Start With A Win

G.J. Reynolds grew up in a solid home, and after high school, he joined the US Army to gain exposure to the world and direction about where he wanted his life to go. He was a part of the early version of Verizon and then became an entrepreneur eventually getting into real estate with RE/MAX because of their reputation for being the best. He continued his entrepreneurial journey in the area of satellite communications and telecom and he was eventually encouraged to simplify his branding, which he took literally. 

Simply G is hyper-focused on simple processes contributing to a specific direction or purpose because if you are unfocused then you are off-track and could become complacent. It is imperative to be focused on the right things and to set yourself up for success in these areas by surrounding yourself with people who complement you and will hold you accountable. In addition to having peers who are your accountability partners, G.J. recommends that you also have a coach or mentor who has walked the path ahead of you and can guide you.

G.J. is considered an influencer, with over 4 million online followers, but he doesn’t consider this his primary means of leadership. He says that a leader is someone who chooses to have an impact, and he finds fulfillment in impacting others in their journeys, inspiring them to focus on their goals and how to get there. The keys to this relationship are grace, openness, honesty, authenticity, vulnerability, and no judgment. Authenticity, specifically, connects the head to the heart and can open many doors for connecting with people.

Recently, G.J. has become involved in building the Women of Faith brand. He says that what he has learned through this experience can be applied to building any brand: it is all about the people, but it does take time. When people catch a glimpse of authenticity and someone being real, they will embrace it, and this connection is what it is all about. Being in touch with the people and conveying a consistent message is the most important part of building anything.

Links:

https://www.womenoffaith.com/

Connect with G:

https://simplyg.com 

https://twitter.com/1SimplyG

https://www.instagram.com/1simplyg/

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

With the advent of new companies that say they can handle the entire buying or selling process for you without a real estate agent, many people have come to believe that they don’t need a real estate agent to be able to buy or sell their home. On this episode of the Start with a Win podcast, Adam and Mark outline the specific advantages of using a real estate agent – specifically one from RE/MAX – and what you are missing out on if you decide to go it alone. So much of the benefit derived from a real estate agent is the relationship they build with you and their desire to understand your needs.

Think first about the benefits of a real estate agent’s knowledge of the industry, your specific market, their ability to decipher and translate appraisal and inspection reports, and their expertise in the area of negotiation. That human touch of someone who is familiar with your geographic area, the status of the market as a whole, and simply guiding you through the process that might be foreign to you is unmatched by online services because a computer can only work so hard for you. The algorithms and predictive analytics they base their services on are one-dimensional and not created for the benefit of the consumer. 

When it comes to selling your home, a full-time real estate agent is able to consider the many variables of your situation to recommend a price that will maximize your home’s value in the marketplace. They will take this recommended price and build the strongest listing they can for you before officially listing your home on the MLS. They can provide suggestions for small changes in the interior appearance and curb appeal of your home that can make a big difference during showings.

In terms of buying a home, your real estate agent anticipates your needs and shows you what to look at in a home. Do you have kids? Do you have a pet? How close do you want to be to the neighborhood pool? Is this home in a flight path? How close do you want to be to a specific grocery or other stores?

Essentially, when you are buying a home, you are buying happiness. You want an expert real estate agent who is experienced, like a RE/MAX agent who – an average – completes twice as many transactions per year as agents at other companies. You want an agent who will go through the sales contract line by line to help you understand the fees and costs involved as well as dispel any unnecessary costs or inclusions that are not in your best interest. 

In short, an expert fulltime real estate agent is the best option for you because of their:

• Education and experience
• Price guidance
• Negotiation skills
• Commitment to you

Links:

 Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Our guest on this episode of the Start with a Win podcast is Bob Tompkins, RE/MAX agent from Greenville, South Carolina, and marketing aficionado. In fact, in the week since its release, Bob’s music video parody of “Old Town Road” has amassed more than 800,000 views. 

Bob’s parents are both Realtors, and 3 years ago Bob got into real estate as well and he has found great success in the industry. Bob is an advocate of developing a strong personal brand to build awareness, and he has been able to let his customers come to him rather than using old school methods like buying leads or cold calling. By being a presence on social media and in the community, he is recognized as an expert in real estate in upstate South Carolina and remaining top of mind for most people in the community drives his business organically.

