NEW JERSEY MORTGAGE EDITION
SUCCESS— THESE 7 HABITS ARE THE REAL SECRET TO SUCCESS 1 BILLION-PLUS REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BE ACTIVE ON FACEBOOK I'LL TAKE 2 POUNDS OF CONFIDENCE AND 3 POUNDS OF SELF-ESTEEM! MAKING A 'LEAD GENERATOR' WORK FOR
COVER STORY
JOSEPH VIGANOLA
NEW JERSEY MORTGAGE EDITION
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JOSEPH VIGANOLA
CONTENTS 4) SUCCESS—THESE 7 HABITS ARE THE REAL SECRET TO SUCCESS 13) MAKING A 'LEAD GENERATOR' WORK FOR YOU
17) I'LL TAKE 2 POUNDS OF CONFIDENCE AND 3 POUNDS OF SELF-ESTEEM! 21) 51 BILLION-PLUS REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BE ACTIVE ON FACEBOOK
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Success– These 7 Habits Are the Real Secret to Success What is it that makes some people so successful and others not? Is there a secret recipe one can follow, as easy as baking a cake, which will give them the strength to achieve their ultimate goals and have it all? The answer is that, in a manner, there is. The trick is in how you think about success and what it means for you. Many people define success as achieving their personal goals, but could this be leading them to look at the world a little too narrowly? The people that are truly successful in every aspect of 4
their lives don’t stop at simply achieving their personal goals. They succeed in many avenues of their life, including their job, relationships, health, and family just to name a few. It turns out that ultra-successful people tend to have quite a number of things in common. One main skill many seem to possess is high emotional intelligence, or the ability to manage your emotions so that you can stay calm and focused even in high
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stress situations. Luckily, it seems not all of them are simply born with this ability, but have many strategies they use to help them achieve higher emotional intelligence. Here are seven strategies and habits that will help you achieve success in every area of your life.
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BE COMPOSED The first thing successful people always seem to have under control is their composure. Successful people stay calm and composed when the going gets tough and fingers start pointing. They don’t panic. The secret? They understand that in life things are always changing. It doesn’t matter if something is bad at the moment because that will change soon enough. In this topsy turvy life all you can really do is adapt in order to stay happy and remain in control of how you react.
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BE KNOWLEDGEABLE Have you ever noticed how successful people always seem to have such a wide range of knowledge and interests? Successful people do know more because they are always working to grow and learn. They strive to constantly increase their self-awareness. If a spare moment exists, then they will fill it with some kind of self-education. They do this because they are passionate about learning new things and ways to improve their life. Ignore the fear of being judged and ask questions, because that is the only way you can learn. Successful people don’t
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fear asking questions. They fear not asking those questions and growing stagnant.
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BE DELIBERATE It is important to think and reason before you come to a decision. Successful people don’t rush. They seek out advice from other, they think of all the aspects, and sleep on their thoughts before finally making their decision. Your gut instinct can be misleading, and lead you to make a rash decision that you will come to regret later.
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BE CERTAIN, AND SPEAK WITH CONVICTION Successful people speak with certainty. Unless you communicate your ideas with conviction and certainty, then you will have a hard time getting people to listen to them.
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BE POSITIVE Successful people use positive body language when they are talking to other people. Their tone is enthusiastic, they maintain eye contact, leaning in towards the person speaking to show interest. Successful people use it to draw those other people in. How you say something can be just as if not more important that what you say to people. Positive body language can completely alter how your speech is perceived by others, and helps to keep attention on you and what you are saying.
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BE MEMORABLE BY LEAVING A STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION You only have once to make a first impression, and they are incredibly important, as they are closely ties to positive body language. You have around 7 seconds to convince a person to like you after you initially meet them. That is how long it takes them to decide when they meet you. After that a person is simply spending the rest of the conversation justifying that initial reaction they had. You can make sure you make a good first impression by having strong posture, a firm handshake, a warm smile, and open shoulders.
