JANUARY 2018 INLAND EMPIRE

EXECUTIVEAGENT MAGAZINE

Kevin Gonzalez Executive Agent of the Month

Inside Features: Mollie Eubanks Ricci Realty

Vincent Lopez loanDepot®

Decira Pimentel Realty ONE Group

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EXECUTIVE AGENT OF THE MONTH

Kevin Gonzalez RE/MAX Top Producers

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INSIDE FEATURES

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10 Mollie Eubanks Ricci Realty 4

Vincent Lopez loanDepot® ExecutiveAgent Magazine

28 Decira Pimentel Realty ONE Group

JANUARY, 2018 EDITORIALS 30

How to Reach Your Goals -Ben Angel

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How to Train Cats and Salespeople -John Boe

E XECUTIVE AGENT

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Fred Arrias Executive Publisher PO Box 73384 San Clemente, CA 92673 Ph: (949) 297-8323 Fax: (949) 266-8757 Fred@eamag.net www.EAMag.net

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX - IE City of Hope..........................................................34 iPhotography Studio...............................................23 Kinecta Federal Credit Union...............................36 loanDepot®..............................................................2

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Stop Wishing for the Life You Want -Jim Rohn

NAHREP...........................................................................33

PWAOR...................................................................26 SBAOR....................................................................27 The Termite Guy......................................................3

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Photography: iPhotography Studio, Ian Wiant, Rob Paino Graphic Designer: Garon T. Arrias Editorial Manager: Trudy Van Writers: Ben Angel, John Boe, Haley Freeman, Jim Rohn, Walter Sanford, Dirk Zeller

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss -Walter Sanford

© Copyright 2018 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.

BUSINESS VISION . . . IS WHERE IT ALL STARTS -Dirk Zeller

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Written by Haley Freeman

VINCENT LOPEZ

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incent Lopez is a true mortgage specialist. He has spent his career perfecting his craft, acquiring a broad array of special knowledge and skills that qualify him to guide homebuyers to the most beneficial loan products available for their circumstances and goals.

While he was attending college, Vincent began working for Bank of America, where he provided service to customers with home equity lines of credit. He worked his way up, becoming a full-time customer service agent, a Loan Consultant and, finally, a premier banking spe-

cialist. He went elsewhere and became an underwriting manager and sales manager, and when the market crashed, he returned to Bank of America to supervise a loss mitigation team. “It was a good group during rough times,” he remembers. “We helped people who were in hardship with restructuring their loans. I traveled to conventions set up by cities and counties all over the country, where we and other banking institutions would take loans one by one to see if we could restructure them and help people stay in their homes. I believe that’s where my customer service and underwriting skills really came into play.”

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The Mortgage Specialist In time, Vincent was recruited as an asset manager for a company in Orange County. He developed relationships with Realtors® across the country as they worked together to value, rehab and liquidate properties for sale.

As the market stabilized, Vincent decided he was ready to return to mortgage sales. “I always liked sales, crunching numbers and breaking things down so people can understand the overall picture. I like to show them how to save money, not just per month, but in the long run. I think my ability to simplify things is one of the things that has made me successful.”

Vincent began hearing about industry trailblazer Anthony Hsieh and his groundbreaking strides at loanDepot, and he attended a recruiting function to get a closer look at the organization. Two days after speaking informally with company leadership, he received an offer.

“They didn’t offer incentives. They said, ‘We have a desk for you and a guaranteed opportunity to grow.’” That approach appealed to Vincent’s entrepreneurial work ethic. He was placed with the company’s number one sales team, its “pace car.” He was inspired by working in a spirit of collaboration and innovation with other motivated professionals to perfect the culture and delivery of mortgage services.

“I was successful and well-compensated, but because of my background in underwriting, customer service and management, I wanted to complete the circle of my experience. loanDepot was rolling out new technology to revolutionize the mortgage process online, and I asked to move to the training and development department.

I’ve always enjoyed training and mentoring junior Loan Consultants, and this was an opportunity to be on the ground floor with something special.”

Vincent traveled and trained Loan Consultants and processors in loanDepot’s unprecedented tech tools, teaching them the benefits of resources created by Loan Consultants, for Loan Consultants. Along the way, he trained a branch in Ontario, and there he found a new home. Now he is assisting another top-producing Loan

Consultant with builder accounts while also serving his own community of homebuyers and Realtors®. “I’ve held three different positions in this company in the last three years, and I love it that loanDepot has allowed me to do what I want to do. By allowing me to grow professionally, they are making me a better Loan Consultant with more to offer my clients. I know our systems and can provide clients with service at an exceptional level.”

