AUGUST 2015 SAN DIEGO

EXECUTIVEAGENT MAGAZINE

Gordon & Diane

KANE

Executive Agents of the Month

Inside Features: Rafi Gorges Realty Executives Metamery Simon Met Realty Group

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contents

Southern California’s Publication for the Real Estate Professional

ExecutiveAgent

Magazine

August, 2015

San Diego

Editorials

Cover Story

08 - Rich Casto:

Empowering Your Agents

22 - Bob Corcoran:

Pit-Stop Of Success: The MidYear Review

Fred Arrias Executive Publisher PO Box 73384 San Clemente, CA 92673 Ph: (949) 366-3349 Fax: (949) 266-8757 Email: Info@eamag.net Web: www.EAMag.net

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

32 - RVM:

Choose To Enjoy Life

City of Hope..................................35

06 - Walter Sanford:

Is Technology On The Web Just Another Poorly Planned Open House?

26 - Chris Widener: Create Your Past...

Greenpath Funding.........................29 imortgage....................................2 i Photography Studio.................21 - 24 Kinecta Federal Credit Union......11 - 25 PWAOR..........................................10 The Termite Guy.............................28

15 Gordon & Diane Kane Executive Agents of the Month

30 - Dirk Zeller:

Accomplish Team Training Through Monkee See Monkey Do

Marketing Director: Frank Arrias Editorial Manager: Trudy Van Graphic Designer: Garon T. Arrias Photography: i Photography Studio, Ian Wiant, Rob Paino Writers: Lalaena Gonzalez–Figueroa, Shannon Hartsoe, Haley Freeman, Steven McReynolds

04 Rafi Gorges

Veterans United ..............................36

12 Metamery Simon

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

© Copyright 2015 Executive Agent Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Executive Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors.

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E XECUTIVE AGENT

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afi Gorges never forgot what it felt like when he went out with his parents to shop for their first home – the excitement of looking at new places, imagining each bedroom as his own and what it would be like to play in the yard. That early experience inspired

him to choose a career helping those same dreams come true for a new generation of families.

Rafi comes from an entrepreneurial family who own convenience stores, and he worked in the family businesses during high school and college. After graduating from USD with his business degree, he opened his own convenience store, but sold it a year later. “It felt like jail to me, being there for so many hours. I never forgot how exciting it was looking at properties. So at 24, I got my real estate license.”

In time, Rafi made the decision to join Realty Executives, where his good friend and top producing agent, Mike Aon, was already well-established.

Rafi benefited from Mike’s mentorship and was motivated by the positive energy in the office.

Today Rafi is a top-producing agent in his own right, a certified distressed property expert and a member of the 100% Club.

“Agents here have many years of experience that I’ve absorbed and still learn from on a daily basis.

Realty Executives has really good technology systems, a strong brand and a customer service focus.”

The Freedom to Succeed If you ask Rafi what he loves most about real estate, he will tell you it is freedom. “I love the freedom for myself – having my own schedule and being able to drive around and meet people.

But I also love succeeding for my clients, seeing their satisfaction when they find the home of their dreams. Home ownership is a vehicle to financial freedom, and it is gratifying to help people build wealth.”

Rafi Gorges ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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Building Memories That Last a Lifetime Written by Haley Freeman

Rafi constantly educates himself about the industry, staying up-to-date on market trends, regulations, contracts and lending guidelines.

“You have to be aware of what’s going on in the market, and you’ve got to understand money. I work with a lot of investor clients, and I understand cap rates and what kind of property yields a good investment. I’m not afraid to tackle a 1031 Exchange transaction and have X amount of days to find another property. I understand that to sell a property and not have another property identified to buy can have huge tax consequences. I have the expertise to help investors through the process, and I’ve helped a lot of individuals make a lot of money.”

Drawing on Early Lessons “One of the main things I remember as a kid when my parents were buying our house was how antsy my parents would get when the agent they were trying to work with took hours to return their phone call. As a result of that experience, I am very responsive and make sure I get back to people right away. If a client calls at 8 o’clock at night, I feel I need to respond. Sometimes I feel like a doctor.