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BE FEARLESS Successful people know that to give in to fear is a choice. They don’t let the fear take over, instead focusing on the rush of euphoria that comes with conquering fears. All of this adds up to having a high emotional intelligence. What helps you to succeed is the ability to control those whirlwind emotions so you can stay calm and focused on actually succeeding. These habits can help you gain a higher emotional intelligence, but as you probably already know, anything involving dealing with your emotions in a healthy manner takes serious work. So, don’t give up if you fail the first time. You must always try and try again.
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JOSEPH VIGANOLA 7
“This is a communication business so regardless of the day or time, I’m always available to answer my phone for questions.”
JOSEPH VIGANOLA For Joseph Viganola, the mortgage industry is a labor of love. He has been in banking since he was 16 and studied Finance in college all the while staying immersed in the banking world. Moving his way up through the company to his current role as mortgage loan originator with Residential Home Funding Corp., he found that lending was his true passion and hasn’t looked back since. “I tried it about five years ago, and I loved it,” he says. 8 Copyright Top Agent Magazine
The diversity of Viganola’s clients keep it fresh, and has provided him with a unique flexibility to understand the needs of every client that he works with. He’s upfront and honest with his borrowers and never preapproves someone that won’t get prequalified. “If someone doesn’t qualify today, I put them on a path to qualify in the future,” he says. This proactive approach has secured him a staggering 100 percent referral business and created strong partnerships with several referral sources including banks, realtors, title companies, and attorneys to name a few. No matter what his clients are looking for, in terms of a loan, Viganola offers it as he operates as both a direct lender and a brokerage for more niche products. “If there’s a product out there, we offer it,” he says. Viganola has carved out a special niche for himself in the lending arena with small- to Top Agent Magazine
medium-sized banks. Because of his lending capabilities, he is able to offer these banks the lending flexibility they need to keep their clients satisfied. The stricter requirements that these banks are faced with often make it impossible for them to offer a loan that is riskier and Viganola is able to make this happen for them. “I offer them the chance to say, yes to their clients,” he says. Without his support in this area, these banks would be possibly faced with losing a customer as well as Top Agent Magazine
their deposit relationships. He feels right at home working with the banks after spending the majority of career in their world, making the combination a good fit for both parties and most importantly the clients. Because of the experience that Viganola has developed through his years in the banking industry, he knows the importance of being available to his clients. “This is a communication business so regardless of the day or time, I’m always available to Copyright Top Agent Magazine 9
answer my phone for questions,” he says. This responsiveness keeps him at the top of his game and ensures that his clients are informed all throughout the loan process. He also works to communicate with his referral partners through social media and by holding open house seminars. He co-markets with realtors and helps those up and coming agents get their feet on the ground with their new career. “The more successful they become, the more successful I become,” he says. All of this has added up to a plentiful business for Viganola that really sees the value in helping others secure the homes of their Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10Copyright
dreams in what could be the most stressful purchase of their lives. Part of Viganola’ s prospering success comes from his activeness in the community. He is on the Board of Directors for the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce as well as a member of the Union County Chamber of Commerce. Both organizations allow him to network within the community and meet many potential new clients. He also teaches with New York City’s citizen school program, an afterschool program designed to teaching middle schoolers about financing and Top Agent Magazine
budgeting, as well as with his seat on the Board of the Teaneck Chambers Real Estate Committee, where he teaches homeowner education classes. Beyond the mortgage world, Viganola enjoys the outdoors, loving to reel in some fish or hit a few rounds at the golf course. He also ventures to the city every week for a walk with his dog in Central Park. Top Agent Magazine
The future is bright for Viganola as he already has plans to expand his business with a team. To ensure the success of those on his team, he has partnered up with Residential Home Funding Corp. through its Junior Loan Officer program to bring college students on board and teach them about the mortgage industry to make the transition as smooth as possible. Copyright Top Agent Magazine11
For more information about JOSEPH VIGANOLA, visit rhfunding.com, call 973-986-2265, or email jviganola@rhfunding.com www.
