with pretty little effort. The goals of your videos should not necessarily be the number of likes, but rather about connecting with your audience (quality over quantity). You can work to create custom audiences, so the people that are seeing your videos have really been tuned into your videos previously. Now that you know all the benefits and different avenues for video, how can you incorporate it into your business? One thing to expect is that you won't be happy with every (or maybe any!) take. It takes time to get used to how you look and sound on video and one thing Monica recommends is to give herself one take, even if it's not live. Each video is a learning opportunity, so as you get started, you can learn as you keep producing more videos. One of the beauties of video in our culture is that it does allow for you to be authentic and gives room for your human mistakes. One thing JMan has is a quick introduction video for his team. He has a small team, but a short introduction video allows clients or even other agents you may be working with to put a name with a face so they can get to know the whole team, rather than just you. They can feel like they are connected with the team at all points of the transaction. You don't need to have a ton of fancy equipment. If you have a smartphone, that's a good place to start. There are some additional lighting options to enhance what your phone does. Next is the audio; they make external microphones. The lavalier is a style that both JMan and Monica talk about to get better-polished videos. You can use apps and tools to get better angles, and there are also devices such as gimbals that act as a tripod so you don't have to recruit others to help. One final type of video is the Matterport. This is a camera that does a high-res 360-degree scan of every room in the house and creates a virtual, immersive, 3D experience. If you're ready to get started on video, just remember to be you. Be authentic, and focus on building relationships. Guest Links: Jmanseminars.com YouTube JManSeminars.com Instagram.com/jmanspeaks/ Facebook.com/ManeiroTeam Jmansells.com Guest Bio: Jeremias "JMan" Maneiro, full-time licensed agent, it's my career, not a hobby. Associate Broker — Highest form of licensing in Real Estate you can achieve. Department of State recognizes that you have the expertise and experience to be your own Broker/Owner but that you have decided to associate with a company. Aggressive and experienced negotiator; I work with everyone from first timers to luxury home buyers and fight to get you the best price and terms with the least amount of stress to you. I exceed the expectations of my clients by providing immediate response to their needs and better service through the mastery of today's technology. Instant access to e-mail, internet, and cell phone. New home construction specialist; I help my client from contract to closing. We can determine what development, floor plan, structural and product amenities best fit your needs and budget. My highly successful 30-day marketing program will sell your home faster and for the most money possible. I am a life-long resident of Rochester — born in the City and raised in Greece, New York. My custom home feedback system gets accurate and honest feedback from showing agents quicker and more often. This means the house will sell faster because we are more in tune with the market. Additional Links: Training4RE.com Center for REALTOR® Development — Onlinelearning.REALTOR® REBAC.net CRDpodcast.com — Podcast Website CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com

In today's episode, Monica and Marion Napoleon talk about helping buyers with new construction — a topic that is important to both of them. The population in America is growing and demographics are changing.There are more single family homes as people are marrying later and divorces at all age levels create a need for more separate housing. Another factor is that people are living in more multi-generational housing situations. This together has created a general need for more housing. They explain some aspects of the process, how you can provide value as a real estate agent, and some tips for custom builds. Hopefully, this episode will help you understand why they love helping buyers with new construction, and why you should, too! Buyers tend to like new construction because it gives them options. They are not worried about multiple offers and perhaps, most importantly, they are able to customize their homes however their budgets will allow. A lot of agents shy away from new construction, but it can be great for commission and helps to boost earnings. There is also a team that comes with new construction — a real estate professional, a sales agent, and a construction manager. All of these people are here to help the client get a new house. One of the most important things for new agents is to get to know your area. Make note of what's around you and connect with the new home agents so you can learn their processes and their products. You want to build up a "toolbox" so you can help your buyers make the right decision. Both Monica and Marion organize the information they collect into a Dropbox or Google Drive, as a buyer's book. That way all the information is consolidated and easy to share with your clients. There are several options when it comes to the payment. With home builders, there is already a real estate commission set aside for REALTORS®. This is something to educate and explain to your buyers up front, so they understand that it's set aside whether they use it or not. As an agent, you can communicate with the builder and let them know what types of properties you might be looking for with your new buyers. If you come into new construction in the middle of the transaction, it's not too late! If you know that your client has started looking, you know that the interest is there, and you can do your research on other areas and show them some other options. If they want you to be involved, you can be. Don't walk away anywhere in the transaction, because you can still provide value. As buyers' agents, there is a lot of value you can bring to a new construction transaction. As real estate professionals, you bring additional global knowledge to the transaction. You can present yourself