Am on a major learning curve here – got a new phone – the Droid Incredible.   I don’t feel incredible on it yet but at least I can answer the phone & make calls (sorry, didn’t mean to slam iPhone4).   After 6 years with my Blackberry Pearl, I had finally been able to type out an email using the funny keyboard – now I have to learn this touchscreen thing. Never realized what fat fingers I must have! I do like the big screen tho.   And, one other good thing, I now have twitter on there but am not sure what everyone is tweeting about or how to answer. If only my Tech guru wasn’t too busy for her mama.

First week (hot! week) of July summer and perhaps you’re thinking of giving your brain a rest for a couple of months…but is that really what you SHOULD do?   Just as our kids need to reinforce what they’ve learned during the past school year, we need to continue our professional growth by reading, attending classes & learning from our peers. Doesn’t have to be every day, all day – take time to recharge, refresh & reconnect with your family – but don’t ever quit learning!

We had so many laughs today at Team Meeting – from Sousa’s “Stars & Stripes”, to Mo Anderson’s Creativity video, to Tara teaching us how the kw.com website has been upgraded to further facilitate web users finding you.   Did you know that if you enter kw.com on your mobile phone it will automatically convert it to kw for mobile phones—without an app…how does it do that?   Magic????   Perfect for your clients!   And it will highlight your listings as a KW listing agent…and drive ALL the leads directly to YOU!!!   Our Tech people ROCK!

“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come”
~ Victor Hugo

Being creative isn’t about being unique – it’s about being able to see what you want to achieve clearly in your mind before working toward attaining that goal.   Bringing your idea to fruition is one the most powerful things an agent (and a real estate office!) can do.

At Keller Williams, having that creative vision as a Market Center and as an Agent is important. If you feel your vision isn’t being realized & want to be with a company that values creativity, call me!

Social Media is the latest tool Realtors can add to their arsenal to stay in touch with their friends & clients – and to actually add more!   Jennifer Klaussen, our Director of Productivity & Training, hit a homerun when she taught the beta-class at KW McLean/Great Falls on Friday.   She helped us all envison Facebook as a cocktail party and how we would network there while Twitter is a micro-blog integrating both personal and work information.   Did you know that Blogs are replacing websites for many — and that some only respond to text messages & consider emails passe? It’s an ever-evolving world.   If you get the chance, take the class.   We will offer it again!

Now that Ann Page has joined our new Division as Managing Director, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am!   With her 30+ yrs experience & love of teaching, she brings a wealth of knowledge and energy.   We are growing again – she has 4 KWCommercial signs out with more listings coming….and we have new & experienced agents taking a hard look.   This business model is revolutionizing the industry with its high splits and great support.   Good times!

Another lively Team Meeting. Ann Johnston from Monarch Title discussed issues affecting settlement from avoiding escrow account to lead based paint disclosures.   REALTORS are again at the frontlines – making sure any disturbance of painted areas in homes built prior to 1978 are correctly remediated by certified personnel.   This is federal law & the fines are steep!   Another reason it is important to use a REALTOR!

A lively discussion at Team Meeting today — what are the 7 words most likely to persuade someone to do something that you want them to do?   If you guessed the magic word “PLEASE” you are on the right track.   We are concentrating on the June “transition into summer mentality” as we attempt to help our sellers see that if their home isn’t priced to sell NOW the chance of it still being on the market in August is high.   We also want to help our buyers understand that BECAUSE many sellers don’t want to be bothered with selling their home during the summer holidays, inventory levels may decrease so their choices will narrow.   IMAGINE if we could get all the sellers & all the buyers happily together & we’d all take the summer off!

May 6, 2010, was quite a day —   full of training events, a party & reaching a milestone!   Advanced Web Design taught by Tech Coordinator Tara was well-appreciated by those in attendance.   Next, Mega Agent Ron Cathell challenged the audience at our Great Falls seminar to “Take Their Business to the Next Level” by getting out of their comfort zones to excel.   We will definitely be offering this seminar again!   The final training of the day was on using the DISC profile & was offered by expert Kathy Rasmussen.   Learning to communicate effectively to clients as well as other agents is crucial to a successful, win-win transaction.   Then, it was party time!   Since our Principles Class was on Cinco de mayo, we had a Seis de mayo celebration!   The dynamic duo- Eve & Viveca – organized an extravaganza with generous support from Brig Light of Home Savings & Trust and Helen Krause of Dominion Title.   South of the Border fajitas were devoured, margaritas were consumed, and the pinata produced yummy treats & Starbucks cards!   Add a little music & mood lighting and it  became a fiesta!   The surprise of the evening was the introduction of 2 agents – JoAnn Marcario & Monica Gibson – that brought our total agent count to 100!!!!

Welcome to to this blog!   I hope to introduce you to some of the great events at Keller Williams McLean/Great Falls, and maybe some of my observations about real estate agents!   Thanks for reading!