AUGUST 2015 SOUTH BAY

EXECUTIVEAGENT MAGAZINE

Executive Agents of the Month

Inside Features: Donna Eller Keller Williams Realty Igor Nastaskin RE/MAX Estate Properties

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Purchase Financing:

Compare our stats to the industry.

At Evergreen, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that serving real estate industry professionals and their clients is the cornerstone of our success, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

As evidence of our focus on the home purchase market, we invite you to review our purchase loan percentage compared to the industry: Purchase Business Percentages

2013 YTD

2012

2011

Evergreen

75%

73%

83%

Industry

39%**

29%

**

**

32%

** Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Percentages reflect portion of total volume that were purchase transactions.

That’s why we’ve developed an infrastructure with systems and procedures that allow us to quickly process loans so that we close On Time and as Promised®.

In fact, our entire platform is engineered to close purchase transactions in 14 days*.

But stats are only part of the story.

It’s the care and compassion of every Evergreen associate that makes a difference and is felt by the customers we serve. As a lender with strong convictions and a proven track record serving the purchase market, we invite you to become a business partner with Evergreen.

Michelle Coolidge-Tondu Sr. Loan Officer & VP / Corporate Relationships NMLS 176580

tel 310-818-1011 fax 855-296-8279 mcoolidge@evergreenhomeloans.com www.michelletondu.com 21250 Hawthorne Blvd Ste 500 Torrance, CA 90503 Branch NMLS 1127143

*The 14-day close does not imply a guarantee of any kind and only references the historical service level provided by Evergreen on standard FHA, VA, and conforming conventional loans. Assumes expeditious and complete cooperation by all parties to the transaction. Not all applications are eligible for a 14-day close, including but not limited to jumbo loans, renovation loans, loans brokered to other lenders, or properties requiring repairs. Not all applicants will qualify; certain restrictions apply. © 2014 Evergreen Home Loans is a registered trade name of Evergreen Moneysource Mortgage Company® NMLS ID 3182. Trade/service marks are the property of Evergreen Home Loans. All rights reserved. Licensed under: Arizona Mortgage Banker License 0910074; California-DBO Residential Mortgage Lending Act License 4130291; Hawaii Mortgage Loan Originator Company License HI-3182; Idaho Mortgage Broker/Lender License MBL-3134; Nevada Mortgage Banker License 3130; Oregon Mortgage Lending License ML-3213; Washington Consumer Loan Company License CL-3182. 1/14

contents

Southern California’s Publication for the Real Estate Professional

ExecutiveAgent

Magazine

August, 2015

South Bay

Cover Story

Editorials

06 - 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 Info@eamag.net www.EAMag.net

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

12 - RVM:

Choose To Enjoy Life!

American Realty...............................35

08 - Walter Sanford:

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

Evergreen Home Loans......................2 i Photography Studio.......................21 Kinecta Federal Credit Union..........36 New American Funding....................24

30 - Chris Widener: Create Your Past...

PWAOR.............................................10 SBAOR....................................29

32 - Dirk Zeller: 15 Autumn & Cassidy

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

Executive Agents of the Month

25 Donna Eller

The Termite Guy...............................11

04 Igor Nastaskin

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© 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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MAGAZINE

Written by Haley Freeman

Igor Nastaskin ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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A Visionary Realtor® With an Inspired World View

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gor Nastaskin is a long-time resident of the South Bay, whose path to Southern California was both perilous and inspiring. Born in the former Soviet Union, Igor left with his mother in 1973, making a circuitous, global trek before arriving in Chicago in 1975. As a courageous and resolute young man, Igor attended two prestigious universities, Loyola University of Chicago, and earned his CPA, and finally completed his MBA at Long Beach State.

Igor’s professional record is as impressive as his academic one. After working as a CPA for a Big Eight accounting firm, Igor relocated to Southern California to work in a series of executive finance positions with PepsiCo, Nissan Motor Corporation and Activision. In 2001, Igor applied his business acumen to his passion for real estate and quickly became one of the top-producing agents in the area.

An International Hall of Famer and Lifetime Achievement Award winner at RE/MAX Estate Properties, he has, with the assistance of his wife and marketing manager, Suzy, accumulated honors too numerous to mention for both sales volume and customer service excellence.