http://www.justingrable.com 12Copyright Top Agent Magazine
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Making A ‘Lead Generator’ Work For You by Carla Cross
When it comes to sales, some people just seem to have the ‘golden touch’. There are agents who seem to be able to convert ‘leads’ into appointments, while others struggle. I had an opportunity to observe this time and again as a manager. Jerry, in my office, seemed to be able to convert ‘floor time’ calls into appointments with ease. (Floor time, as you may remember, is a scheduled time when agents answer inquiry calls from consumers). George, on the other hand, seemed never to get an appointment while he was assigned floor time. In fact, George accused me of giving Jerry “all the good floor time”. From Jerry’s conversion rates of calls to appointments, it may have seemed like it. However, we simply rotated floor times with all the agents. No one got any better ‘floor time’ than any other agent! Why did Jerry convert calls to appointments, while George struggled? You would know the answer if you just listened to each Top Agent Magazine
man on the phone. Jerry immediately established rapport, asked great questions, and answered objections masterfully. He followed up immediately. He had awesome sales skills. George had no skills, seemed not to care much about the caller, and acted as though he was doing the caller a great favor simply by answering the phone! A “lead generator” is anyone or thing that generates leads for you. There are two types of lead generation: Pro-Active: You go find the lead (like calling on for sale by owners) Re-Active: You wait for the leads (like lead generating companies, floor time, and open houses) Too often, agents like George blame the re-active lead generating source for lack of quality of leads. On the other side, lead generating sources feel that agents don’t convert enough of the leads provided. Instead of blaming each other, we can take 13
positive steps to assure that you can screen your leads effectively, and turn good leads into appointments. Now, both agents and lead generating sources are happy! The First Principle: Follow Up on the Lead Now! A web site lead costs $215 to generate, on average. Yet, a majority of real estate agents don’t even get back to a lead—ever! Why? I think there are three reasons:
you can’t just get back to a lead three days later. The consumer today expects to get a reply quickly. I’m constantly amazed when someone thanks me for responding quickly about a product or a question about our coaching. Our standard for answering product and coaching inquiries is within the day. What’s your standard for answering lead inquiries? (Which require much faster responses, in my opinion, than my ‘leads’).
There’s Competition For That Lead • Agents mistakenly think that the A few days ago, I was visiting with lead will be theirs forever—that my cousin, whose daughter just went there’s no time sensitivity to into real estate (she’s twenty-two). She has immediately put technology answering that lead to work, creating an awesome • Agents believe there’s no database and contact management system. She’s selling up a storm— competition for the lead and making the agents in the area • Agents don’t know the cost of a mad at her. Why? Because she’s lead—in both time and money so getting to the consumers before the they don’t treasure that lead as if it other agents do. They thought they ‘owned’ those consumers’. But, my were gold cousin’s daughter is proving that no With the instant information age, one owns the consumer. She’s 14
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turn that lead into an appointment. In my coaching program, Carla Cross Coaching, we find that developing agents lack the sales skills to optimize their time and energies. So, we The Second Principle: Give provide sales skills training resources to shore up their motivation and desire the Lead Its Value to reach their goals. If you’ve ever spent time generating your own leads, you know what this Set Your Sites And Raise Your means. As a new agent, I knew Skills To Mastery about two people in the area. Because I had no built-in network, I Our high accountability training did every kind of lead generation program, Advantage, is helping new known to man. I worked all the and newer agents capture the sales time. I learned by all my mistakes and organizational skills it takes to how to generate leads—and the convert leads more often. But, value of a lead. Purchasing a lead is training is only the start. It takes so much easier than generating your coaching to master any skill, along own. But, you must treat that lead with your determination to get like the potential gold it is, so you’ll really good at lead conversion. be the Jerry of sales, not the George. Decide today your standards for performance, what you want to The Third Principle: Develop master, and how you’ll go about it. Now, you’re on your way to Your Sales Skills becoming a top producer! Following up on the lead immediately shows you value the lead. But, that’s Copyright©, Carla Cross. All rights not all. It takes specific sales skills to reserved. demonstrating that those who put technology to work effectively today capture the consumer’s attention and loyalty.