He is one of the handfuls of real estate agents who have embraced the video platform and he uses a straightforward and genuine approach to educate and entertain his customers. He is proving that a well-thought-out and the well-implemented video does not have to be high budget in order to be effective, and while he has invested in some professional equipment in the past few months, the key with video content is to just get it out there. Video is a long game of consistently getting in front of potential clients until they are in a position to buy or sell a house and you are the first person they think of. 

Bob is inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk and Ricky Carruth when it comes to building his brand and focusing on relationships and by his dad day-in and day-out to be the best he can be. His latest endeavor is his podcast “Real Talk” which is growing and further building his brand awareness. Bob’s key to starting every day with a win is being the first call, text, email, or message of the day to your clients.

Links:

“Crushing It” by Gary Vaynerchuk: https://www.amazon.com/Crushing-Great-Entrepreneurs-Business-Influence/dp/0062674676

Connect with Bob:

https://www.facebook.com/BetterCallBobTompkins/

https://www.instagram.com/bobtompkinsrealtor/

https://www.youtube.com/user/bobtompkins93

http://bobtompkins.greenvillemoves.com/

 Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Our special guest on this episode of the Start with a Win podcast is Tony Drees, a Desert Storm veteran, Purple Heart recipient, life coach, motivational speaker, podcast host, and Executive Director of Veterans Passport to Hope. Tony has undergone 74 surgeries in the years since his combat injury and recently lost his right leg to amputation. He has received some recognition over the years for being a war hero, including a spotlight in People Magazine after his 58th surgery. 

Tony was heavily impacted by his adoptive parents and the empowerment they demonstrated to their many adopted and foster children, and this influence in conjunction with his military service and the adversity he has faced led him to come up with these 3 rules to live by:

1. No lies – Do not believe the lies that people say about you and what you can accomplish.
2. No excuses – Pursue your own expertise and decide how to live your life.
3. Never quit – Do not believe in limitations but stick with what you have set your mind to.

Veterans Passport to Hope began in 2012, and they pursued Tony to be the Executive Director after becoming acquainted with him through an award they gave him. The purpose of the organization is three-fold: (1) Advocacy, (2) Cooperation, and (3) Fundraising. VP2H does not provide services, but rather provides recommendations for veteran groups and maintains an extensive grant process for awarding funds to those organizations.

Tony starts every day by practicing gratefulness and he welcomes change when it comes, seeing it as a new inevitable adventure. He believes that everyone has a superpower, which is usually the thing that people “accuse” you of as if it is a bad thing. Inspired every day by his children, he says that the key to success is to “manage your beliefs and you can manage your results.”

Links:

“The Magic of Thinking Big”: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Thinking-Big-David-Schwartz/dp/0671646788/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PYSOXUOLW8IE&keywords=magic+of+thinking+big&qid=1557933130&s=gateway&sprefix=magic+of+thinkin%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1 

Connect with Tony:

https://www.vp2h.org

https://www.instagram.com/superpower.institute/

https://classes.superpower.institute/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shock-awe-2-0-saluting-veterans-with-grace/id1459893480 

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Do you ever feel like there is a slow leak in your productivity throughout the day? It can be so easy to lose focus and get distracted by social media, reading the news, watching “just one” episode of a show, March Madness. But on this quick episode of Start with a Win, Adam gives some suggestions for preventing this productivity leakage:

• Build in some accountability by convincing yourself that wasting time is wrong
• Just try to be more committed to focusing – it will make a difference
• Set up a system of time blocking and stick to it
• Work on your emotional maturity and choice management
• Try a technique like the “pomodoro” technique – focus on the task at hand with no distractions and then take a 5-minute break
• Use an app like Focus@Will

Links:

Pomodoro Technique: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique 

Focus@Will: https://www.focusatwill.com/

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXadamcontos/

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

Ruben Gonzalez is a 4-time Olympian in the sport of luge, and he talks with Adam about the winding road that brought him to where he is today. Ruben has dreamt of participating in the Olympics since he was 10 years old, but after riding the bench in soccer throughout high school, he realized that he needed to find a different sport. Always one to accept a new challenge and never back down, he decided to pursue a sport that has a high turnover rate due to injuries: luge.

Living in Houston, he knew he would need to train elsewhere, so he wrote a letter to Sports Illustrated and – surprisingly – received a response. He talked to a coach in Lake Placid, New York, about his ambitions, and was laughed at for attempting to start an Olympic career from scratch at the age of 21. However, as Ruben told the coach his life story and mentioned that he was born in Argentina, the coach suddenly got excited and agreed to coach him if he would compete for Argentina. The sport of luge had been declining in participation, but an athlete from South America would breathe new life into the sport.

