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EXECUTIVEAGEN TM 

MAGAZINE 

Steve Alexander 

& 

Tige Ferguson 

Executive Agents of the Month 

INSIDE FEATURES: 

DEBBIE & AMIE 

First Team Real Estate 

................................. 

JEFF FARR 

Sellstate Regency Realty 

................................. 

LAURA FOLSOM 

Realty Executives 

................................. 

JANET SCOTT 

imortgage

Where you land is up to you! 

The first step is always the hardest, but it’s necessary for achieving exhiliarating results. 

If you’re a loan officer or production assistant determined to take control of your high-flying career, target imortgage. We’re 

one of the largest and fastest-growing lenders in California. 

imortgage is not only the perfect place to land. It’s the perfect place to launch the next phase of your exciting career. 

We’re looking to hire just a handful of talented, energetic loan officers and production assistants who want to see 

their careers take flight. And we want to move quickly. 

If this sounds of interest to you, then we’d like to talk to you about becoming a valued member of our team. 

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to take your lending career to unimagined heights. 

Your career with imortgage? The sky’s the limit! 

Call today! (951) 893-6300 

Judy Marburger 

Corona Branch Manager 

Direct (951) 893-6300 

Mobile (909) 821-7741 

NMLS ID 150951 

judy.marburger@imortgage.com 

imortgage 

1250 Corona Pointe Court 

Suite 101 

Corona, CA 92879 

Rates, terms, and availability of programs are subject to change without notice. This is not an advertisement to extend 

consumer credit as defined by section 226.2 of Regulation Z. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations 

CRMLA 4130969. imortgage company NMLS 3096. All rights reserved. 08/2013. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Southern California’s Publication for the Real Estate Professional 

contents 

ExecutiveAgent Magazine 

AUGUST, 2013 

Cover Story 

5 

Steve Alexander - Tige Ferguson 


INLAND EMPIRE 

Editorials 

32 - Tony Alessandra: 

The Thinker Leadership Style 

26 - Linda Brakeall: 

Patterns of Buying 

16 - Carla Cross: 

Reduce Your Expenses! Raise 

Your Profits! 

22 - Dirk Zeller: 

Successful Practice... 

12 - Zig Ziglar: 

The Next Hill To Climb 

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 

Eagle Home Mortgage.......................35 

Evergreen Realty...............................25 

imortgage.............................................2 

i Photography Studio.........................11 

Prominent Escrow...........................24 

Realty ONE Group............................36 

The Termite Guy...............................20 

Ticor Title Company.........................21 

TIGAR....................................34 

28 

Debbie & Amie 

First Team Real Estate 

Laura Folsom 


14 

Photography: i Photography Studio, 

Ian Wiant, Rob Paino 

Graphic Designer: Garon T. Arrias 

Editorial Manager: Trudy Van 

Writers: Lalaena Gonzalez–Figueroa, 

Shannon Hartsoe, Julie Brown 

30 

Jeff Farr 


Janet Scott 

imortgage 

18 

© Copyright 2013 

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. 

ExecutiveAgent Magazine 3

Nomination Form 


MAGAZINE 

Nominate a fellow REALTOR® 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:________________________________ 

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Executive Agent Magazine 

PO Box 73384 

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Email: Info@eamag.net 

Tel: 949.366.3349 

Name:___________________________________ 

Company:________________________________ 

Phone:___________________________________ 

Email:___________________________________

E A 

Cover Story 


& 

Tige Ferguson 


ExecutiveAgent Magazine

By Lalaena Gonzalez-Figueroa - Ian Wiant Photographer 

I 

t’s not immediately easy to define a Beazer Home. experience in construction and home sales the duo offers 

With a 300-year trade history passed down through extensive product knowledge, industry collegiality, and a 

nine generations, the name has become associated purposeful approach to their customer relationships. “We 

with beautiful craftsmanship, exceptional quality and are an integral part of the building of communities,” remarks 

innovative building. Thirty-five years after launching Tige. “Starting with dirt lots, we assist buyers in creating 

neighborhoods where families and friendships will grow and 

memories will be made. It’s an honor to be involved with 

this process, and we don’t take it lightly.” 