As a parent, if you’re worried about your child, you want to be able to call and get an answer right away. There is a lot of stress and emotions involved in buying a home, so if someone wants to talk at night so they can sleep better, I’m here to provide that service.”

Now Rafi is building a home and great memories for his own family. He and his wife, Hilda, recently welcomed their first baby, Adelyn. “I can’t wait to play sports with her and read to her. We spend a lot of time with my family and my wife’s family. It brings such joy to me to see our family all together whatever the occasion is.”

Rafi observed early on that a good agent is also a sincere listener. “Sometimes you think you know things. But it’s important to be patient and listen to what people are really saying to you. Then you will know what they are looking for and be responsive to that need. I like to do the right thing for my clients, and for the other agent. I like people, and I want to help them make the right choice for their family.”

Rafi Gorges Realty Executives 1125 W. Olive St., Suite A San Diego, CA 92103 Tel: 619-504-2041 RafiGorges@cox.net RafiGorges@RealtyExecutives.com Web: www.RafiGorges.com CalBRE # 01703837

Rafi puts the greatest share of his marketing efforts into maintaining genuine relationships with everyone he already knows and has done business with. “We stay in touch and become friends. I send cards and email blasts, and a monthly magazine. People don’t forget about me.

The majority of my success comes from my focus on customer service.”

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IS TECHNOLOGY ON THE WEB JUST ANOTHER POORLY PLANNED OPEN HOUSE?

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ell you guys, It’s happening again. We’ve got a new spider web for real estate buyers and sellers. You know, one more to add to our long list of up-time, open houses, non-solicited personal referrals and walk-ins. There will be many that will argue with me that all of the above mentioned lead generations have been profitable one time or another, but one thing is true with all of the above and that is they require a decision of the client to interact with you and not visa versa. These are all methods called passive prospecting or passive lead generation. Basically you build your web and you wait for your client. In fact, the new vernacular is to make your web site sticky!

For 25 years I have tried to add value to every clientagent relationship. Whether the lead was pro-actively obtained or passively obtained. I have found that the dividing line between top producers and low producing real estate agent is usually that the low producers depend on a passive form of lead generation without good interaction skills and have no pro-active methods to obtain leads.

Iam worried that the web will become just another poorly planned open house.

I believe it is the brokers’ and managers’ responsibility to hold their real estate agents at a much higher competence level. They must make sure that there is a business plan in place to effect the client’s lives for the better not just order takers. Remember there are web sites much bigger than any of us will hope to be that are going to be professional order takers.

What we must learn as we have in the past, is we must turn our passive lead generation activities into client pleasing activities and supplement the business with more pro-active activities.

We have taken the open house and shaken it up over the last few years. My students have learned how to:

• We have added additional advertising sponsored by affiliated lenders so that more people will be able to find the open houses.

• We have had multiple open houses in the usual time of 12:00-3:00 so that each open house is shorter but more people will be able to see different homes.

• Lastly, we have implemented follow-up campaigns including thank-you notes and search systems supplied to the potential buyers.

This takes the usual passive open house and turns it into a pro-active prospecting client pleasing and helpful activity. We are doing the same with the Internet. No longer should a real estate agent be encouraged to have a web site that does not pro-actively change the client’s life.

It’s no longer good enough to build your web site, have pretty pictures and have your listings on there and hope that someone will contact you. It is time that we built complete business plans around our web sites.

For instance, maybe have a section on absentee owners.

The real estate agent would call and write to absentee owners and direct them to the web site for copies of rental applications and other services supplied to people who own real estate in the real estate agent’s town but do not live there. Or maybe a section on alternative agent compensation programs that will educate the clientele on different ways that they can pay for a real estate agent’s services.

The bottom line is the days of waiting for an incoming phone call from an ad, a walk-in, or someone at an open house is over. The Internet and a real estate agent’s personal web site should not be just more of the same. Let’s build ancillary services around these contact points and fill them with value.

• Notify all of the clients surrounding the open house, including the agent’s database so they will all be excited about the open house.