Vincent’s expertise enables him to adapt his approach to every client’s unique circumstances. “One person’s goals are not the same as another. I save them money by helping them weigh all the options and choose the one that feels best to them. If I’m going to put them in a loan, I want to make sure it’s the right loan.”

He maintains constant communication with clients and real estate partners, ensuring that everyone in the transaction has the best possible lending experience. “We’re all going to be very involved with each other’s lives for the next 30 to 45 days. It should be a partnership.”

Vincent is a dedicated mortgage specialist who begins each day creating the right mindset that helps him deliver service with integrity and distinction. “I like for my clients to know they are working with a professional whose focus is on them. I’m not looking at them as a dollar sign.

Their best interests are also my best interests, and I hope they will look at me as a consultant they can trust to give them the best advice about their home loan today and their financial decisions in the future.”

Vincent Lopez loanDepot® 3281 E. Guasti Road, Suite 550 Ontario, CA 91761 Tel: 909.912.7852 Email: VLopez@loandepot.com Web:https://www.loandepot.com/vlopez NMLS ID 1022037

Rates, terms, and availability of programs are subject to change without notice. loanDepot.com, LLC NMLS ID 174457. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act CRMLA 4131040.

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BUSINESS VISION . . . IS WHERE IT ALL STARTS

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eing able to establish a business vision for your company separates you from the other agents who are in real estate. When building a team, you must pause and work to define your business vision. Enduring, successful people and successful companies establish their core values and core purpose. They then remain fixed on those core values and purpose throughout their business life. The changing elements are their business strategy and tactics due to the marketplace changes and competition influences.

Successful people and companies know that it is critically important to know who you are and what you stand for. In many cases, knowing who you are, as a team, will be more important than where you are going. We all will change and adapt as our world changes and adapts. This change is inevitable. The only part about change that is in question is whether it will be evolution or revolution.

Evolution is defined by Webster as: A process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage). We want to engage in the small, gradual movement or change over a period of time. This type of change only comes from clarity of values and purpose. More effort, energy, and resources can be used to increase success, sales, and production in an evolutionary mode, rather than a revolutionary mode.

Revolution is defined by Webster as: A drastic and farreaching change in ways of thinking and behaving. The change in revolution is more violent, sudden, and potentially damaging. The vast majority of resources will be used to keep up with the revolution at hand or trying to

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get out of the revolutionary process. The stress level is significantly higher, and the probability of success is much lower in revolution. By having well-defined core values and core purpose, you can avoid the forces of revolution more effectively.

There has been a prevailing thought for sometime on the value of mission statements. The thought is that you have to build a mission statement for your team. When I ask many experts why they have that view, their answers are less than stellar: “Because good companies have them”; “You just do”; “Your people need something to guide them.” There are a host of others that I have heard regularly.

I have personally coached hundreds of the most successful agents in the last fifteen years. I always ask if they have a mission statement. When they say “oh yes”, I ask them what it is. The phone always goes dead silent. Then you have this rustling of papers as they try to find the document that has their mission statement on it. Once they can’t find it, they try to recite from memory some garbled version of it.

I personally feel that mission statements have little value, and we should abolish their use. Most small business owners’ (like real estate agents) mission statements are treated as something you have to have or do, but you don’t know why you have to have it or do it. The most common practice of building a mission statement for small business owners is to scalp what they like from a large company, like Nordstrom if you have a service mentality or Nike if you like competition or Wal-Mart if you want to serve the ordinary or disadvantaged consumer.

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WRITTEN BY DIRK ZELLER

We aren’t building it from within our own views, tenets, and principles of excellence in life and business. For most, we are building the mission statement based on what sounds good, looks good on a brochure or marketing piece, or is made up of the components that another successful company articulates in their mission statement. My best advice is to scrap the whole exercise and start focusing on what you stand for.

What do you stand for?

We can’t look for what we stand for in others. We have to discover it in ourselves. It is not outside in the world around you; it is in your inner world, in your mind and heart. In order for what you stand for to be authentic, you have to search for it. You aren’t asking yourself what you should stand for; you are asking yourself what you passionately stand for.

and business master systems in the last fifteen years than we have at Real Estate Champions. You can pick any name, speaker, trainer, or coach, and most are still selling the same material they were ten years ago! We have 15 distinctly different coaching programs, over fifty different training programs and audio CDs, DVD training, internet subscription-based training, and ten books written on sales success. We don’t do it because it’s good business; we create new intellectual property and deliver it in many different ways because it’s what we stand for. It is born out of my personal core values and beliefs.