The process of buying a new Beazer home is, says Steve, 

as stress-free as possible. “We strive to consistently facilitate 

a seamless experience,” he offers. “We work well with 


its U.S. brand, the company has earned a spot as a 

top-10 homebuilder with over 130,000 homes built in 

16 states. While designs and styles may vary by region, 

what remains constant is the thoughtful approach to 

homebuilding. With the launch of its new community, 

Eastvale’s Hearthside Lane, Beazer offers beautiful 

single family homes with flexible floor plans designed 

to accommodate a range of individual wants and needs. 

Longtime friends Steve Alexander and Tige Ferguson look 

forward to the opportunity to assist customers in creating 

new homes built around their distinct lifestyles. With ample 

Tige Ferguson 

agents, too, making the customer handoff a smooth process. 

We maintain communication with buyers throughout 

the entire build process, ensuring that their questions and 

concerns are addressed.” 



In the frenetic pace of a recovering real estate market, 

buyers have become acutely aware of the challenges associated 

with purchasing resale homes. “We’ve got homes 

available,” Tige states. “Buying in a new community allows 

buyers to work within the parameters of their budgets and 

loans, while creating homes that are as unique as they are. 

In fact, Beazer Homes is known for its flexible floor plans, 

which provide a wealth of options within a specific residence 

model. 

“Our flexible floor plans have been very successful,” 

remarks Steve. “Each residence offers opportunities to change 

room configurations, with some modifications at no additional 

costs to buyers.” Don’t need that third garage spot? It 

can be utilized as a cozy casita with an attached bathroom. 

Love open space? Opt out of two bedrooms and enjoy an 

airy and open loft. Searching for form and function? Add 

office space to your ample great room. Possibilities abound, 

and Steve and Tige work closely with customers to identify 

the details that will make sense for their long- and short-term 

goals. “We’re focused on achieving maximum value,” Tige 

explains. “Where is a customer’s dollar best spent? We dig 

deep, ask the right questions, and walk through different 

models to provide buyers with a first person perspective 

on what their options are.” Many builders’ homes, while 

beautiful, feature floor plans with underutilized spaces. “In a 

Beazer home, a single 3,100 - 3,300 square foot model may 

be customized to hold three to seven bedrooms,” Tige states. 

“There is a real opportunity to maximize space.” 

Beazer Homes don’t lose their aesthetics to functionality. 

Residences feature exquisite interior and exterior details, 

offering styles well-suited to their environments. While 

Pueblo-style builds play up the New Mexico landscape 

and Washington, D.C. homes pay homage to the region’s 

colonial roots, Beazer’s California communities feature 

Spanish and Craftsman influences. Natural light is abundant, 

and homes are well-appointed throughout. Beautiful 

courtyards and porches create transitions between indoor 

and outdoor living spaces, with impeccable attention to 

detail. Beazer’s Brea design center allows buyers to select 

from a range of finishes and colors, further customizing 

their new homes. 


Steve Alexander, Janet Scott (imortgage), and Tige Ferguson 

As an ENERGY STAR new homes partner, Beazer 

Homes has voluntarily agreed to build according to 

stringent standards established by the United States 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Every home 

is carefully crafted to meet the 3.0 designation. “We go 

above and beyond the traditional energy efficient items 

in our homes,” Steve says. “Every one of our homes is 

independently tested to ensure that it is up to par.” The 

result, he adds, is significant savings to homeowners in the 

daily use and maintenance of their homes. “We’re lowering 

costs tremendously, even compared to new homes 

built just five years ago,” observes Steve. “Our buyers 

are reaping the benefits of solidly sealed homes, higher 

performance windows, high quality HVAC systems and 

ENERGY STAR certified appliances.” 