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Written By Walter Sanford ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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Written by Rich Casto

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Empowering Your Agents reat recruiters are great coaches. They have a great sense of the business and pass that knowledge to their agents. This will be the first of a series of articles that address critical areas that agents need coaching in. It is called The Empowerment Series.

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you. Then we will come up with a counter offer price. At that time, I will gather all the evidence possible that proves that your counter offer makes your house the best house at that price in the entire area. I will attach this evidence (comparables) to the counter offer.”

One of the most crucial skills sellers’ want from their agent is the ability to negotiate. Most agents have no strategy. No strategy means it is not addressed in the listing presentation. This makes the agent vulnerable to discounting agents.

“I will put a cover letter on the counter offer, covering a few items: 1. Thanking the buyers for their offer.

2. Letting them know their agent is working hard for them and has earned my respect.

3. Letting them know that our counter offer, based on the evidence attached, makes the property the best house in the area for this price. And to please review the offer with their agent.

4. Telling them that the sellers (you guys) are very thankful for the offer and want to insure that all parties are pleased with the contract and want to create a win-win.”

Below is actual dialogue that is based on principle: “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, the most critical piece in the process of getting your home sold is the negotiation. Let me specifically detail how I will negotiate an offer on your home.”

“When we receive an offer I will immediately call the buyer’s agent and thank them for their hard work.

Commend them for a job well done, recognizing the fact that it takes a lot of hard work to find the right home for buyers and also to go through the contract process. I will also commend them for making the offer on (my sellers’) home.

“I want to enroll the other agent. We want to make this a win-win situation. Most agents negotiate win-lose or they have no negotiating strategy at all. Did the other agents explain their specific negotiating strategy? Wouldn’t you agree that this is the most important part of getting you the highest price?”

“Ok, back to this offer. I will let the agent know that we will get back to them promptly.”

“No matter what the offer looks like, even if it is way too low of a price, we do not have to get upset. The reason? We don’t have to sell it for that price!”

“Mr. and Mrs. Seller, wouldn’t you agree this is by far the best way to get the highest price for your home? Did the other agents demonstrate their skill and understanding in negotiation? Would you agree the ability to negotiate could get you 2, 3, 4 or 5% more for your home? So, you may be getting a listing fee discount of 1%, but it may cost you much more on what you actually receive from selling your home.”

If you want your agents to have more value in the listing presentation coach them to be more skillful. That is the value you should bring to your agents. Provide that kind of value and you will stop recruiting, and start attracting.

Rich Casto is Founder of Rich Casto & Company, The Real Estate Coaches, The Leading Management and Recruiting Solutions Experts. © 2008, Rich Casto.

All rights reserved. For information contact FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@FrogPond.com; http://www.FrogPond.com.

“At that point, I will show you a snapshot of the market, both houses sold and those currently in competition with

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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匀䄀嘀䔀 吀䠀䔀 䐀䄀吀䔀 䄀一䐀 倀刀伀唀䐀䰀夀 倀刀䔀匀䔀一吀匀

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刀䔀䜀䤀匀吀䔀刀 䘀伀刀 䔀䄀刀䰀夀 䈀䤀刀䐀 倀刀䤀䌀䤀一䜀 一伀圀 圀圀圀⸀䔀倀刀伀一䄀刀⸀䌀伀䴀⼀一䄀刀ⴀ吀䔀䌀䠀ⴀ䔀䐀䜀䔀⼀䄀一䄀䠀䔀䤀䴀

Turn to Kinecta – Let’s build solid financial futures together.

With a vast array of mortgage products, Kinecta has an option that will fit your client’s financial situation and provide homeownership longevity. As your local lender, Kinecta understands the market in which you work and your clients live.

Contact me today!

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Mgr. Mortgage Loan Sales NMLS# 38025 direct: 949.253.5337 | fax: 949.293.1237 Erik.Jenner@kinecta.org www.kinecta.org/ejenner

Visit the Kinecta booth at: OCAR Expo, November 2, at UC Irvine and NAR Expo, November 13-16 at the San Diego Convention Center

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18169-06/15

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Written by Haley Freeman

Metamery Simon ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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“My full name is Metamery Simon, but my friends call me ‘Met’ for short. I definitely consider myself an entrepreneur, and my focus is success in all aspects of my life.”