We passionately believe that we need to engage in our own journey of personal self-improvement to impact the world. Once we take on that challenge, we will be able to impact the world around us.

What do you stand for?

Let me share with you an example of what I mean. At Real Estate Champions, we stand for hard work and continuous self-improvement. We believe passionately that the quest of self-improvement, both personally and professionally, is one of the noblest callings in life. I personally toil long hours weekly in the quest of self-improvement and building tools, training systems, scripts, materials, strategies, tactics, theories, coaching – the list is endless. I spend additional hours reading, writing, praying, and listening to podcasts to keep my personal development in high gear. I have other people on my team, as well, who contribute to this effort.

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.

There is no one in the real estate field who has produced more quality systems, tools, strategies, skill improvement,

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Mollie Eubanks Helping People Get to the Next Chapter in Life Written by Haley Freeman - Photography by Kathleen Rivera, Apex Studio’s

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ollie Eubanks’ clients don’t make a move without her. That’s because they have come to rely upon the comprehensive industry knowledge and straightforward counsel she has acquired over more than a decade in multiple sectors of the industry.

With a real estate practice driven almost entirely by referral and repeat business, Mollie is the go-to professional for generations as they move from one chapter of life to the next.

A native Texan who moved to Southern California as a young adult, Mollie was a full-time mom of three boys and working as a teacher’s aide at their Christian school when another parent, a Realtor®, approached her and said, “You’d be great in escrow. The manager of the company I use is looking for an assistant.”

“I didn’t know anything about the industry except what I’d learned from buying my own houses,” Mollie recalls.

“The manager at New Century Title and Escrow had 40 years in the business, and she taught me so much. I have an incredible background because of her.”

Mollie regularly handled the escrows of Realtor® Vince Ferragamo, former Los Angeles Rams quarterback and owner of Touchdown Real Estate and End Zone Mortgage in Orange County. He hired her as a loan processor, and she eventually became the manager of both of his offices before finally focusing on real estate sales full time. “Even though I enjoy lending, I found real estate was more rewarding for me. I am more hands on and get to know my clients really well. When the transaction closes on a building or a house, I love being the one who hands them the keys.”

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Today Mollie is both a residential and commercial agent at boutique Ricci Realty in her home community of Orange, where her broad-spectrum industry experience gives her a decided professional edge in serving clients throughout Orange County and beyond. “I understand every step of the process and what each party needs to do next, and I’m not waiting for them to tell me there’s a problem. I track the escrow timeline daily, and I’m already asking what’s been done and what is still needed.

This assures an escrow to close on time.”

Mollie’s vast experience is an asset to sellers, as she has the savvy to scrutinize loan pre-approvals and communicate effectively with lenders. “If we’re in a multiple offer situation, I can call the lender and have a conversation before I advise my seller to accept the offer. There have been many times when a pre-approval was not a real preapproval, and I’ve prevented my seller from taking their house off the market, only to discover the loan never had the ability to close.”

One seller said about her: “She did more than just sell the house: she gave us excellent advice about marketing; she was comfortable and knowledgeable about all applicable laws, rules and regulations; she had extraordinary people to call upon for the little tasks that come up in the course of a sale; and, most of all, she was friendly and supportive of all our needs. We always felt that she cared, and we trusted her implicitly.”

A bona fide master of multitasking, Mollie is a ready problem solver with the know-how and determination to move transactions to a smooth conclusion for both buyers and sellers. In the commercial space, she has developed a niche of working with doctors to facilitate a seamless real estate experience. These busy professionals rely upon her to coordinate the whole transaction, saving them precious time by synchronizing escrow agents, lending professionals, Realtors®, architects, designers, contractors, city planning commissioners and CPAs, and providing a single, coherent communication channel. Mollie also has experience managing residential and commercial properties, from screening tenants to collecting rents.

dealing with clients and industry colleagues. She exercises compassion for people as they take on what is often an emotional life event, while remaining level-headed and solutions-oriented. She is a fierce but fair negotiator who seeks a win for everyone at the table.

Mollie is also a longtime fitness enthusiast, who maintains her lively sparkle by hitting the gym every morning.

Her little grandson calls her “Go-Go,” a fitting monicker for this vibrant woman who is always on the go.