There can be no question of Igor’s professionalism, preeminent understanding of financial markets and dedication to superior customer service. But what makes Igor’s real estate practice truly unique is his international perspective on home ownership. After beginning his life living in a communal, Soviet apartment where residents shared kitchens and baths, Igor lived briefly in Israel, Paris and Belgium before arriving in the U.S. He is also a global traveler whose up-close view of living quarters and lifestyles around the world translate into sage and profitable advice for buyers and sellers in the South Bay. Seeing the Potential in Every Home Just as Igor does with people, he is able to see the unique attributes and potential in every home. In a market where inventory is aging, he says it is important for agents to have the vision to identify a home’s possibilities. “The average home in this area was built in the 1950s,” Igor says. “Sixty years later, many homes are not designed the way people necessarily live right now. Our modern demand for the size of closets, size and number of bedrooms, and the value of a view may not have been built into the original structure.

Western society has evolved and changed so that people now require more in a home than they once did.”

Igor has both designed and built his own living spaces from the ground up and has remodeled existing structures to accommodate the right lifestyle for his family. “I have a good vision of myself as a frustrated architect. When I was a kid, I used to play with Legos. That was my thing.

Deep down, that desire never went away. I love the art of

creation, and someday I want to create something that has not been done before.”

In 2014, Igor purchased a 1500 square foot home for himself that had been improved by another investor. His challenge was “to figure out how to unlock the view and enlarge the bedrooms.” He reconfigured the living space and acquired the permits necessary to achieve his vision while remaining compliant with privacy and height restrictions. The result is a single level, 2,250 square foot home with four bedrooms and a view of the ocean that did not exist before. Combining the charm of an older home with modern upgrades, Igor has created a space well-suited to South Bay living.

Be Daring Going through the process of building and redesigning homes has taught Igor how to set realistic expectations for clients who wish to take on similar projects. “I’ve learned there are always surprises, and when you undertake a project, you cannot expect everything to go perfectly.”

However, Igor’s advice to clients is still to “be daring sometimes. Be open-minded, and do not set limits for yourself when you view a home.” He encourages clients to have a long-term perspective, thinking about how they will feel in ten years knowing they paid less for their home, improved it, and now have a rewarding investment. “Good things happen to those who take calculated risks.”

Igor and Suzy recently did something they found very inspiring. They visited their daughter in Thailand, where she is teaching English. “We spent three weeks there and got to see how people live where she is. It gave me added insight into why people from other countries value what we have to offer here. It makes me appreciate that much more the things we take for granted, and lets me see things that others tend to miss in a property. The way you feel when you drive through a certain neighborhood or walk down a certain street can be transformational – sometimes a property can be made over to be the place you will enjoy living for many years to come. ” Igor Nastaskin RE/MAX Estate Properties 63 Malaga Cove Plaza Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274 Tel: 310-892-6016 Email: INastaskin2@socal.rr.com Web: www.IgorRealEstate.com CalBRE # 01317822

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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

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

W

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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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

䴀伀一䐀䄀夀Ⰰ 一伀嘀䔀䴀䈀䔀刀 ㈀Ⰰ ㈀ ㄀㔀 刀䔀䜀䤀匀吀刀䄀吀䤀伀一 伀倀䔀一匀 䄀吀 㠀㨀㌀ 䄀䴀 倀刀伀䜀刀䄀䴀 刀唀一匀 㤀䄀䴀 ⴀ 㐀㨀㌀ 倀䴀

圀夀一䐀䠀䄀䴀 䄀一䄀䠀䔀䤀䴀⼀䜀䄀刀䐀䔀一 䜀刀伀嘀䔀 ㄀㈀ ㈀㄀ 䠀䄀刀䈀伀刀 䈀䰀嘀䐀Ⰰ 䄀一䄀䠀䔀䤀䴀Ⰰ 䌀䄀 㤀㈀㠀㐀

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

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Choose To Enjoy Life!

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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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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

Executive Agents of the Month

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Written by Haley Freeman - Ian Wiant Photographer

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he connection and compatibility that Autumn Anderson and Cassidy Tutt share are so keen, they are often mistaken for sisters. In truth, they are best friends and business partners, and their clients can’t help but get swept up in their enthusiasm for life and real estate. Autumn and Cassidy love what they do and love adding new friends to their ever-widening circle in Long Beach and the surrounding communities.