A conscientious and enthusiastic professional, Met has dedicated himself to excellence from an early age, and by means of his tenacity and optimism, he has had a positive impact on the lives of many people. His clients describe him as “persistent and responsive,” “very honest and knowledgeable,” and as having “a positive attitude.”

Met knew from childhood that he wanted to be a business owner. He began his career working at a credit union, where his friendly and genuine approach to customer service helped him advance professionally. He was promoted to the position of mortgage loan officer, where he enjoyed working directly with people to facilitate positive change in their lives. Always the entrepreneur, Met then obtained his real estate license, and for a while he excelled at doing both. But at the turning point in the economy, Met decided to give his full attention to real estate in order to be most effective.

Believing in Himself True to his optimistic nature, Met strategically used his time during the challenging recession years to invest in himself and create new opportunities for the future. “I decided to go back to school for web design and development. I knew I could use those skills in my real estate business or any other business. I worked for a marketing company for a year after I graduated to get intel on how internet marketing works.”

Armed with new skills and a renewed passion for real estate, Met turned his attention back to the market and then opened his own, boutique brokerage, Met Realty Group.

Now he is living his childhood dream of owning his own company, while helping others achieve their dreams of home ownership.

Met is putting his refined marketing skills to good use, building personalized websites for clients and promoting their homes through all channels of social media. “Part of my background is multimedia graphic design, so I also know how to do postcards and newsletters. I do all I can to market online and offline to help a client sell their home as quickly as possible.” Met continues to invest in

himself through education, always improving the level of service he can offer to clients. He has obtained several professional designations, including the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR); Seller Representative Specialist (SRS); and Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) certifications. “I listen to a lot of podcasts and e-books about personal development. I try to do that as a daily ritual.”

He is also intent on building a team of like-minded professionals, providing coaching and support based on what he has learned in over a decade in the industry. “Lately I’ve been listening to Napoleon Hill. He said, ‘The starting point of all achievement is desire.’ If you really desire something and keep doing it, it’s going to happen. My goal now is to expand my team and grow it. I’m passionate about my job and what I’m doing in life, and I want to help others to be successful, too.” Met continues to work with his long-time friend and mentor, Michael Francisco, who is a loan officer at Kinecta Federal Credit Union. “We’ve worked together for over 15 years, and I know his character and that he can get the job done.”

Helping Others Find Happiness In his personal time, Met enjoys spending time with his family. He also loves sports and enjoys playing football and basketball. “I love being in a business where I can free up the time to do the things I enjoy in life.”

But Met’s greatest passion in life is helping other people.

“If someone needs me, I’ll be here for them and will provide the superior service they’re looking for. I’m definitely passionate about my real estate business. My business is about client service. I believe in giving back to my clients and going above and beyond. By helping others find happiness, I find my own.”

Metamery Simon Met Realty Group 4858 Mercury St., #214 San Diego, CA 92111 Tel: 858-733-0747 Email: Met@metrealty.net Web: www.MetRealty.net CalBRE # 01772686

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Nomination Form Nominate a fellow REALTOR速 to be featured in one of our feature stories; on the cover as Executive Agent of the Month, or as a special feature story. All candidates must be nominated by a real estate professional. The selection process includes a questionnaire, personal interview, reference check and final approval by the Advisory Council. Candidates are evaluated based upon professionalism, length of service and uniqueness of story, as well as industry and community involvement.

I Nominate: Name_______________________________ Company___________________________ Address____________________________ _____________________________________ City, State, Zip_____________________ _____________________________________ Phone______________________________ Email_______________________________ Submitted By: Fax/Email nomination to: Executive Agent Magazine PO Box 73384 San Clemente, CA 92673 Fax: 949.266.8757 Email: Info@eamag.net Tel: 949.366.3349

Name_______________________________ Company___________________________ Phone______________________________ Email_______________________________

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Cover Story

Gordon & Diane

KANE

Executive Agents of the Month

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Gordon & Diane Kane “Raising Real Estate to an Art Form” Written by Haley Freeman - Ian Wiant Photographer

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ordon & Diane Kane are artists in every sense of the word, from the great passion they show for their work, to their painstaking attention to detail. They are progressive, dynamic professionals who bring their combined gifts to every transaction at TeamKane Realty, where they have been offering their clients a rewarding and unique real estate experience for over 20 years.