Whether someone is making a move to a condo or a luxury property, and whether they are a first-time millennial homebuyer or a downsizing baby boomer, Mollie is poised to help them get to the next chapter of their lives with maximum care and proficiency. She says, “I want to be someone’s Realtor® for life, and for the next generation, as well.”

Conscientious about her fiduciary duty as a professional, Mollie draws upon her Christian values when ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Mollie Eubanks Ricci Realty 606 E. Chapman Avenue, #100 Orange, CA 92866 Tel: 714.321.6241 Email: MollieEubanks@riccirealty.com Web: www.riccirealty.com CalDRE # 01844533

HOW TO TRAIN CATS AND SALESPEOPLE

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hich do you think would be harder to train, a cat or a salesperson? Seriously, which one would you pick? While it’s true that cats have a welldeserved reputation for being independent, demanding and virtually impossible to train, the same can be said for many salespeople. Surprisingly, the same training and reward techniques required to get Fluffy to jump through a hoop can also be utilized to motivate your sales team to achieve peak performance!

One evening while channel surfing I came across a fascinating animal act that grabbed my attention. The act featured a cat trainer with a half dozen cats of varying size, shape and color. Unlike a circus lion tamer who attempts to intimidate with a chair and whip, this man simply used a combination of treats and verbal praise to motivate his cats to perform difficult tricks. Using only soothing voice tones and a pocket full of cat treats, he would calmly command each cat to do its own specific trick. Amazingly, he got one cat to walk on his front paws, one balanced on a ball, while yet another pushed a toy baby stroller across the stage.

After the performance, the cat trainer was interviewed and asked how he was able to get his cats to willingly obey his commands. His response surprised me with its simple wisdom. He said that he didn’t train the cats at all, he simply figured out what each cat liked to do best and then encouraged that behavior! “People need to realize that a cat’s indifference doesn’t mean they can’t learn cool tricks,” says celebrity animal trainer Joel Silverman. “It simply means you haven’t convinced them yet that doing so is in their best interest. A dog naturally wants to please and will work for you, but a cat needs a paycheck to be motivated.”

Five Tips to Help You Train Cats and Salespeople

1. Check for temperament suitability. Temperament testing allows you to identify those who by nature lack the discipline, desire or self-motivation to consistently achieve peak performance. Sales managers who lack the benefit of temperament understanding are inclined to place too much emphasize on their gut-level feeling during the hiring process. If you hire someone that is not suited for the position, you will experience low morale, high turnover and find yourself constantly in the training mode. On the other hand, when you recruit the right person you will find that they are self-motivated and eager to train.

2. Look for “hot buttons”. Traditionally, sales managers have relied primarily on commission to motivate their sales force. Unfortunately, a compensation structure based solely on commission does not address individual motivational 12

factors and therefore, money alone will not motivate your sales force. A successful incentive program is a mixture of awards, recognition and peer pressure. There is tremendous power behind a timely word of praise or a handwritten note acknowledging achievement. While money is certainly an important ingredient in any incentive program, it should by no means be the only tool in a manager’s motivational toolbox. If money by itself were a sufficient motivation, commission-based salespeople would simply sell more without additional enticement.

3. Make the training fun and positive. All cats and most salespeople have pretty short attention spans and low boredom thresholds. Keep lessons short, interesting and always try to end on a positive note.

4. You must be patient when training cats or salespeople.

It’s important to respect individual abilities and preferences. Make allowances for personality, and don’t get frustrated if the training schedule doesn’t go exactly as expected. Remember that people have off days and on days just like cats. “When I’m really pushing and the going gets tough,” says Silverman, “Sometimes the cat just sits down and says, ‘I give up’. Even the brightest cats, if they feel you’re pushing them too hard, will, in effect, say, ‘Screw you, buddy, I’m going to go over there, sit down, and stare into space.”

5. Make sure to take time for rest and relaxation. All work and no play will make the cat, the salesperson and the trainer grumpy. Whether it is playing with a ball of yarn or enjoying a round of golf, taking time out to play is critically important. By successfully balancing play and work, you will return recharged, refreshed and ready to accomplish more By incorporating these five powerful tips into your training program, you will develop an award-winning sales team and achieve unbelievable results!

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

- Albert Einstein John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call 937-299-9001. Free Newsletter available on website.