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I’ll Take 2 Pounds of Confidence and 3 Pounds of Self-Esteem! By Barry Eisen
At least a few times per month I get emails and/or calls asking me to help develop confidence and a positive self-esteem. When you’re hot you’re hot and when you’re not, you’re not. Life has its ups and downs and occasionally everyone feels like they’ve run out of gas and nothing they seem to do works. When you’re in a slump the world can look overwhelming and against you. The more you think about you’re victimhood, the more out of control you feel.What you focus upon becomes larger. Confidence, positive self-esteem...these are just words and something experienced many moons ago. Talk it out with your spouse? Sure. See a therapist? Maybe. Get a coach? Good idea. Call a hypnotist...that’s where I come in, but maybe not in an obvious way. Top Agent Magazine
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Hypnosis can be of help in so many areas such as controlling weight, memory improvement, reading faster, stopping smoking, becoming a great public speaker, prospecting and growing a business, eliminating fears, becoming a better golfer/tennis player/baseball player etc., sleeping and energy, controlling pain control in dentistry and child birthing, improving wellness, passing tests and so much more. This is not an over statement. Hypnosis is a performance enhancer because it taps into the best parts of who we are to make the changes necessary to make the changes to evolve ourselves. But “programming” ones mind for confidence and positive self-esteem is not something I’ve seen done effectively. The subconscious says, “What does that mean?” “Give me a picture, what do you want?” Read any neuroscience to know (or simply use common sense) that the subconscious needs specific direction (words, pictures and supportive feelings) for these clear messages to be acted upon. A general business plan is usually a recipe for disaster. A poor teaching plan will confuse students. Mixed general messages given to a 3 year old will produce erratic behavior. A loose navigation plan will have ships traveling in circles. Just like many people. Instead of working on confidence and positive self-esteem, does it make sense to instead, work on a solid business target of success and develop a business plan that will get you there? If you’re planning for the future, is it not a better idea to set an end result and develop strategies that will make it happen? If you’re looking for better health, doesn’t it make sense to set a target for excellence and back it up with a realistic exercise and eating approach that will insure success? The confidence and self-esteem will come along automatically. Create the goal, take action, do the work, be consistent. Your business will never grow more than you do. Your health will never get better without you stretching out beyond who you now are. Your relationships will never be more secure and supportive than you are of yourself. Your confidence and self-esteem will never grow without a reason. 18
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Before you therapy or drug yourself into confidence and self-esteem, at least try (Oh! I hate that word) the 10 organic following ideas for 2-3 weeks.
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Set goals that stretch you out and force you to grow. You can’t be depressed when you’re learning something. Learning takes you out of your egocentric predicament.
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Create timelines/target dates for goal accomplishments. This establishes a sense of urgency. It puts a little “gitty up” in your step and mind.
List your actions of the day on your To-Do list and prioritize all items. Doing the A’s and crossing each off as done, will put a smile on your face and a jolt of small energy in your life. (Accomplishment feels good. Could you use some “feel good”/self-esteem?) You’ll start looking forward Top Agent Magazine
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to these little positive jolts and do what is necessary to have them. If I was talking cocaine...that would be a bad thing, but since I’m talking non drug human motivation...that would be a good thing.
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If you’re just feeling flat for no obvious reason, take on an interest/ hobby/project that’s been on your mind in the past. Learning stimulates blood flow to different parts of the brain and increases endorphin flow. (E.g. Calligraphy, sailing, martial arts, reading sci-fi, etc.)
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Follow through like your hair’s on fire. Show yourself what you CAN DO! Create some appropriate reward for the accomplishment. Balance your life with goals in physical, financial, emotional, educational, family, social and spiritual areas. Sometimes more is better. Purposely smile more, laugh easier, hold eye contact a little more (obviously, not in a creepy way) and present a stronger posture.
Learn to relax to slow down, put things in perspective, ask yourself how you feel and how you’re doing 2 or 3 times during your day. Don’t let the day rule you. Be present. Pay attention.
