CEO 365 ISSUE 2 NOVEMBER 2019

ceo 3Â 65 Issue 2 | November 2019

CEO STYLE November Must Haves

BRANDON ABIDIN I N T E L L I G E N T M O R T G A G E

5 WAYS TO REVAMP YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE

SOMAYA REECE WILLIAM MICKLEY CYRUS MOHSENI

02

Editor's Note

03

Intelligent Mortgage

05

CEO STYLE

06

Fame & Forbes

09

LinkedIn Love

10

New Twist

11

Standing Out

ceo 3 65 Note from our EditorWhat is CEO 365?

CEO 365, is a leader who creates a system to drive value to their customer every single day. We at CEO 365 live by the 100/20 rule; meaning for every 20 invested we must return 5 times the value. When you live by this your clients will stick with you forever, because they are always receiving more than they give. The 20 does not have to be money, it can be energy, or effort. For every 20 minutes in effort, energy, time, or money our clients invest in us, we must return them 100 of the same. This is done by executing, doing what one says, and leading in the same spirit. CEO 365 not only provides value to the customer, but has a tribe and a culture that does the same. If you love your clients 365 days per year, and give more than they do, you are a CEO 365 . Your results will speak for itself.

Ben Anderson CEO of Ben Anderson 365 Editor of CEO 365

EDITORIAL OFFICE Ben Anderson Editor Shannon Barker Creative Director 9920 Research Drive, Irvine, California 92618 800-874-5134 | info@ba365.live www.benanderson365.com

CEO 365

www.benanderson365.com| 2

There is more to Intelligent Mortgage than just a bowtie and southern charm. Brandon Abidin, President of Intelligent Mortgage in Baton Rouge, Louisina lived through the subprime days and has come out on top.

The early journey that began with a simple credit score, no assets, and an incomplete application has led him to owning the fastest growing and largest independently owned brokerage in Louisiana. With over 20 years of experience, Abidin goes the extra mile to help his clients become homeowners. He is passionate about his family and helping others. His relentless race of sales calls and getting closings done while leaving the client stress free is a testiment to that. Abidin believes in building good relationships and fostering them and providing a good service.

"When you do good things unto others, good things do come".

It's the law of reciprocation, doing good for thousands of homeowners not only gives you clients for life,but referrals too.

Brandon Abidin feels an optomistic outlook is the only way to survive in this industry. It's a very stressful business; there are always hurdles, regulations, changes and things that are just never going to go right so you have to stay positive. A true CEO starts every morning, week, and month over at zero with the same intensity in order to give clients what they need and in order to always stay on top. Abidin wins at everything he does becuase of his undying devotion to always be #1.

"When you do good things unto others, good things do come. " - Brandon Abidin

"Be a true student of the game and master your craft. You must always be one step ahead of your competition at all times."

When it comes to the importance of social media and branding, Abidin knows you must have a presence in the current market.

"If people don't see your name and associate with your industry you won't be able to compete with the tech giants."

www.welendla.com @intelligent_mortgage_muscle

You can find Brandon online at www.welendla.com and on Instagram @intelligent_mortgage_muscle

CEO 365

www.benanderson365.com| Â Â 4

BEATS POWER BEATS PRO APPLE.COM

TED BAKER TOPPED LEATHER DUFFLE NORDSTROM.COM

BROOKS BROTHERS FRANKLIN SPREAD COLLAR CHECK

BROOKSBROTHERS.COM

CEO STYLE NOVEMBER MUST HAVES

TOM FORD OLIVER POLARIZED BLACK NEIMANMARCUS.COM

GUCCI VELVET LOAFER GUCCI.COM

CEO 365

BURBERRY CHECK CASHMERE SCARF BURBERRY.COM

www.benanderson365.com| Â 5

FAME & FORBES THE JOURNEY TO STARDOM

Not every Forbes star has a glamorous upbringing. For

In 2014, after years of yo-yo dieting, Somaya created SLIM

Somaya Reece her journey to success and stardom wasn’t

TEA, her own brand of detox tea. With a $500 investment

pretty. She was a first-generation American raised in South

she created a safe, natural, and effective weight loss tea that

Central Los Angeles, her family was from El Salvador and

helped her go from a size 18 to a size 6. She used her social

came to American in search of the American Dream. They

media platform to build a global empire that earned

were poor, humble, but willing to hustle. Raised in a garage

her company $2.5 million in revenue last year and an article

and taking the bus to work in Beverly Hills, Somaya cleaned

in FORBES.

hotel rooms with her mother to pay the bills. She got her modeling start while working as a maid and was brought to

Being a Female CEO in a male dominated world makes

meet with William Morris agents. Soon after, she immediately

Somaya Reece feel great. For years many women have been

landed 45 national commercials and went on to land a staring

told they cannot stand alone, for Somaya it was an incredible

role on Love and Hip Hop: New York, which brought in over

feeling to break that stigma. Every year there are more

11 million weekly viewers.

women dominating the business world. She says, " We are breaking barriers! I am happy to be one of them."