as a consultant for the entire process, not just the new construction piece. This is especially important when it comes to the contract — you want to make sure you go through the whole contract with your client to make sure everything is understood and how the client wants it. If you are involved, you can troubleshoot proactively, rather than learning about problems once they're a big problem. When a big problem occurs, that is when buyers' agents really show their value. You become an advocate for their clients and will go to the builders on their clients' behalf. As a professional, you can mediate the issues and also find other options. A home inspection is a must for new construction. When you get the inspection, don't sign until everything that needs to be corrected on the inspection actually gets corrected. The inspection should ideally happen right before the walkthrough with the builder. Then you can bring the list to the walkthrough, and the builder can fix what needs to be fixed or provide a good explanation (in writing) as to why it can't be fixed. When looking at builders, you can direct buyers to do their own research so they feel confident in their choice. A great resource for consumers is the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Usually, they can see for themselves the quality of the construction, but you can also help ensure the process goes smoothly regardless of who they go with by encouraging an inspection (or inspections) along the way. Custom builds can be a great option if you have the finances, the time, and the creative vision. The process of the custom build can be very overwhelming, because you have to find a floor plan, and also often have to find your own builder. The biggest thing to consider with a custom build is cost — the client is paying for every single thing they choose. You also have to consider the land involved, as well as working with the county/city for building permits, etc. Another thing to consider as an agent is the payment on custom builds. You want to make sure these terms and agreements are negotiated and agreed upon up front. The commission often becomes a line item, and as an agent, you want to cover all your bases. One of the last thoughts from Marion is to really educate yourself as a REALTOR® on new construction and then educate your buyers on new construction. If you sprinkle new construction into your other listings that you're showing your clients, they may fall in love with something they didn't even know was out there. At the end, Monica lists some classes concerning new construction that are available at onlinelearning.REALTOR or training4re.com. Guest Links: Marion's Website Unlimited Realty Solutions Marion's LinkedIn Profile Facebook Guest Bio: Marion Napoleon is the broker/owner of Unlimited Realty Solutions in Grand Prairie, TX. She has over 17 years of experience as a real estate professional. She works with all kinds of buyers, and is a national speaker with the National Association of REALTORS®, as well as speaking on motivational topics. She is trained and certified to help you reach your goals and aspirations in every area of your life. For over 30 years, Marion Napoleon has devoted her life to changing the lives of others. Marion is a Real Estate Broker and Instructor, Certified Life Coach, Author, Nationwide Corporate & Christian Motivational Speaker, She is also Former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Additional Links: National Association of Home Builders Training4RE.com Center for REALTOR® Development — Onlinelearning.REALTOR® REBAC.net Real Estate Business Institute CRDpodcast.com — Podcast Website CRD@REALTORS.org Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com

There have been some very significant changes made to the tax codes that are effective this year, 2018. In this episode Monica is joined by Dale Carlton, Jr., who has worked in real estate since the mid 1990s and has been an attorney since 2001, about how the new tax laws affect: real estate professionals, their businesses, and their clients. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provides the opportunity for people who made the same money in 2018 that they made in 2017 to see a reduction in the amount of tax they will have to pay. Currently, we all pay according to marginal tax rates — everyone falls in a tax bracket. Each of these tax brackets is going to be reduced. There will be some differences in deductions, and there is also something called qualified business income deduction — a deduction on profits. The first thing to note is that the marginal tax rates have been lowered, and overall the amount of tax you pay on your taxable income will be a few percentage points less. Dale talks about some of the implications of this as well — there will likely be a decrease in the number of itemized deductions filed. What this means for real estate agents is that people will no longer have an advantage by owning real property as a home, because the standard deduction will exceed the amount of their mortgage interest and their other taxes owed. This corresponds to Section A on the 1040 form. By raising the standard deduction, they removed some of the deductions we had previously. In the loss of the standard deduction, we lose of some of the aspects of the deduction regarding living in the same residence for two of the past five years. They also maximized the amount you could deduct of state and local income taxes along with real estate taxes and maximized the amount you could deduct from those groups to $10,000. There are essentially four deductions that are still allowed: charitable contributions, home mortgage interest deduction, state and local income tax and real estate taxes combined, and then any medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. The $10,000 max of the state/local income tax and real estate can be added to charitable contributions, home mortgage interest, and medical expenses; if all of those added together are less than $24,000, you'll want to take the standard deduction. If they are more, you would keep them itemized. The home mortgage interest deduction includes your primary residence and a second home. You could write off the interest for these two as long as it was acquisition indebtedness. The two changes that