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Act “AS IF” you were already doing things with confidence, making decisions with authority and living the life you want to live. You become what you think about. Barry Eisen teaches personal development seminars and coaches Southern California top producing REALTORS®. “Your business will never grow more than you do” is the theme; self hypnosis and behavior modification are the tools for playing a bigger game. barryeisen.com, barryeisen@LA.twcbc.com 818-769-4300
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1 Billion-Plus Reasons Why You Should Be Active on Facebook By Bubba Mills
The number is staggering and potentially career ending for REALTORS® who ignore it: 1,440,000,000. That’s the total number of monthly active users on the social medium Facebook. That number alone is reason enough to use it regularly in your real estate business. But Facebook can also help turn you into the expert in your community. Just by sharing knowledge and relevant events about the community you can become the go-to source for all things local – a perfect way to capture the attention of prospective buyers. Plus, Facebook advertising also gives you tons of targeting layers like age, location, recent life events and interests. Plus, it constantly adds new targeting filters and functions that help you reach even more niche prospects who closely meet your customer criteria. Talk about pinpointing a target audience. Top Agent Magazine
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Another Facebook real estate ad tool is Website Custom Audiences that lets you create Facebook ads that target users who have visited your website. And several apps specifically for Facebook have emerged. Consider these: • Heyo.com: Helps you host contests, showcase promotions and high-
light special offers. • Woobox.com: Let’s you easily create quizzes and other fun tools for engaging content. • Pagemodo.com: Helps you make your Facebook business page both sleek and stylish and tabs allow for easy lead capture. But the latest offering is just as cool. It’s called Facebook Live and it lets you stream live video on the internet. I recently wrote about Periscope, another live video streaming app, but when you use Facebook Live you’re automatically featured at the top of Facebook users’ news feed. What’s more, statistics show that live video is viewed more than recorded video. How can REALTORS® use Facebook Live? Open Houses: Broadcast a walk-through of a new listing
and highlight all the great features.
Webinars: Host live webinars targeted to buyers and sellers. They can sub-
mit questions just like a real-life seminar.
Real Estate Talk Show: Offer the latest news in the industry plus share lo-
cal events and your newest listings. In short, become the Lester Holt or Diane Sawyer of real estate in your town with your own “TV” show! Facebook offers these tips for using Facebook Live: Promote: Tease upcoming Facebook Live broadcasts for more viewers. Plan better: Take time to plan what you want to do in the video, whether
it’s a few key talking points or to have a few questions ready ahead of time in a Q&A, in case incoming comments slow down. 22
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Invest in some equipment: A shaky live stream turns off viewers so con-
sider a tripod or other stabilizing tools, especially if you’re taking viewers on a tour of an open house. And check the shot before going live.
Get the lighting right: If you’re indoors be sure you have plenty of good
lighting and avoid a lot of light directly behind you because it’ll wash you out.
Sound good: A common mistake for beginners is overlooking sound.
Consider an external microphone to make sure your viewers can actually hear you. And if the live option makes you a little nervous, you can also stream pre-recorded videos. Hey, that has worked like a charm for TV for decades. Some businesses promote their web series to “air” on Facebook Live at a certain time like TV shows. After they are streamed, Facebook Live videos function as normal Facebook videos. Some business owners believe videos may perform better if they begin as live ones. NowThis, a news company that publishes entirely on social platforms, experimented by streaming a 38-minute compilation of its favorite viral videos via Facebook Live. The stream received over 20,000 views and over 500 comments, according to Facebook’s counters. Yes, all the new-fangled internet tools, apps and options for REALTORS® can be a bit overwhelming. Just take it one step at a time and you’ll slowly be right there in the business-winning mix. E-mail me today at Article@CorcoranCoaching.com and I’ll send you more free information about how technology can help your real estate business. Copyright©, 2016 Bubba Mills. All rights reserved.
Bubba Mills is the CEO of Corcoran Consulting and Coaching Inc. (www.corcorancoaching.com/programs, 800-957-8353), an international Real Estate, Mortgage, and Small Business coaching company committed to helping clients balance success in business, while building value in life. Bubba Mills is a nationally recognized inspirational and education speaker, coach and mentor to the top real estate agents and mortgage companies. To find out more about Corcoran Consulting & Coaching, call 1-800-957-8353 or visit us at www.CorcoranCoaching.com. Top Agent Magazine
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