Autumn is a native of the Tucson desert who graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in business marketing. She grew up loving the water, and followed her passion to become a scuba diving instructor, a profession she has enjoyed for 21 years. She first ran dive trips from Tucson to San Carlos, Mexico, and then moved to Key West, Florida where she was the retail manager of a dive shop and continued to teach. Autumn also owned her own wedding planning and floral design business. “I utilized my listening skills to help people determine exactly

what they wanted to make their visions come to life,” she says. “I use a lot of the knowledge I gained from that experience and apply it to real estate.”

When Autumn’s mother bought a home, Autumn realized “that my mother’s Realtor® wasn’t helping her enough in finding her dream home. I wound up stepping in and helping her through the process from start to finish.

I even went to her loan signing where her Realtor® didn’t even show up. I found it extremely rewarding.” After relocating to California, she decided to get her real estate license while she continued to teach scuba diving.

Cassidy moved to California from Texas in 2000 after completing her degree in environmental design from the College of Architecture at Texas A & M. Seeing real estate as a satisfying outlet for her love of art and architecture, she obtained her license.

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Autumn and Cassidy crossed paths at Coldwell Banker.

After bonding during a title trip to Rosarito, Mexico, the two made plans to do an open house together upon their return. “We realized right away that we had different strengths and weaknesses and worked really well together,” Cassidy recalls. “It made it fun, and other people liked us together. After that we realized that every time we did it by ourselves, we weren’t as successful.

We really feed off each other, and we decided to become partners.”

“I think we have a good aura together, and we make people feel happy,” Autumn says. “We’re trying to show that we’re real people. We’re not just out there for the money. We want to help people get into the house where

they will be happy, and we want them to have fun doing it.”

A Team Effort Autumn and Cassidy have been working together to help buyers and sellers for over 12 years. At MetroCal Brokers, they have found a place where they can express their creativity and leverage their resources to accommodate the best interests of their clients.

“The big companies we’ve worked for were great for learning,” Autumn says, “and we took everything we could from those experiences. But we like being in a place where we have more flexibility, which MetroCal Brokers provides.”

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Friends for Life “We offer different commission options to our clients, which allows them to customize the selling process to suit their individual needs. We also include with our listing contract an “Easy Exit Agreement”, which sets people’s minds at ease,” says Cassidy.

Autumn describes Cassidy and herself as “creative thinkers who want to make the deal happen.” That creativity comes out not only in their scalable contract options, but in the spectrum of services they make available to their clients, from hands-on home staging to professional photography. “One of the things that sets us apart is that we own all of our staging materials and have access to a lot of inventory. It really helps buyers to visualize what they want.”

Not pleased with the quality of photos they were getting from the photographers they were hiring, Autumn, who is also a professional photographer, took up her camera and began photographing listings herself. “It’s amazing how many Realtors® don’t go to the trouble to take good

photos. Cassidy and I are both Type A, creative personalities. When we stage homes together, we make it fun. Then we shoot the whole house, take the photos and upload them into the MLS. We take the time to put in descriptions so people know what they are looking at. You never know where you’re going to get that buyer. When I’m looking at properties, I like to know the details.”

That conscientious attention to detail won Autumn and Cassidy the opportunity to work as relocation agents for The Boeing Company. After going through a rigorous application and interview process in 2010, they were approved to relocate Boeing employees moving into and out of California. “Sometimes we just have one day to drive around and show them different neighborhoods,” Autumn says. “We really have to be prepared to help them find what they need quickly. Our home staging service is very helpful when someone is listing a home and relocating out of state, since houses show so much better furnished than when they are vacant.”

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Lasting Friendships Built on Trust The trust that Autumn and Cassidy build with clients is analogous to that between a diving instructor and student.

Autumn explains, “During a first scuba class, nobody really talks. They’re all scared. There is a real fear of the unknown. But once they begin to trust you, they open up and start to have fun. It’s just like that with real estate clients, especially first-time homebuyers. They don’t know about real estate, so we try to make them comfortable.

After that, they become much more responsive, and we can really figure out what they want and how to get it for them.”

