Reflection – How I got to where I am today as a Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Sedona Realtor
The original blog was published on November 23, 2015. It was recently updated.
“My 5 Things” (plus 1) refers to what I hold dearest to my heart.
I probably should define a milestone so that I don’t confuse the image with the title of the blog. To me, a milestone is an action or event that marks a significant change or stage of development.”My 5 Things” are what I hold dearest to my heart.
SellSedona.com continues to be a very successful venture helping hundreds of buyers and sellers with their real estate decisions. Most of you know me through my startup domain name eSedona.biz. I started with another brokerage on March 28th of 2011. So this is a milestone in and of itself! As a start-up real estate business, all of us go through changes and we make changes based on what we think is going to bring about success or at least trend that direction. So I have given this a lot of thought as to what has impacted my ability to be successful in reaching my goals and continuing to move forward in this challenging and very competitive occupation. Maybe you will reflect on some of the same things.
As of January of 2017, I decided another change was in order. I am now a Sales Associate at Coldwell Banker Realty – Sedona located at the old “Y”, because of the roundabouts, it is now called the “Figure Eight”. But the “Y” continues to stick with most people.
1. My Health
Health is the cornerstone of my milestones. Can you imagine trying to start a business later in life without having good health? I re-invented myself because I love real estate and I found this to be a vigorous and exciting job. As you probably know, it takes a lot of energy to stay up with the demands of providing a top-quality performance, as my clients expect my attention to detail and that personal touch. Don’t you expect those who work with you to pay attention to your needs? Sometimes we are working 7 days a week trying to get everything done in the time frame we have allotted for our clients’ needs. Without our health, the demands might be too much to handle.
2. I Am A Coldwell Banker Realty Sedona Realtor®
I knew the company I chose had to fit well with my work ethic. Also, the other Realtors had to have high ethical standards and promote a professional image in the community, as they would become my second family. I wanted to work for a broker and owner that treated me as a business owner, not an employee. Also, as a customer, you want to work with a company that is professional, has got brand recognition respect and agents who are the best at what they do.
The support that I get from our entire team is invaluable. When it comes to my clients, they are the true beneficiaries of all the services I offer. I cannot be prouder of the company and the culture of our office and corporate structure.
3. My Husband and Partner
When my husband retired from a mid-level position at UPS and we moved out of California to beautiful Sedona, Arizona, he was able to continue his passion for photography and website design.
I enjoy working with people and want to spend most of my time with my clients. My husband, Rick, compliments my business because we collaborate on our marketing approach. He engages social media, new marketing ideas, and techniques as well as cutting edge web design, and SEO. His real estate photography is among the best photos available. The picture at the top is just one of his landscape pictures. What it does for you is it gives you the best internet experience when looking to buy or sell real estate as well as a great referral network for ideas, service personnel, restaurants, lodging, finding your way around the area, and looking for things to do. Our website and social media presence were designed with you in mind.
4. Marketing and Networking
The biggest commitment I made was 2 years with a local publication. 
Every week I had a quarter-page ad with my picture and logo and once a month I had a half-page color ad. This promoted my business in such a way that it propelled my recognition in the community. Recently, someone said I looked familiar and I told him that I was a local realtor and he said: “that’s it, I have seen you in the local paper!” I got my first luxury listing from that publication. Besides what I mentioned in number two above, I also do print in Homes and Land and Phoenix Magazine on occasion.
Sedona.TV
I have had a TV segment that hits just about all of the hotels and other visitor accommodations as well as the residential area of Sedona and Big Park/Village of Oak Creek. My segment introduced West Sedona information. You can see a portion of the segment here.
Networking and marketing go hand in hand. I decided to join the Sedona Luxury Real Estate Professionals, as it was a big commitment, but a smart decision in the end. I was introduced to a networking venue of professionals who have paramount luxury market knowledge in Sedona. You benefit because I network with the top people in our industry. As an outsider coming into SLREP, I brought a fresh perspective to the group and immediately gained the respect of my associates. In my second year, I became the president of SLREP. As a member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, I bring an entirely different skill level to luxury marketing. You can learn more about my added features at the link above.
I also decided to spend the time becoming a Master Certified Negotiation Expert (MCNE®), another decision that I feel has made a huge impact on my ability to negotiate the best deal for you my customer. There are only a handful of agents in Sedona that are MCNE® and out of the approx. 40,000 agents across Arizona and there are 127 agents total in the state. (These numbers will contract or expand).