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Written By John Boe

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Stop Wishing for the Life You Want

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mbition is a minute-by-minute, day-by-day mentality—an eager desire. To many people, ambition is kind of a mystery. The dictionary says it is “an eager desire for distinction, power or fame.” But what does that really mean? Let’s start with the word eager. All by itself, eager is kind of exciting. Kids are eager for birthday parties. They expect to be the center of attention, to get many presents, to eat too much. For that matter, I guess adults are eager for birthdays, too. (Unless, of course, they’re embarrassed that the candles on their cake outnumber their achievements.) We can be eager to see a ball game, eager to see our kids in a dance recital, eager to see an old friend, eager to shop for a new car. Eager sounds like a lot of fun!

But do you ever hear people say they are “eager to live a better life,” “eager to have a better family,” “eager to make a lot of money”? Probably not. And that’s a problem, because as I see it, living a better life, having a better family and making a lot of money takes an eager desire.

We have the remarkable ability to get exactly what we must have. But there is a difference between wishes and desires. We’ve all heard people say, “Oh, I wish I could just drop five pounds. I want to be a little lighter.” We’ve probably said it ourselves. Although we might wish we could breathe a little easier in our clothing, we have to have the desire to exercise a little more and eat a little less. The “I wish I could lose weight” has to become “I have the eager desire to lose weight.”

money to pay the bills, take a vacation or just take a little pressure out of their lives. But before their lifestyle can change, their wishes need to become desires. If they really desired change, they wouldn’t spend their evenings just watching TV and wishing they were doing something more.

The backbone of an eager desire to change is discipline.

True ambition is disciplined, eager desire. It’s that little part within us that says, “If I want to be ready for that meeting tomorrow, I need to finish preparing for it today.”

“If I want to make sure I can pay for my kid’s college education, I need to start saving today.” “If I want a better life tomorrow, I need to start working on it today.”

Ambition is a minute-by-minute, day-by-day mentality.

To have the ambition to work toward a better family life, a newer car, a bigger house, a financially secure future… you have to live it every moment.

Jim Rohn knows the secrets of success - in business and in life. He has devoted his life to a study of the fundamentals of human behavior and personal motivation that affect professional performance. He can awaken the unlimited power of achievement within you! Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine. Copyright© 2006, Jim Rohn. All right reserved. For information about Jim’s keynote presentations and seminars, contact the FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@FrogPond.com http://FrogPond.com.

The backbone of an eager desire to change is discipline.

True ambition is disciplined, eager desire. I’m also sure you’ve hear people talk about wishing they had more

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Nomination Form Nominate a fellow REALTORÂŽ 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: 949.297.8323

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Cover Story

Kevin Gonzalez Executive Agent of the Month

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Kevin Gonzalez Investing in the Success of Others Written by Haley Freeman - Ian Wiant Photographer

ith 82 five-star client reviews on Zillow and counting, and a recent RE/MAX Platinum Award, Kevin Gonzalez and The KGP Group are committed to the success of everyone around them, and they are redefining real estate service standards in the Inland Empire and beyond.

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excuses for why you’re not successful in life. The East Coast is all about the hustle, and that’s who I am. Since I was small, I always saved everything I could, and I bought my first scooter and my first car by myself. I’ve been very independent my whole life, and I think that is what helped me to succeed, and I don’t take what I have for granted.”

Originally from New Jersey, Kevin moved to Southern California as a boy with his mother and two siblings.

Looking back on his early years, he still honors his hardworking single mom who held down two jobs to support the family. “That drive I saw from her made me the man who I am today,” he says. “She struggled to give us everything she could. She molded in me a hard work ethic and fighting for what you want in life. I don’t believe in making

Kevin succeeded first in the corporate world, where he excelled in sales and management. He was an awardwinning manager and district trainer at Bridgestone Corporation when he made his entrepreneurial move to real estate. “My best friend owned RE/MAX Top Producers, and I remember when he was barely starting out in the industry. I watched as he grew, and one day I thought, ‘I can do this also.’”

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True to form, Kevin proved a superstar. During his first year in real estate, he earned the title of Rookie of the Year. By year two, he was recognized as the number one single agent in his office, and by year three, he started his own team and took third place among teams with far more team members and years in the business. Kevin and The KGP Group are currently ranked 44 in California and ranked 215th across the nation by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP).

While many agents are seeking to become someone’s Realtor®, Kevin is more interested in making a friend for life. “I’m not just trying to sell a house, I’m trying to become a friend for life. The greatest moments for me in this business are on the negotiation side when I get the best deal for my clients, and when I hand the keys to a family on their first home and see them cry. I love what I do. I believe God put me here to help other people and their families.”