Born in a small town near Toronto, Gordon began selling real estate in Canada in the ‘60s. After immigrating to the U.S., he made his way to California in 1969.

He diversified his professional experience by going to work in financial services and mortgage lending, a fortuitous choice that caused his path to cross with Diane’s. “I was helping her sister refinance a property in San Diego,”

Gordon recalls, “and she introduced me to her sister who had just arrived from Spain. I met Diane, and from that moment on we were pretty much a couple.”

“My degree was in Fine Art and Interior Design. I taught English in Spain, and I was also a photo journalist for a newspaper in Valencia,” Diane says. “My drawings were printed along with my photos. It was an inspirational place to be an artist and photographer. When Gordon’s sister introduced us, we both had photography and art in common.”

“My artistic passion is photography,” Gordon says.

“My work has been exhibited and sold in art shows. We shoot professional-quality photos of all of our listings, highlighting their best features.”

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Gordon and Diane have now been married for 32 years.

Diane obtained her real estate license while she was a teacher, and after she and Gordon relocated to San Diego in 1992, she began selling real estate full-time while Gordon was a mortgage banker. In 2002 they opened their own real estate franchise, and then in 2007, the duo opened their own, boutique brokerage, TeamKane Realty.

From Multi Media to Social Media Diane is a pioneer in home staging. With her fine art/ interior design background and a talent for making things beautiful, she saw the opportunity to combine her greatest passions and bring more value to sellers by helping them to organize and beautify their homes in preparation for sale. This process also sets the stage for the creation of striking photos that further showcase each home’s most outstanding features.

Once Gordon and Diane obtain these artful photos, they know exactly how to leverage them to generate maximum client exposure. A lifelong techie, Gordon is adept at uploading photos and other marketing data to the website he built and maintains, as well as promoting on social media.

Further evidence of their progressive approach to real estate is their ongoing commitment to training and education. In spite of having been involved in many hundreds of transactions in both real estate and lending, the Kanes believe they can never learn it all. “We never stop learning by reading and attending seminars,” Diane says. “We attend a lot of webinars. There’s always something new and exciting to learn. Every transaction is so uniquely different. It keeps our profession interesting and exciting, even after all these years.”

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TeamKane Realty Diane has earned several designations that help Team Kane deliver customer service that is extraordinary.

Among them, the CRS, which can be likened to the PhD of real estate; and the SFR short sale and foreclosure designation. “A CRS requires hundreds of closed transactions and a lot of course work and tests. Getting through it took a lot of knowledge, time and patience,” Diane says.

“Gordon has been a Broker since 1987 and is a designated SRES, a specialist in addressing the special needs of seniors.”

Selling With Your Ears Gordon and Diane are exceptional connectors, whose zest for life and love for people turn clients into friends. They are united in their goals and commitment to giving every client a memorable real estate experience. Their love and trust for one another comes shining through, giving their clients absolute confidence in their representation.

“I think the fact that we are both in the same business and share the same clients keeps us enthusiastic. The way we

relate to each other is just a regular part of our lives. Gordon has such a strong work ethic. He is willing to work day and night to take care of his clients. I also appreciate his honesty and integrity,” Diane says.

“We always think of our clients first,” Gordon says.

“We don’t think about the money. Diane has a very calm manner and is especially good with first-time homebuyers who have never been through the process. She helps them to have confidence and feel comfortable working with us.

Working as a couple, we are both able to jump in the car to show property. Together we can handle a lot of business and work very efficiently.”

The Kanes are always there to facilitate the goals and happiness of clients, not to “sell” them a house. “I can’t make somebody buy a house – they have to love it and want to live in it,” Gordon explains. “When we show a property, we step back and let them look at it. My philosophy is, ‘Sell with your ears, not with your mouth.’ We really listen to our clients.”