most agents need to be aware of is that they did away with personal exemptions. In 2018, there are no exemptions for any person, all are removed. They have, however, amended the rules regarding the child tax credit. They have doubled the child tax credit and increased the phase-out limit to start at $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for married filing jointly. For further clarification on the deduction for people who had owned a home for two out of the last five years, this is still intact in the way that we're used to it. This is the profit of a sale on a principal residence. As long as you've lived in it for two of the previous five years, you could take up to $500,000 worth of gain and not have to pay tax on that gain. This was advantageous for real estate agents and investors. Qualified Business Income Deduction: if you have a minor that can work for you in your business, they can get paid up to $12,000 without having to pay taxes. This is also a business expense you won't have to pay taxes on. There are some rules with this deduction that will affect how we take our money. Everything changed in August — a lot of smaller business owners went to bat to protect them with these new tools. Instead of a tax bridge, you get 20% off your taxable profit, with up to a 25% qualified business deduction. If your taxable income is below the new thresholds, you will still qualify for this qualified business income deduction. Dale discusses even further some of the implications of the changes on this tax. To make sure you are getting the qualified business deduction, you must get in with your accountant before the end of the year to make sure you're set up correctly. You will also have to set up a corporation so that you can pay part of your money as salary and receive the other part as dividends from your company. Having your finances for your business in a separate account is crucial -— you can get some good software, and you can run all your finances through the business account. Running your profit and loss for your accountant will be that much easier if your accounts are separated. Keeping better records will save you and your accountant a lot of time. There were some changes in some of the ways business expenses are being looked at. Previously you could get a deduction on entertainment expenses, and now that is zero. There is discussion happening in regards to the 50% meal deduction in your business. Membership dues have also been removed, to social type places. These are tax law changes that are occurring now. Most accountants right now are still filing 2017 returns until mid-October. From the middle of October through the end of the year is their chance to get caught up on the new changes, and will begin meeting with their clients. Be patient with your accountants as they get up to speed on the new changes — they will take care of you! Dale's Links: Dale's Website Tax Update Articles Additional Links: E-Pro certification Training4RE.com Center for REALTOR® Development — Onlinelearning.REALTOR® REBAC.net NAR Annual Conference CRDpodcast.com — Podcast Website CRD@REALTORS.org General info from NAR regarding Tax Cuts Dale Carleton Bio: For 16 years Dale has been representing Buyers and Sellers in Northwest Arkansas. He has personally sold well over $100 million in properties and constantly ranks as a top real estate agent in Northwest Arkansas. Dale spent 8 years with another company where they did over $3 billion in sales while he was an Executive Broker and Senior Vice President for the company. He has spent the last 8 years as the Broker/Owner of Carlton Realty, Inc. and continues to represent many of the clients he has worked with since he first started in the real estate business. Dale is well known in the Northwest Arkansas area for taking a straightforward, direct and honest approach to real estate. His past clients will tell you that he does not like to talk fluff and is often very blunt about the market and what he feels is the best professional decision in any circumstance. Below are those things that separate Dale from other real estate agents in Northwest Arkansas. Licensed Attorney for over 13 years. 2015 President of the Council of Residential Specialists (the largest and most respected professional real estate designation). Sells between $10-$15 million in real estate annually. Personally invests in real estate by owning multiple rental properties. Represents a number of renovators in Northwest Arkansas, including Mark Zweig, Inc., allowing him a better understanding of the remodeling needs of homes. Has built many homes in Northwest Arkansas. Is respected as one of the top 20 real estate educators nationally, and is invited to speak in 20-30 states annually. Has been a state real estate educator teaching many of the local agents their license and continuing education courses. Consults with large real estate companies across the nation on best practices for representing clients. Sits on multiple boards and invests his time and money into Northwest Arkansas. Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com

It's easy to forget, in the real estate industry, that communication between people is as important as it's ever been before — especially with the rise of technology. This is an issue in business and among people, in general. One of the most popular forms of communication these days is through our phones, though very few people actually use it as a phone. As a REALTOR®, it's important to be aware of which forms of communication our clients are using so we can use their preferred method. This is also true for communicating with other REALTORS®. In this episode, Monica and Chris talk about different types of communication, as well as different attitudes to use while communicating. Remember that we have to be professional 24/7 when it comes to communicating via technology. Just because we're not speaking with someone face to face, it doesn't mean our tone can't be interpreted or perceived as rude. This is something to be aware of as you're communicating with your clients and other people in the business. Early in the relationship, treat communication formally, and respond to the communication pattern of the other person once you've established the relationship. There are four different