Autumn’s and Cassidy’s individual strengths complement one another, so that every phase of the transaction is covered efficiently. “I think Autumn’s greatest strength is in talking with agents and clients and getting them to really like us,” Cassidy says. “I’m more direct and to the point. She wins their trust, and I come in and close the deal.”

“Cassidy is super detail-oriented and knows contracts and all of the legal aspects of the rules and regulations.

She does all of our transaction coordination, because she does not want too many people involved in the transaction. Our clients are trusting us to watch out for their interest, so we know everything that is going on.”

One or both of the duo attend every closing, further demonstrating their professionalism and accountability, and cementing the trust of clients. “We believe it’s important for people to understand exactly what they’re signing,” Cassidy says. “We had one client who dissected a contract and took three hours to go over it. Since then, he’s bought and sold three other properties with us and just says, ‘Where do I sign?’ That makes us feel really good.”

Autumn and Cassidy spend much of their free time together outside of work, boating, picnicking and hiking with their families. Even their dogs, a Dalmatian and a Min Pin, are best friends. They often include clients in their social activities, and many of them have become lasting friends.

“It’s very important to us not to let something that happened at work destroy our friendship,” Cassidy says.

“And we remain friends with so many of our clients. It’s a privilege to be a part of their lives – even if it’s just for a little bit.”

Together, Autumn and Cassidy are their best selves.

“We motivate each other and try to make the process fun for everybody. It’s not about the money, it’s about being compassionate and being there for people.”

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Autumn Anderson & Cassidy Tutt MetroCal Brokers 3228 E. Broadway Long Beach, CA 90803 Autumn: 562-760-0083 Cassidy: 562-449-7607 Email: AutumnAndCassidy@gmail.com Web: www.123cahomes.com CalBRE # 01429170 - 01395351 ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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Pit-Stop Of Success: The Mid-Year Review

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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.

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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310.984.4550

1230 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 402 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Eddie.Correa@nafinc.com

*14 business day guarantee only applies to purchase transactions. This guarantee does not apply to Reverse Mortgages, FHA 203k, loans that require prior approval from an investor, brokered loans, or loans with a 2nd td. The guarantee does not apply if events occur beyond the control of New American Funding, including but not limited to; appraised value, escrow or title delays, 2nd lien holder approval, short sale approval, or lender conditions that cannot be met by any party. The 14 day trigger begins when your initial application package is complete and you have authorized credit card payment for your appraisal. If New American Funding fails to perform otherwise, a credit of $250 will be applied toward closing costs. Licensed by the California Department of Business Oversight under the Residential Mortgage Lending Act License #4131117. NMLS ID#6606. © New American Funding. New American and New American Funding are registered trademarks of Broker Solutions, DBA New American Funding. All Rights

E XECUTIVE AGENT

TM

MAGAZINE

Donna Eller & Gordon Inman

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Donna Eller Written by Haley Freeman

D

onna Eller is the dynamic visionary CEO/Team Leader at Keller Williams LA Harbor in Rancho Palos Verdes. A savvy business woman whose face you may recognize from her modeling, commercial and movie roles, Donna was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the camera. Co-founder and organizer of The Models Guild Local 51 in NYC in 1995, she served as its executive director for five years, and lobbied to protect children in the modeling industry.

After her success in the entertainment world, Donna turned her considerable talents to a career in real estate,

where she built an award-winning Keller Williams team in North Carolina. She caught the attention of Hollywood Hills CEO/Team Leader Gary Reavis, who recognized Donna’s star quality leadership skills and successfully wooed her to Southern California. Gary says, “I knew Donna’s extraordinary leadership skills would help agents succeed at their highest levels, and that our office as well as our region would be better for her being a part of it.”

Donna eagerly embraced her new calling and began working as a productivity coach in Hollywood Hills and Studio City. “It was a big change being on the management end of things instead of production,” Donna says. “But at Keller Williams, people get called to do pretty much anything. KW calls it your ‘Big Why.’ It’s about looking at the world in terms of creating a future big enough, that you want to do whatever you’ve created. Your ‘Big Why’ calls you into action to do!”

