CDPE Certified Instructor Jeff Firnstahl has been a full-time Realtor® since 1976, and is the broker owner of Team Firnstahl Real Estate Services. For three years, he served on the board of directors for the North Metro Realtors Association. Finrstahl has been designated a STAR POWER® Star, handling at least 200 transactions or $35 million in total volume per year. He is also a national speaker and trainer on topics such as: Customer Service Disney Style; Effective Team Building; Expired Listings; Geographical Farming; and Listing Presentations. An iSucceed Mentor, Firnstahl leads Team Firnstahl with his wife Koreen in Andover, Minnesota.

What are your greatest life achievements?

I have been selling real estate full time since 1976. In 2007, my wife Koreen and I were selected as one of Howard Brinton's STAR POWER Stars. This honor has been one of the top highlights of my career. I have always had a passion for sharing ideas, and STAR POWER has been an excellent way to accomplish sharing those ideas on a much larger stage.

CDPE follows along with that same concept of sharing valuable, timely information that not only will change the lives of the real estate agents, but also the families they save from foreclosure.

What is your favorite part about teaching the CDPE?

There is no better feeling for an instructor than knowing that 100 students in class can go out and save literally thousands of families from the foreclosure.

Tell us your most moving CDPE moment.

The cards and letters I've received since teaching the CDPE course mean so much to me, learning about the lives that I've helped. Here is an excerpt of a card I received from a top-producing agent in Florida:

Most importantly, you instilled in me a new desire to move forward through this market. While I have always been a top producer, I must admit, I had been intimidated by the distressed market. Now I have the confidence and knowledge to move forward and provide the assistance my sellers truly need.

What does helping people mean to you?

I love to see people grow! Ideas are like seeds, if you spread enough of them, some are likely to take root and grow. Then it's fun to hear the stories of success unfold over the years. That's what life is all about: giving!