personality (DISC) types and each type has a different preference for communication. You have to be able to work efficiently and well with all of those people. You don't have to be like everyone you work with, but you have to be able to communicate with them professionally. You may also need to rely on several different types of communication to relay the same message. If you're sending along attachments, or maybe an offer, you may also send a text or give them a quick call to let them know those things are on their way. Monica refers to this as the trifecta of communication. Waiting on only one method of communication could cost your client a deal. Email is an especially sensitive form of communication. Things can get lost in transit or it's very easy to make a typo when entering an email address that could cause your email not to get to its intended recipient. There are also many third-party systems that handle email, and you could potentially unsubscribe from emails that might be important. Chris shares a tip — separate your business and personal worlds in your email. Make sure your real-estate-related items are going to a separate place from any personal emails to help ensure you're not missing important information you need. This will also help you compartmentalize distractions during the day. Chris shares a strategy he has for maintaining his emails — the four D's. The first one is Delete: delete emails that aren't important, or "junk mail." The second one is Delegate: get things to the appropriate party right away. Don't use your inbox as your to-do list. The third one is Do: respond to things that are time-sensitive but also take time each day to make sure you are responding to emails that need your attention. There are apps in the app store that manage emails that may have more features than the ones that come with your phone. When communicating with text or email, make sure the people you are communicating with know who you're are. That is, make sure in the text or email you have some type of signature so the recipient knows who are you and can get back in contact with you depending on the situation at hand. Make it easy to let people know who you are. One big takeaway: as REALTORS®, one of our big goals is to reduce resistance for our clients. Meditate on the systems in your business to see what you can do to make things easier for your client. Challenge from Chris: Think about the question, What makes me an expert? As you continue to interact with your clients and consumers, make sure you are able to communicate what you do well. This also helps the REALTOR® understand their own self-worth and the position they have in the industry, and also provides something to build upon. Make sure you identify problems and share with your clients how you are going to solve them. It is also important to keep your clients updated, regardless of what's going on. Monica talks about a template-type email that could be sent the same time each week that keeps clients in the loop. Chris shares an example of a daily follow-up, and the "no update update." If you're working with a client on an issue, make sure you update them on the progress. Even if you don't have an answer, let them know you're still working on it so they don't wonder about it. Being an awesome communicator really helps client retention, especially during times when the market changes. The tougher the market, the communication is likely needed. Tailoring your approach to suit the client's needs really goes a long way. If they think and know you are doing everything you can, the relationship stays strong. Technology and communication are amplifying your ability to have one-on-one conversations with your clients. You have to prune both sides, the tech and the personal relationship, to create effective communication between you and your clients. Monica's final tips: When you get an email, make sure you send a quick reply to acknowledge the email. For emails, think about using a strong subject line to make it stand out. If you work in teams or with assistants, make sure the transfer of communication is clear, so the right person is getting the right information. Guest Links: Personal hub: thechrisdonaldson.com Facebook: @thechrisdonaldson Instagram: @thechrisdonaldson Twitter: @christalksdaily Youtube: tv.thechrisdonaldson.com Additional Links: E-Pro certification Training4RE.com Center for REALTOR® Development — Onlinelearning.REALTOR® REBAC.net NAR Annual Conference CRD@REALTORS.org Additional Bio: Chris Donaldson is a real estate broker, popular keynote speaker, teacher, business coach, entrepreneur, and leadership expert. A businessman with a teacher's heart, everything Chris touches begins and ends with the goal of helping you achieve what you want. Jumping into the world of real estate while still just a college student, he quickly transitioned his love of teaching to become one of the youngest certified real estate instructors ever in his home state of Louisiana. Now the CEO of Donaldson Educational Services, Founder/CEO of Donaldson Training Solutions and active real estate broker, his daily mission is to make YOUR life and career better. Passion and enthusiasm to help others are evident in everything Chris touches. Whether that simply means helping you obtain that new license you desire, making sure you understand your license requirements, compliance, and continuing education, or doing his part to help you excel with "next level" training to help you succeed — it is all under the umbrella of the businesses and efforts Chris works on each day. The goal is simple, that someone benefits from any of the programs, courses, books, free content, or anything else that is created by Chris and his amazing team. Chris currently lives in New Orleans Louisiana with his beloved "watchdog," Putter. While not working on his businesses, he enjoys golf, fitness, and not burning down the kitchen trying to cook. Giving back to the community through various charitable foundations is always at the top of mind, especially those that can directly affect the lives and futures of those the organizations serve. Host Information: Monica Neubauer Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR® Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com FuntentionalLiving.com FranklinTNBlog.com