There is no doubt that hard work and determination figure prominently in Kevin’s success. But there is another crucial element in the mix: putting others first. “When I started out, there was no room for failure. The only option was to succeed and provide for my family. But I came in thinking sales, sales, sales for the first couple of months, and I wasn’t successful because of that. I was always a great sales guy, and I had to stop and think about what I was doing wrong. When I quit thinking about dollars and started putting families first, everything fell into place.”

In addition to his gift for helping others buy and sell real estate, Kevin is also an investor with good instincts and a creative eye for design and marketing. He has profitably flipped a number of properties and developed a secondary repertoire of skills that benefit his clients. “I’ve learned a lot from flipping houses. When I see things that have not been done professionally, I always point it out to my buyers. And when someone buys a property that needs work, I can save them a lot of money by using one of my contractors.”

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Looking out for his clients’ best interests always comes before a commission. In one instance, Kevin saved a client from making a very bad investment. The client’s offer had already been accepted, and during the home inspection, Kevin realized the home was in worse shape than he had realized. “I told them, ‘You don’t want to buy this house.

You will have so much money into the foundation and fixing it up. I’d rather get you in something else.’” The client decided to delay buying for a while, but since, she has referred many people to Kevin. “I could have told her to just fix it later and made my commission, but I strive for treating people the way I would treat my own mother in a transaction.”

Kevin is known for more than just breaking sales records - he is also known for breaking neighborhood

records. He is an aggressive negotiator with a track record of selling properties over asking price.

A recent seller, who found Kevin through Zillow, stated: “He came to meet with my wife and I, and had already done his homework on our home. He established trust right off the bat. We were expecting months, and we had an offer above our asking price within 2 weeks.

This was all due to Kevin and his team’s marketing and contacts within the real estate world. Unfortunately, our first offer fell through, but Kevin had another offer within a day at a higher price than the original buyers.

In the end, our choice to go with Kevin was the best choice we could have made. We sold our home, made $15k more than what we asked, and made a good friend out of it, as well.”

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A solutions-driven professional, Kevin never goes to a client with a problem; he provides choices. “I always say, ‘I won’t bring you a problem, I’ll bring you a solution on how we’re going to fix this.’ I want them to feel confident that I am all over the transaction, and they don’t have to be scared. This should be a happy event in their life.”

A first-time buyer said this about working with Kevin and his team: “If you’re looking for someone honest, hardworking and knowledgeable - look no further. I have nothing but good things to say about Kevin. From the moment we met, his energy and professionalism shined, and I knew we were in good hands. With patience and Kevin in our corner, we found a beautiful home (with a pool) on a cul-de-sac in our budget and for under asking price. I don’t know how he made the sale happen, but hey, as I heard many times on our house hunting trips, ‘KGP HAS DONE IT AGAIN.’” A husband and father of two boys, Kevin makes time to

coach his sons in several sports. “I work hard but try to map out time for the family. I don’t want to miss my kids growing up. The only reason I’m successful is because I have the benefit of a wonderful beautiful wife who supports me. Suzie is my wind beneath my wings. Having God in our marriage is the foundation of our happiness.

We teach the boys about God and pray together. It’s cool to have nice things, but they can be taken away instantly.

We enjoy the success God gives us, and we thank him every day.”

Kevin also invests in the success of his teammates. “I want everybody around me to succeed. I don’t want to be the only one on top, I want everybody to be there with me.

This is the only business I know where you can change your life so fast and so dramatically. I want to help other agents do things the right way from the beginning, and give them the support they need to be successful. I’ve learned a lot about building a team that is successful. Now I don’t have a team, I have a family.”

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Kevin Gonzalez & The KGP Group RE/MAX Top Producers, 618 N. Diamond Bar Blvd.

Diamond Bar, CA 91765 - Work (909) 465-4618 - Cell (909) 268-4206 Email: Kevin@KGPrealestate.com - Web: www.KGPrealestate.com - CalDRE # 01947721 ExecutiveAgent Magazine

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss...

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ou are pumping on all eight cylinders, your systems are working, and you’re an expert in time and motion reduction. You can even get your “stone” rolling faster by performing your day-to-day activities with incorporated lead generation. Simple procedures can be added to your listing, marketing, and closing checklists to make certain you are taking advantage of every opportunity to service, “wow,” and replace your clientele.