Donna excelled as a CEO/Team Leader at the Marina Del Rey Keller Williams, and then Gary presented her with a new opportunity in the Rancho Palos Verdes office to work for one of the owners: Gordon Inman of the Inman Team, a highly respected luxury agent working in RPV for over 40 years. It was the next incarnation of her “Big Why,” and she answered the call. She says, “Having Gary Reavis as my operating principal to train me and having Gordon Inman as the broker is like a dream team.”

Servant Leader Donna may have lived what many think of as the glamorous life, but she is far from a “prima donna.” She is a down-to-earth, roll-up-hersleeves leader who works shoulder-to-shoulder with peers, clients and community to meet collective goals. In her one year as team leader in RPV, she has won the trust and loyalty of the agents and staff she inherited and has attracted many of the top agents in the area to her organization. Among these is Gary Krill Jr. of Krill & Associates, who maintains an additional Keller Williams office and is the #1 award-winning team in San Pedro.

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

The main reason for Donna’s success can be summed up in a single word: culture. “For a business to last, it needs to be a family-driven environment where people care about each other. This office is vibrant with a ton of energy and a culture of sharing. There is no hoarding of business models here. Everyone shares what they know to help others be successful.”

It is also a place where the successes and contributions of the individual are valued. “We appreciate everybody. We acknowledge people when they first join us; we celebrate their first escrow or first closing. We’re not just individuals who are competing against one another, we’re part of a collaborative team.”

Donna echoes the Keller Williams philosophy by taking the long view in building “a career worth having, a business worth owning, and a life worth living.” Forwardthinking agents are rewarded for their shared commitment in building business and brand, with an opportunity to receive 100 percent commission after reaching their annual production cap. In turn, the owners share nearly 50 percent of office profits with the agents who helped to build it.

“Since we profit share back to our agents, we are like

an agent-owned operation. Locally, we are number one in office production, and nationally, we are a Keller Williams Bronze level office. When our market center is making money, our agents are rewarded for it.”

Looking to the future, Donna sees opportunities for further expansion in Rancho Palos Verdes. “I will be looking for assistant team leaders and, eventually, a luxury director. We have luxury agents, but I would like to open a luxury division. I’d also like to develop a solid commercial division. I can see opening another office for one or both of those.”

A Walk on the Red Carpet About six months in to her tenure in Rancho Palos Verdes, Donna was already so successful in growing her agent count, she identified the need for a bigger work space. The new office, centrally located in the RPV/Rolling Hills area on Western Avenue, is a center for inspiration and learning. “We have plenty of offices so our agents have space to work. Our training room holds a hundred people, so we can bring in top trainers, which is very exciting.

The offices are beautiful, fresh and elegant, and we want agents and the community to feel welcome when they walk through our doors.”

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Donna further extends her Southern hospitality, with a warm and open invitation to area industry professionals to attend their grand opening gala at the end of 2015. Staged like a movie premier, partygoers will make an entrance on a red carpet complete with spot lights and camera-flashing paparazzi, and proceed to a casino equipped with black jack and roulette tables. Lucky gamblers will receive tickets that can be traded for prizes later in the evening.

“That’s why Keller Williams and I are such a good match,” she says. “We are for people winning and experiencing themselves as extraordinary.”

“We want everyone to have fun and see our new space.

We’re looking for like-minded agents who want to be part of a fresh, fun, clean and productive environment.”

Donna identifies herself as an advocate for people.

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Donna Eller – CEO Team Leader Keller Williams Rancho Palos Verdes 28901 S. Western Ave., Ste. 139 Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275 Tel: 310-569-2218 - 310-519-1080 Email: DEller@kw.com www.DonnaEller.com www.facebook/kwlaharbor CalBRE # 01501084

MEMBER APPRECIATION WEEK AUGUST 17 - 21, 2015

This is a week dedicated to our SBAOR members, full of FREE classes, raffles, discounts in our REALTOR速 store, free food including a BBQ lunch in our parking lot each day and of course, lots of fun!

Call us for more information and competitive pricing! 310-326-3010 Join the SBAOR TODAY to take advantage of ALL of the FREE member benefits!

EA

Create Your Past...

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ExecutiveAgent Magazine

EA

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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Jason Redmond

Mgr. Mortgage Loan Sales NMLS# 1234810 cell: 310.871.1673 | tel: 310.643.4667 Jason.Redmond@kinecta.org www.kinecta.org/jredmond

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