After cramming 10 years of training into 2, Ruben qualified for his first Olympics. The lessons he learned began with that first phone call, which instilled in him the importance of perseverance. Over the years, he also learned to be mentally tough in preparing for the fight ahead of him, from the next curve to the next race. On a daily basis, Ruben writes down his goal (which right now is “Beijing 2022”) and he focuses entirely on doing whatever needs to be done to get there. Specifically, he works in 90-minute increments which allows him to be extremely disciplined and productive with a sole focus during that time without being tempted by distractions.

Ruben tells the story of his coach telling him after 20 years that he is still too tense. Ruben changed his focus from avoiding the walls on either side of him to a spot 30 feet in front of him, putting on blinders to not even acknowledge the presence of the walls and instead just keep his gaze ahead. He describes this concept of “changing the focus changed the experience” in the business sense as well, encouraging listeners to consider focusing on what is in their sphere of influence rather than being distracted or discouraged by what is going on around them.

Finally, Ruben simply states the key concepts that he wishes to convey to listeners: be a student of success by reading biographies and focusing on personal development and by carefully deciding who you spend time with. Those who you allow to speak into your life have the potential to greatly help or harm you.

Links:

“Think and Grow Rich”: https://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Landmark-Bestseller/dp/1585424331

Connect with Ruben:

Website: https://ruben-gonzalez.com/

“The Courage to Succced” book: https://www.amazon.com/Courage-Succeed-Unlikely-Four-Time-Olympian/dp/0975554719/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2SVVWBFZ10H3R&keywords=ruben+gonzalez&qid=1557076578&s=gateway&sprefix=ruben+gon%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-5

“Dream, Struggle, Victory” book: https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Struggle-Victory-Olympian-Realize/dp/0975554751/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_5?keywords=ruben+gonzalez+olympian&qid=1557076685&s=gateway&sr=8-5-fkmrnull

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

On this episode of the Start with a Win podcast, Adam and Mark talk about building your own personal and/or professional brand. Now “branding” has become a buzzword in today’s business world, but most people do not adequately grasp what is means to build a brand, so they aren’t reaping any of the benefits. For the purposes of this episode, we will define your brand as “the thoughts and emotions evoked when people think about you.”

Your brand should encompass your values, persona, passions, and focuses in whatever industry you are serving. This needs to be define-able and easy for people to understand, so sit down and really take the time to think about what you want your brand to include. Consult some of your friends and colleagues, and perhaps even go through a 360-degree evaluation process to see how others perceive you. This will help you determine how to tailor your image or and begin to live out your brand through social media and your other platforms.

Once you have found your brand, reach out to people who can help you with things like a logo, a website, business cards, etc. as you prepare your content. Based on your brand, determine what types of content you should create, how it should be distributed, and what platforms should be used. It is crucial to understand that you cannot post the same video on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn because each of those platforms encourages specific content types and elicits different interactions or engagements from your audience. You also must recognize that “doing Facebook” does not mean scrolling through your news feed and liking one of your clients’ statuses and calling it a day. You would be amazed how easy it is to set up Facebook ads to promote your brand, and the results from just a $5 ad could bring in several new leads with minimal effort on your end.

After this episode, Adam challenges you to build your personal or business brand. Go to a freelancing site and hire someone to help you with the deliverables you aren’t strong in, and just launch into the world as a well-defined value-creator.

Links:

360 rating site: https://www.selfstir.com/

Freelancing: https://www.fiverr.com

Freelancing: https://www.upwork.com/

Brand Viva Media: www.brandvivamedia.com

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/adamcontosREMAXCEO/ 

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/ 

“Opportunities look like threats because they are if you do nothing with them.” When you come to a fork in the road and you are faced with the decision to do something or not do something, how do you look at that decision? Do you see the road before you as an opportunity, filled with abundance and creating value for you and your clients? Or do you perceive it as a threat, characterized by pessimism?

In life and in business, it is important that you be in the right mindset to accept and adapt to your new situation, always being ready to eliminate threats and capitalize on opportunities. Once you grasp these concepts for yourself, you have the unique ability to coach your client through this same process, providing them with value beyond their limited interactions with you. RE/MAX takes this idea seriously, even offering the Momentum Training Program for agents through RE/MAX University.

Links:

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/