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However, the Kanes don’t remain silent when their clients’ best interests are on the line. Gordon continues, “We are very honest in our dealings and opinions. Our clients may not want to hear everything we have to say, but we want them to have all of the information so they can make the most informed decisions.”

Gordon and Diane invite their clients to speak up about their experience by surveying everyone after a transaction. 98% of their clients have rated the Kanes a 10 out of 10 – an extraordinary result that reflects the quality of care they are giving every day.

Other agents also appreciate their knowledge and professionalism, in some cases even accepting lower purchase bids from clients the Kanes represent, because they know when the Kanes are on the job, the transactions close. Gordon and Diane are also generous supporters of the community. The causes they are most passionate about include both dog and horse rescue groups, as well as those that support veterans, like the Wounded Warrior Project.

Changing With the Times Gordon and Diane embrace all of the efficiencies that technology offers, from e-signing closing documents to storing files on the Cloud. When they travel or visit the “living art project” beach home they built in Rosarito,

Mexico, they love being able to jump on their IPad or computer to see to the needs of the people at home who are counting on them. “We want to make sure they’re taken care of,” Gordon says. “No one else has the same sense of urgency we do.”

“We think that in the future, real estate will be completely paperless, and we’re hoping that will happen very soon,” Diane says.

“When we started, all listings were published weekly in listing books and distributed to agents by the local real estate board. Agents controlled listings 100 percent.

There was no transparency back then. Now 90% of home searches begin on the internet. Our clients call us after seeing a listing online, have driven by, and are now ready to see inside. It’s incredible.”

Diane adds, “Buyers are much more informed today.

They have already seen the comparables. They know the history of the property and have access to all of the information. I think it’s great. In real estate, you need to be creative to put a transaction together and find what buyers are really looking for. It’s fun to get to use that creativity every day.”

“This is a fantastic industry that we love,” Gordon says, “and we love changing with the times.”

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Gordon Kane Broker, SRES Diane Kane Realtor, CRS, SFR TeamKane Realty, LLC Ph: 619-980-4673 GordonMKane@gmail.com DianeKane@gmail.com www.TeamKaneRealty.com CalBRE # 00598818 – 00992793

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Pit-Stop Of Success: The Mid-Year Review

know you Realtors® do a lot of driving so here’s a driver’s ed question for you: When you’re driving, how often should you check your rear-view mirror? A. Once every three minutes. B. Once every five to seven seconds. C. Once every 10 minutes. D. Never. You should always watch the road in front of you.

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If you said B, congratulations. Now, how often should you check how you’re doing on the road of real estate -- your business plan?

If you just said, ‘What plan?’ keep reading. You have some work to do.

Believe it or not, 2015 is officially half over. This halfway mark is a great time to stop and check how you’re doing in your business. Stop and take a look in the proverbial real estate rearview mirror. After all, if you don’t know how far you’ve come, you don’t know how much farther you have to go.

Think of it as a strategic pit stop. And these pit stops are just as important as your end-of-the-year assessments. Why? Because if you’re veering off track, it’s best to catch it early before you hit a tree or something worse.

But what do you do in a mid-year pit stop? I’ve shared a few tips that might help you make sure you’re still on the road to success for 2015.

1. Check your sales numbers. How are your sales figures looking compared to last year at this time? If they’re less, identify what’s happening to cause that trend. I have a sales tracker I like to use with my clients. Shoot me an e-mail at Article@CorcoranCoaching.com and I’ll send it to you free of charge.

2. Review your profit and loss statements. The profit and loss statement can be a valuable planning and a management tool because it can help you estimate expected monthly and yearly income (based on reasonable predictions of monthly sales, costs, and expenses). Record your estimates on one copy of the profit and loss statement. As actual numbers

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Written By Bob Corcoran

come in, record them on a second copy of the statement. Then compare the two pages to find discrepancies between the estimated and actual figures and correct problems as needed. I typically ask clients to send us their profit and loss statements every month because they are such a good management device.