By converting common activities such as open houses, FSBO lead generation, or the opening/closing procedures into checklists, you reap the following rewards: 1. You don’t have to remember what made you successful last year.

2. You have a platform to subtract unnecessary steps from, thus reducing overhead.

3. You have a foundation to add to after reading this article or attending a seminar.

4. You can show your clients your business manual, made up of checklists, at your buyer/seller presentations.

5. They are easy! When you start a repeatable task, pull out your note taker of choice and write down the steps.

6. It provides the basis for delegation once you have decided to multiply your efforts through an assistant.

7. Uniformity through checklists also gives consistent service and speeds your “rolling rock” because of the organization it brings.

Now, some secret steps to add to your checklists that will ensure that even the boring aspects of real estate generate speed, convenience, happiness, and money.

Add to Your Seller Question Checklist: 1. Ask what their criteria will be for hiring a new agent. The agent who knows the most wins!

2. At the meeting, ask them to provide two keys to the home. Let’s end key-making forever! Have you ever shown up and had two keys on the kitchen table? It sure builds confidence!

3. Ask them if they plan to list any other properties at the same time. This one question alone made me more than $15,000 every year!

Add to Your Marketing Checklist: 1. Put home flyers on your website so the homeowner can print and supply as necessary. What a great way to save on printing, time, delivery, wear and tear, and provide another way to disseminate information on your new listing.

2. Send a new listing letter to all expireds within

a pre-determined radius around your new listing, extolling the virtues of putting their home on the market, and allowing you to do a joint marketing campaign.

3. Add a cover page to your flyers in the brochure box, explaining why you should also represent the buyer.

Yes, I really do love dual-agency.

Add to Your Open House Checklist: • Bring blank thank you cards for handwritten notes to the people whose parkways you utilized for open house signs. It just takes a few minutes, and it is worth a listing a year!

Add to Your Buyer Search Checklist: 1. Contact all expireds who may have homes that meet your buyers’ needs. This is a great way to prospect for listings and increase odds in obtaining dual-agency contact.

2. Contact your sphere of influence that owns homes which match buyers’ needs. See the above.

Add to Your Goal Checklist: 1. Call five past clients a day and ask for repeat or referral business.

2. Obtain the phone numbers of all merged or out-ofbusiness real estate firms. Add their numbers to your bank of lines.

3. Solicit all the clients owned by your broker who were previously serviced by agents in your office who have left, retired, or moved.

By providing this information and your doing a lot of the small things right – you will soon be the agent in your area to contend with. As your “stone” is rolling, there is precious little time to add these “extras,” but by adding these items to your checklists, you are insuring that these profit steps get taken before your “stone” gets finished rolling!

Walter Sanford was one of the top real estate agents in North America for nearly thirty years, and now, he is one of the most requested speakers, trainers, and coaches.

He has authored twelve systems and books on checklists, pro-active lead generation, affiliate lead generation, plus others mentioned in this article. You can hire Walter or buy his products by visiting his website for more details at www.waltersanford.com, by calling 815-929-9258, or emailing Walter at walter@waltersanford.com.

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THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS THE BEST GOLF EVENT TO DATE!

For more information on the PWR Charity Foundation, please visit: www.pwr.net/pwrcharity

The Installation of Cheryle Ushkow as President and the 2018 Board of Directors Portofino Hotel & Marina 260 Portofino Way Redondo Beach, CA 90277 Wednesday, January 10th 11am - 12 pm “Magical” Champagne Reception 12pm Comedy Show, Lunch & Program Magic & Entertainment Not To Be Missed!

Tickets are $35 and must be purchased before 1/3/18 www.SouthBayAOR.com or call 310-326-3010

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MAGAZINE

Decira Pimentel “It’s All About You” Written by Haley Freeman

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ealtor® Decira Pimentel is originally from Michoacán, Mexico, where her parents owned a large hacienda. She remembers her father teaching her the importance of property ownership. “He owned many acres of land, and having property for him and for my ancestors was a big deal. It differentiates you from the rest. I agree that anywhere you are in the world, home ownership positions you differently. I grew up with that

sense of pride.” Not surprisingly, Decira found her professional calling in real estate. She began as a property manager and later obtained her real estate license. Her expertise in managing large properties sharpened her grasp of compliance matters and provided a segue for representing multi-unit and commercial properties in her real estate practice.

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

Decira has acquired many professional designations over the course of her 20-plus year real estate career.