Somaya Reece was the first and original “social media influencer”, being the most friended independent Latin artist

Prior to the social media influencer explosion. Ad agencies,

on MySpace. She had over 2 million followers and 35 million

commercials and publicity agencies were traditionally the

music streams on her music page. Not realizing it at the time,

only way to get your brand seen. Somaya feels that Social

she was an established pioneer of what would later become

media is now the “new” way to run ads. "A simple Tweet,

a world wide phenomena. She began learning the power of

SnapChat, Instagram, or Facebook post can take you

branding and the internet though her Myspace page.

farther than using an ad agency. "

CEO 365

www.benanderson365.com| 6

According to Somaya, ad agencies are still effective, but social media is THE place to be seen. One post could make you go viral. You could be seen across the world to millions of eyes with the touch of your finger tips, in a matter of seconds. Social media is a free and fun platform . Somaya Reece suggests learning your audience and growing your customer base through honest and memorable content. If she could leave words of wosdom to other female entrepreneurs out there it would be to, "Never let anyone minimize you to just being a woman CEO, you are a CEO and a boss babe! You are powerful. You can do anything you set your mind to. "

by Somaya Reece www.missreece.com @somayareece

"Never let anyone minimize you to being a woman CEO. You are powerful and can do anything you set your mind to do."

-Somaya Reece

Somaya Reece, CEO, Owner, and Creator of Tea-Tox Phenomenon "Get Slim Tea" as seen in Forbes.

CEO 365

www.benanderson365.com| 8 Â Â

TRENDS

SHOW YOUR LINKEDIN SOME LOVE. 5 Ways To Vamp Up Your LinkedIn Profile

by Shannon Barker

PERFECT YOUR HEADLINE 1

2

Your headline is the 120-word line that appears immediately under your name. Use important keywords here that are clear about what you do.

DESIGN A BACKGROUND GRAPHIC This is probably the most overlooked element in LinkedIn. It's the blue stock background behind your profile picture. Use an easy app like CANVA to design a clean graphic with your name or logo on it.

3

SNAP A GOOD PROFILE PICTURE Don't just put in a so-so picture of yourself.

This is the first thing people see when they come to your profile. Avoid a busy backdrop as white is best, make sure your face fills at least 60% of the photo, and of course make sure the image is a representation of the professional CEO that you are.

5

OPTIMIZE YOUR PROFILE'S SEARCH VISIBILITY Like other social media platforms, LinkedIn has an algorithm.There is no silver bullet to take your profile to the top, but there are plenty of things you can do to make yourself more visible: Include relevant keywords in your headline:

EDIT YOUR URL 4

In the upper-right corner of your profile, you'll see "Edit public profile and URL." Click it. This is a chance to tighten and personalize your URL, which will make you easier to find through Google.

CEO 365

Add your city in your profile Insert impressive work samples Complete your contact information Join industry-centric groups

www.benanderson365.com| 9

NEW TWIST TO AN OLD PRODUCT: THE NEW WAY TO MARKET REVERSE MORTGAGES

by William Mickley

A Reverse Mortgage allows Seniors to have the option of making monthly payments or not, and they are not required to make monthly payments for the rest of their life; as long as they live in their home. When a Senior decides to make a monthly payment, that entire amount can be added to their available line of credit for future withdrawal.

The available funds grow by approximately 5% per year and allows Seniors to create a growing nest egg that they can access at any time down the road.

In what ways can you use a reverse mortgage as a financial planning tool?

The Reverse Mortgage is a cash flow tool.

Because Seniors are not required to make monthly payments and they can use it to pay their other bills, they can funnel more money into their tax sheltered retirement accounts to increase their retirement wealth. They can also use it as a tool to purchase their retirement home and forego the need to make monthly payments for the rest of their life.

When selling Reverse Mortgages remember KISS: Keep It Super Simple.

The bottom line is that a Reverse Mortgage is still very much like a normal mortgage in that the Senior still owns their home and their loan accrues interest. The difference with a Reverse Mortgage is that when a Senior does not make a monthly payment, the interest is added to their loan balance.

They can still sell their home at any point or pass on the remaining equity to their kids when they pass away.

What is the best way to market reverse mortgages? Word of mouth is the best way to market Reverse Mortgages. When you find a provider that is trustworthy, it helps to take down barriers and it allows Seniors to clearly see the amazing benefits of the product.