3. Track where your business is coming from. Take a few minutes to jot down exactly what parts of your marketing plan are working and which are not. Don’t hesitate to shift funds from a mediocre medium to one that’s working better for you.

4. Commit to be more focused on dollar-productive activities. If you’re not making headway toward your goals, look at how much of your day is spent on what I call the four dollar-productive activities: listing, selling, negotiating and prospecting. If you’re spending time outside of these four tasks, you may not reach your 2015 goals. Adjust your schedule and get help so that you can concentrate on these items. Don’t rule out getting an assistant. It doesn’t have to be a huge expense. Hire a part-time assistant just to give it a test run. You might find, like many of my clients, that you’ll soon want a full-time assistant.

Let me hear from you. Have you spent time with this question of what is success to you? Do you have a clear definition of success that feels right to you? Do you feel you’re making progress toward that definition? Please send any comments or questions you have to Article@CorcoranCoaching.com or http://www.facebook.com/CorcoranCoaching.

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (CorcoranCoaching.com), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the broker’s or agent’s existing practice. © 2011, Bob Corcoran. All rights reserved. For more information about this article or author, contact Susie@FrogPond.com.

For the most current local Housing Trends, go to http://www.HousingTrendseNewsletter.com.

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Create Your Past...

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By Chris Widener

T

oday is the day to create your past!

Umm, Chris, don’t you mean today is the day to create your future?” No, I mean exactly what I said.

Today is the day to create your past.

Let me explain. I did not say today is the day to relive your past. That would mean sitting around thinking about the things that have already happened and things that you can do nothing about. You cannot change them. They are done. They need to be let go.

“Okay, I am confused. What do you mean then?”

I am talking about creating your past! You see, most people talk about creating their future, and in a way, that is what I am talking about here. You see, Tomorrow is in your future. But two days from now, Tomorrow will be your past. It will be your yesterday.

So, every day that we live is both our present, but also what will be our past tomorrow.

For example, many people lament their past. They say, “Oh I wish I would had done such and such.” Or “I was such a failure. I did this and that and it was so bad.” What they fail to realize is that they should stop reliving their past - their yesterdays - and start creating the past they will relive tomorrow.

So, if you sit around and moan today about your past, then tomorrow you will look back at today and say, “Yesterday was such a waste. I blew another day.”

But if, instead, you work your tail off today and accomplish something, then tomorrow you will look back at your immediate past - your literal yesterday - and you will say, “Boy, I really accomplished something!” And if you string enough of those together, pretty soon your past will be looking pretty good. And a pretty good past will propel you to a pretty good present, which will in turn be the platform for a pretty good future.

So what can you do to create an incredible “past?”

Live for today! Do not relive yesterday. Do everything you can today to make it an incredible day. Whatever you would like to look back on tomorrow and see as your accomplishment, do today.

Understand that just as your current past took time to develop, your future past will too. So you have a few years of bad past behind you. Who cares? Do the right thing every day and you will one day look back and see that you have a great past developing.

Some may say I am arguing semantics. I am not. This is one of the mysteries of living in time and space. Our future, given enough time, will actually become our past. So no matter what our past is currently, we can change it because each day we live, we see our past grow. What we do today literally creates our past! That is a powerful concept when we grab a hold of it!

So, do you find yourself focusing on your past? If so, take the time today - show the will power and discipline - to create a day that tomorrow you will look back on and be proud of! You can literally create tomorrow’s past and make it everything that you want it to be.

Someday you will get to the end of your life and you will have only the past to look at. The beauty of this concept is that if we are proactive, we can do things today that will guarantee that on that day our past is everything that we want it to be!

Chris Widener is the President of Made For Success. He teaches leaders how to become Extraordinary Leaders.

Chris’ speaking and consulting services have challenged the best to become optimists, to pursue excellence relentlessly, and to dream big dreams. Copyright© 2007, Chris Widener.

All rights reserved. For information about Chris’ speaking and consulting services, contact the FrogPond at 800.704.

FROG(3764) or email susie@FrogPond.com; http://www.