I would also throw Virtual Results, Happy Grasshopper, IDX Broker along with Ixact Contact in this category. In this day and age, there is no business without a strong vibrant website and IDX system, and Happy Grasshopper and Ixact Contact give me the ability to communicate with my customers in different ways without overdoing it.
5. Clients ~ Family ~ Friends
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Sedona Realtor®
It’s All About You
Our business IS our clients. I thrive in helping my clients, educating, and staying in touch with them. Many have become my friends. There is such a satisfaction in having a client come to me and thank me for what I did for them. Sure, the commissions are necessary to take care of my family but I go above and beyond because I care about my client. …Just ask one! I mean it when I say I will be there for you from the beginning throughout the transaction and beyond. I am just a phone call away for all questions you have regarding any subject.
My friends and family are very special to me. When I need to dig down and reach for that extra boost of energy I think of my customers, family, and friends. This helps provide the energy I need to get to the next level. Friends and family understand how busy we are and know that we will make time count when we are with them. Don’t you find that to be true about your friends and family as well?
We also enjoy our first grand-baby and are so excited to watch him and the family grow. This is what it is truly all about! He is our little “boo-boo”.
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6. SellSedona.com
In 2016, I changed my main website domain from eSedona.biz to SellSedona.com˚. This was a very big deal. After all, my website is the address where people reach me. It was a very time-consuming move to change all my blog posts and website information to the new domain SellSedona.com. Fortunately, my husband managed the complete change-over.
and how it not only improved traffic to my website but also converted that traffic to clients.
I believe that this was a huge marketing bonus in 2016 and that is why my husband and I made the change. SellSedona.com says exactly what I do. Rick designed this site with tourists and locals in mind. If you go to the Sedona Community under Explore Communities tab, you can scroll down to helpful links such as searching for restaurants, things to do, hotels, resorts, and motels to stay at, etc.. Though this site is great for tourists and locals alike, there should be no confusion going forward!
My niche is out of state buyers and sellers. I know exactly what it is to be from out of the area and contemplating a move to Sedona. I often get questions about lodging, restaurants and things to do. Another area of major concern to most clients is what the weather is like. My husband has an entire domain (Sedona-Weather.com) devoted to our local weather. He is an avid weather nut and has a weather station in our backyard. The stats go back to 2011! I also have a blog section that summarizes our weather monthly or seasonally. You can get a great feel for what to expect if you follow this blog category…Sedona-Weather.
2019
An update on SellSedona.com. This has continued to be a successful venture for me. My WordPress website has been updated a couple of times and I have a lot of traffic every day coming to the website. With all of the security issues surrounding websites and the internet in general, my husband has updated our website to HTTPS. This is a secure version of HTTP. What it means is that all communication from your browser and the website is encrypted.
Besides the premium search engine and IDX platform that is in service, my husband maintains this site on a daily basis. My blogs are featured in ActiveRain and this has made me the number one blogger in Sedona, and all of Northern Arizona. I am also a top 8 blogger in the entire state of Arizona.
Though I actively use social media venues, which you can access on any page of my website, I have started making more and more videos to improve SEO traffic and create more syndication. As noted above, I recently added more social media information that will give you more local information. Also, you can enjoy videos that SellSedona has created. If you are a seller and list your home with me, this is another tool in our marketing portfolio that you benefit from. Here are a few links to find videos easily – Youtube Channel – Vimeo Pro – Blogs with Videos – Aerial Videos.
Remember, there are over 40,000 agents in Arizona and those who chose to blog about real estate and related subject increase their syndication efforts and make it easier for those interested in real estate topics to search out the agents who have the right competencies to meet the clients goals.
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Mae West stayed at the Cottonwood Hotel before she was famous. She spent time in the historic section of Old Town during the heyday of Prohibition. Mae frequented all the Speak-Easy hide-aways up and down Main street. Visit this website to learn more about the history as well as the historic Cottonwood Hotel and dining/bars in the area. (source: Wikipedia) 
Buying a home, especially for the first time, is emotional. You’ve saved and scrimped for months—years even—and now you’ve found the home of your dreams. You’re in love and you don’t want someone else to get it.