She is a Certified Distress Property Expert (CDPE); an Accredited Real Estate Property Manager (ARM); is Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) certified; e-PRO® certified; and is a Luxury Portfolio agent at Realty ONE Group. All of these help her serve her diverse community of clients with distinction, from first-time buyers to experienced investors.

With her breadth of market knowledge, Decira is always ahead of the market and ready with reliable advice about where and when to buy or sell in Orange County and beyond. “I know the possibilities and the product, so I can help people get where they want to be. They don’t have to go searching without direction. I am here to guide them to the property that fits their goals and budget.”

Decira sets her clients up for success by helping them plan for the future. “When the market was doing really good, that’s when I made less money, because I was telling people to hold off on buying. If the numbers don’t add up, you’ll pay for it later. I always sit down and look at their income, expenses, and expectations and dreams for the future. How long are they planning to live in the house? Will they be having more kids? Will the kids be going to a university? Will they be retiring soon? This is the biggest investment most will make in life. I want them to understand how they can use a home to create financial security. I even show them how they can pay it off in 15 or 20 years. I prepare my clients to own a home, not just buy it.”

Over the years, Decira’s heartfelt belief in the power of home ownership has helped her transform whole families and their futures. Today, nearly all of her business comes from referral and repeat clients. “In the beginning, I believed that some of my clients deserved to have a home more than they did. In dealing with many first-time homebuyers, I made them believe it, too. They could count on me to find a way to help them build their dreams. Once one family member purchased a home, others saw it was possible, and then they bought homes.”

One loyal client described Decira this way: “I’ve known Decira for a long time now, she has handled the sale of our property and the leasing of our rental property, both in OC. She’s very professional, and always available to answer questions and explain things when needed. She’s someone that I can trust and can count on.”

Decira works in partnership with Realtor® Maria Romero, so someone is always available and responsive when a client needs assistance. They leverage the cutting edge tech tools at Realty ONE Group to educate and inform clients, as well as to provide maximum exposure to properties for sale. “If I’m not available, I never want someone to miss an opportunity. We use software that gives our buyers access to new properties as soon as they are on the market, and for sellers, we are marketing our listings on over 500 websites.”

Decira has been married to her husband for 28 years, and they share four children, two boys and two girls. After coaching her children in soccer for many years, Decira says she learned, “If you don’t participate, you don’t win.

The same applies in business and real estate. If you don’t buy, you don’t gain.”

With her tagline, “It’s all about you,” Decira conveys the selfless spirit she brings to her real estate practice.

She is passionate about the importance of owning a home, and she is committed to helping everyone achieve their American Dream.

Decira Pimentel Realty ONE Group 2300 E. Katella Anaheim, CA 92806 Tel: 714-785-9739 Email: decira@aol.com Web: www.salemyhomecalifornia.com CalDRE #01239269

ExecutiveAgent Magazine

How to Reach Your Goals

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hen setting goals, the first question that I always ask myself is, Who must I become to achieve this specific outcome? Who must I become to bring this particular goal to life?

If you’re not making it yet, you’re yet to become that person who can attain that very specific goal. You simply do not have the mental framework that supports the attainment, the manifestation, of that vision. Yet. I call this the identity gap. There’s a gap between who you and who you need to become to reach your goals.

There will always be a gap, because we always have our sights set on something else that we want—a vision that we want to bring to life, and the person who we want to become. The gap between who you are and who you want to become is that beautiful gray area in which we experience our greatest happiness. Why? In this beautiful gray area, we have a purpose, we have a mission, we have a reason for living in the process of this

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self-evolution. The second we stop evolving is the second we lose meaning.

The more goals that we set for ourselves, the more gaps we create. The more gaps that we create, the more chasms we cross, and the better and more significant we feel, and the more likely we are to succeed in the future.

With each chasm crossed, we better ourselves. We become more focused, and eventually attain mastery of our craft until we’ve become the person who’s achieved their goals.

Ben Angel, best-selling author of CLICK, Sleeping Your Way to The Top in Business and Flee 9-5, is Australia’s leading marketing authority. Followed by 80,000 internationally and founder of benangel.co—a site dedicated to providing entrepreneurs advanced online marketing courses and education—Ben provides easy-to-apply and even easier-to-understand strategies for reaching new customers with ease. Stay up to date with his latest marketing strategies at benangel.co/blog

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Written By Ben Angel ExecutiveAgent Magazine

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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.

800-826-HOPE

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WE LIVE TO CURE CANCER. Science saving lives. cityofhope.org/bmt

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