FrogPond.com

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EA

Accomplish Team Training Through Monkey See… Monkey Do

M

ost of the learning we do in life is from observed behavior. This observed behavior happens in all environments from work to home. A few months ago, my wife, Joan, came to me because of observed behavior that Wesley, my fiveyear-old son, picked up. Joan was driving home from errands with Wesley in the car. She was following slow moving cars in front of her, and Wesley asked her why she was going so slow. Joan told him she couldn’t go any faster because there was a car in front of her. Wesley asked her, “Why don’t you just honk the horn; that’s what Daddy does.” I was busted! In Wesley’s mind, due to observation, he learned that a slow moving car means you should honk the horn.

Your staff, especially the sales staff, will learn from you through observed behavior. They will learn how to prospect and how frequently they need to prospect and the duration in terms of time that they must prospect. They will learn how valuable leads are to your team, how to treat leads, and what to do with those leads. They will also learn what the standard of performance and expectation standards are through observed behavior. Your team will be able to observe how closely you are really monitoring them. They will observe if there is consistency in your rhetoric and your actions.

consistently, you will have to set the personal example of consistency in this area. They will need to see you prospecting and making sales that link to your prospecting activities. For them to work the leads, treat them as valuable, and qualify them effectively, they will need to see you doing the same. If you want them to have a sense of urgency with the leads, you will need that sense of urgency in dealing with them, as well.

Being a successful leader of your team is only accomplished through monkey see . . . monkey do!

Dirk Zeller is an Agent, an Investor, and the President & CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. He’s the widely published author of Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print. You can get more information by visiting www.RealEstateChampions.com. © 2008, Dirk Zeller. All rights reserved. For information contact FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@ FrogPond.com; http://www.FrogPond.com

Champion Team Rule – People will only do consistently what you expect and inspect.

If you are unwilling to set clear expectations and inspect the progress and inspect the results, the outcome for your team will be far less than your goals for the team. If they know what is important to you and your business, and they know that you are watching or monitoring them, your probability of success increases considerably.

By Dirk Zeller

A word of caution, they won’t react favorably to, “Do as I say, not as I do.” If you want them to prospect

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EA

Choose To Enjoy Life!

W

e have a choice to make our life interesting and exciting, or we have a choice to get into the mundane of life.

When we get into the mundane of life, life escapes us, to be gone never to return. Very few of us actually take it up as a challenge to enjoy life and to make it exciting.

Most of us just slip through life. We drive through life as if we are driving on a highway without choosing to go left or right. We just keep going where the road is going, and at the end, we arrive at a destination that we may not have decided to reach. But because we did choose to go where we want to go, we have reached and arrived somewhere else.

Stop! Don’t just drive through the highway of life, but think who are you? What do you want? Where you want to go? If you keep going where you are going, will you get to where you actually want to go? When you get to where you were going, will you be happy? These questions must always be on the top of our minds , and they must decide the direction and where we are going.

RVM is a ‘Positivelife’ philosopher, an Author, Speaker, Poet, Singer, Philanthropist and Motivator

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Our bone marrow transplant reunion is now standing room only.

Each year, City of Hope invites bone marrow transplant recipients and their families to attend the “Celebration of Life” event. It’s a joyous time during which survivors of blood cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma embrace their health, their life and each other. It began more than 35 years ago when City of Hope created what is now one of the largest and most successful bone marrow transplant programs in the world. In fact, we’ve completed over 11,000 transplants and, according to national reports, our outcomes are among the best in the nation. The goal of curing cancer isn’t just something we work at. It’s what we live for.

If you have cancer, make us your first call. Or ask your doctor for a referral. We accept most insurance.

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It is my passion to help educate veterans, as well as agents about this entitlement. And it is very rewarding to help people who have defended our country own a piece of it.”

–Tony Dias, Executive Director of Business Development & Education, USMC Veteran, NMLS 222836

(619) 296-LOAN (5626) | SanDiegoVU.com Veterans United Home Loans of San Diego is a VA approved lender; Not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. NMLS# 1907. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the Residential Mortgage Lending Act. All Rights Reserved. 8885 Rio San Diego Drive Suite 135, San Diego, CA 92108