CEO 365

With so many changes affecting reverse mortgage over the past 2 years how have you adjusted your sales tactics to continue to conquer the market? I’ve continued to focus on building relationships with Seniors and Business Partners so that when the right opportunity comes along for a specific Senior, I am right there to present it to them. Staying in touch and being extremely organized is the key to serving each clients specific needs in an ever changing industry.

www.lowcostrm.com @williammickley

www.benanderson365.com| 10

Standing Out THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

by Cyrus Mohseni

CEO 365

The new year is around the corner and innovative marketing strategies continue to be necessary in business and the real estate industry as a whole. Effective marketing triggers an emotional response. Those responses are manifested through our purchases and sales which we justify through logic. Whether you realize it or not, every day you are continually marketing yourself everywhere you go and with everyone you meet.

Remember that saying “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression?” That first impression is what genuine marketing is all about.

Every person you come in contact with will either see you as an expert in your craft or just another person in your industry; and more often than not, this opinion is based solely on your marketing.

What your marketing looks like, what it says, and how it is presented not only decides what everyone thinks, but whether you are successful. Highly successful agents are expert marketers. They know how to use social media properly, they continually prospect new clients, and they constantly innovate.

Contrary to what most of the industry believes, there is more to getting a property sold than simply posting it on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Selling a property requires a tailored marketing plan that takes into consideration the market that surrounds that property.

Drag and drop templates are not enough.

Before shooting the 4K cinematography and high-resolution photos, each individual property

www.benanderson365.com| 11

requires its own plan of action. In the age of social media, “cookiecutter” marketing will not cut it. The difference between a top producing agent and an agent that closes one or two transactions a year is that the top producer will create innovative and individualized marketing campaign.

A top producing agent also understands the importance of using social media in a way that reaches a wider audience and grows their business. Successful agents use social media to market and connect with their base daily. Social media gives you the power to share your message with more people in faster ways than ever before. Our modern culture values easily accessible information. As attention spans continue to shorten, social media allows you to share the information you know and to hold your audiences’ attention for just enough time to convert them into leads. The key to successful social media outreach is quality content.

CEO 365

Many agents in real estate believe they are marketing themselves in a positive way because they post every day or even multiple times a day.

While these agents might believe that they are sharing quality content, the reality is, sometimes less is more.

Remember, people see you and associate you with the level of professionalism known from your marketing. Poor quality videos and photos, or posts riddled with grammatical errors are associated with poor quality service. By adopting professional, innovative, and individualized marketing, you will begin to develop a reputation for being the best in your field! Agents are more likely to stand out when they have structured plans. One of the most common questions I have gotten from new agents is whether it is important to have a plan when sitting down with a potential client. Agents should always have a pre-listing plan along with a marketing plan.

"The difference between a top producing agent and an agent that closes one or two transactions a year is that the top producer will create innovative and individualized marketing campaign."

-CYRUS MOHSENI

www.benanderson365.com| 12

Their marketing plan should include diversified social media outreach, and outreach to local houses, businesses, and schools, as well as their sphere of influence. Before walking into a meeting, ask yourself: “How am I different from the five other real estate agents that will walk through the same door and speak to the same client?” Spoiler alert: It is not your high-quality flyers or brokerage name. The real estate industry has changed during the past fifteen years.

The MLS is 100% online. Companies like Zillow and Redfin have given the power to the client. Within 30 seconds a consumer can pull up market statistics and housing data for any specific property on the market.

So why are you necessary as a real estate agent? The answer is your pre-listing and marketing plan. So, how are you going to multiply the number of eyes that see your listing or product? There are multiple ways to capture leads in real estate.

Every time a new agent joins my team, we go over the different ways. I inform the new agents that the best way to get leads is to do what they do best. For instance, if you are great at meeting new people at events then you should attend more events;but you can refine that skill by creating, memorizing, and practicing a short script.If you are great at creating content and connecting on social media, then focus on this, and refine and polish your posts. If you struggle with social media or content creation, then hire someone to do it for you, it is worth the cost. The most important tip to survive in this digital world is to continue to learn and chase the unknown. Don’t be afraid and embrace it! Social media, technology, and the world around us will continue to change no matter what we do. It is our job to continually adapt and push the boundaries of our industry.

"The real estate industry has changed during the past fifteen years.

The MLS is 100% online. Companies like Zillow and Redfin have given the power to the client."

www.thekeystoneteam.com @cyrusandre

CEO 365

www.benanderson365.com| 13

"CEO 365 is the purpose and passion to to be unstoppable."

BEN ANDERSON CEO of Ben Anderson 365 Editor of CEO 365

CEO 365 | NOVEMBER 2019