Tawni's witch finger cookies. Creepy but yummy. 

Despite Kate's look of UDDER boredom, we actually had a really fun time. (Too bad Kate's face wasn't in the cow, then this joke would've made more sense)  Highlights this year were the dog show, the rocking climbing wall, and Anna loved the treats! 

If you order your tickets online type in the discount code "BELLY" to save $2 per ticket. 

Harris Poll EquiTrend® Recognizes Lifestyle Real Estate Brand, Better Homes and Gardens, as Highest Ranked in Real Estate Based on Brand Equity for 2015.

An annual brand equity study which measures various benchmarks in brand health of over 1,400 brands and  across nearly 150 catagories concluded that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate had the highest cumulative scores within the real estate industry nation wide.  Scores measured various elements of each brand including consumers' perception of its familiarity and quality as well as consumer consideration of brand interaction.

We were thrilled to receive this wonderful news which has merely validated what we already knew  which is that the Better Homes and Gardens brand is not just recognized nationwide but widely loved. This is a lifestyle brand that crosses age, race, and gender boundaries and attracts eyeballs 365 days a year regardless of whether that person is in the market to buy or sell at that very moment. This allows us to get our home inventory in front of more people and generate greater interest which results in faster sales for higher prices and our clients love us for it. The best part is our clients love us to keep in touch for years after the sale because we share what they want which is lifestyle. 

For the full press release and greater details click HERE.

We saw this ad and couldn't help but share it. A little boy with a dream. UPS heard about it and made his dream come true. What are your dreams? Do you have the kind of passion that this little boy has?

We are very proud and excited to announce that Influence Real Estate has partnered up with one of the top national real estate firms in the country...wait for it....yes, BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE. The news is finally officially out, the cat's out of the bag, the secret is no longer a secret, and soon you will be seeing our orange signs being replaced with our new Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate signs. 

Why are we so excited you ask? Simple, overnight we now have immediate nation wide exposure for our brokerage as well as for our listings. While Influence Real Estate has been well known locally in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, outside of our local region nobody knows about us. That is no longer the case thanks to our newly formed partnership who's brand touches nearly 40 million people every month, including 1 in 6 adults, 1 in 5 homeowners, and 1 in 4 women. That's exposure for our clients that we as a small boutique brokerage would never be able to provide on our own. You might be thinking, but isn't that a magazine? Yes, it is a magazine that happens to be the #1 lifestyle publication in the world with nearly 40 million readers. It's also a lifestyle brand that is relevant 365 days a year. Other traditional real estate brokerages are relevant only when the consumer is looking to buy or sell which only happens every five years. The BHG brand on the other hand is relevant every day of the year because it specializes in not just selling homes but in lifestyles which is relevant regardless of whether or not you're buying or selling a home. 

What does this mean for our clients? It means when we list your home our marketing efforts wont just be limited to our local market. We now have national reach. It means thanks to the data that Better Homes and Gardens has collected through their online presence and magazine publications we now have information that allows us to predict who is most likely to be interested in your home whether it be a first time home buyer, a move up buyer, or a luxury buyer and we can target market your home to those specific individuals. We call it "Pin Point Marketing" and it's a game changer. It means we no longer have to wait for the potential buyer to come to us, we can predict who the buyer will be and reach out to them. This is big data stuff and something entirely unique to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate that no other brokerage has access to and never will have access to. And our Pin Point Marketing is just one tool of many. 

Within our arsenal of tools are our 3D property tours. Check out an example above. For those mothers with kids this might be a life saver. You might have fewer showings but the showings you do have you know the people will be very interested.  Or maybe you have renters and you don't want to inconvenience them with a countless showings. This tool will help. 

Needless to say we are extremely excited and this is an opportunity we couldn't pass up. We will continue to provide and emphasize exceptional costumer service based on trusting relationships which is what attracted Better Homes and Gardens to us in the first place. Just know that we now have some additional marketing artillery in our back pocket as we move forward representing you and those you refer us to.

We thank you for the support and for sharing in the excitement with us and we look forward to continuing our relationship of professionalism, trust and friendship moving forward. 

With gratitude, 

Joe & Sam Willis
The Willis Group

p.s. Hit us up for a free annual subscription to Better Homes & Gardens the magazine. It's like Pinterest in magazine format. ​

Explore some of the updates on our website which include: 

Do It Yourself Home Improvement Video.
Links to the Better Homes & Gardens Home Improvements, Gardening, Party Ideas, Decorating and more.
Sign up tobecome a member of the Willis Group real estate family and enjoy the benefits which include an annual subscription to the BHG magazine, vendor discounts, client appreciation parties, and a whole slew of benefits.

To those who put their money where there mouth was and supported us this past year, get ready for our special VIP party December 17th! More details to follow. Let's just say our friends in this photo will want you to be there. :)

Above: Han, Darth, Chewy, Luke, Leia, and R2.

The first round of pumpkin carving began tonight at Grandma & Grandpas house with lots of cousins. Grandma's dress up closet would make the Hale Center theater jealous and the kids love every moment of it. How are your Halloween plans coming along?

We all know the prison system doesn't work, but what can we do about it, right?  What's the alternative?Well now you can do something about it and it only take 15 seconds. VOTE for the Reset Foundation.

Reset is demonstrating that by changing the way we do justice, we can empower individuals, families, and communities across the country.

The idea is simple: instead of serving time in a dehumanizing prison environment, a sentenced young adult lives at a Reset campus, focused entirely on academics, career, and healthy living. We create a positive, 24/7 environment that supports a whole participant’s learning and growth. At full scale, Reset campuses are designed to cost no more per participant per year as prison. Learn more at www.theresetfoundation.org.

                           GOOGLE IMPACT CHALLENGE - - TIME TO VOTE
The Reset foundation is currently one of the top 10 finalists for the Google Impact Challenge. Public vote will decide if they get $500K to launch innovative programs for equity and empowerment. 
TO VOTE CLICK HERE: www.vote4reset.org

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