Beazer Homes is committed to providing customers 

with options tailored to their distinct needs, and this is 

reflected in the buying experience as a whole. With no inhouse 

lender, the organization’s open mortgage policy has 

earned the trust and appreciation of buyers, outside real 

estate agents and ancillary professionals. “It makes sense 

for buyers to examine their financing options,” explains 

Tige. “We do provide a list of mortgage specialists with 

whom we have established productive relationships, but 

we do not incentivize buyers to utilize their services 

because we don’t receive compensation for those referrals.” 

He adds, “Today’s home buyers are well-educated 

and knowledgeable; while we are here to assist them 

throughout the process, we also believe that they are 

simply too savvy to be influenced by interests other than 

their own.” 

Steve says, “Our goal is to build great homes, and to 

take care of our customers throughout the process and 

beyond.” 

Steve and Tige look forward to the growth of Hearthside 

Lane, which offers easy access to Orange County, highlyrated 

schools and notable value compared to the regional 

markets. They anticipate continued success with Beazer’s 

newest community, The Collection at Citrus Park. 

Situated in the heart of Fullerton, Citrus Park will feature 

two neighborhoods comprised of townhomes and single 

family detached homes. 

Beazer Homes has never lost sight of the importance of 

its network of industry partners, says Steve, which allowed 

the company to thrive even during challenging market 

conditions. “We recognize that the real estate community 

is integral to our ongoing success,” he acknowledges. 

“Tige and I appreciate the relationships that we have 

established, and look forward to continuing to nurture collegial 

partnerships throughout the region.” 


Steve Alexander - Tige Ferguson 

Beazer Homes - Hearthside Lane 

7363 Maddox Ct. 


Steve: 951-712-9532 

Tige: 909-851-1919 

Community: 951-898-8580 

salexand@beazer.com 

tige.ferguson@beazer.com 

www.Beazer.com 

DRE # 01317019 - DRE # 01509941 

Beazer DRE # 01503061 


E A 

The Next Hill to Climb 

By Zig Ziglar 

I 

recently received an interesting letter from one of 

our subscribers, quite complimentary. He pointed out 

that he particularly enjoyed one week’s edition of the 

newsletter having to do with success. Then he elaborated 

on the fact that he has achieved so many things--God has 

been really good to him--and his question was, “I guess 

it’s like winning the World Series or the Super Bowl. 

After you have done that, there simply isn’t a Universe 

Series or a Galaxy Bowl to win. When you are on top, 

how do you find a bigger hill to climb? Or do you?” 

Emphatically yes! The writer did not mention his real 

purpose in life, or how many people he had helped on 

his way to the top. What he can do now is clear: Identify 

clearly and distinctly what his purpose in life is. When he 

does that, I believe he will realize there are much higher 

hills to climb. They’ll be tough, but very enjoyable at the 

same time. And out of it will come joy. Joy comes only 

when you do things for other people. You seldom experience 

joy when you focus on what you’ve been able to do. 

However, when you focus on what you can help someone 

else do, that lights a fire that is extraordinary. 

Personal example. Many years ago, with the aid of key 

members of our staff, we created our Mission Statement 

to be the difference maker in the personal, family, professional 

and spiritual lives of enough people to make a 

positive difference in the world. Audacious? Of course 

it is! But when we wrote it, it was ridiculous! Very few 

people really knew who I was or what we did. Since then 

our works have been translated into over 40 different languages 

and dialects in several million books touting the 

philosophy that You can have everything in life you want if 

you will just help enough other people get what they want. 

Following that philosophy, the bottom line is countless 

people have benefited. 

The letters we receive (in public seminars I show a photo 

of myself sitting behind my desk, on which are stacked 

over 5,000 letters from around the world) reveal the benefits 

people get from following through on what we teach. 

Few writers, if any, mention anything beyond the fact that 

they benefited and then they elaborate on what those benefits 

have been. When I receive that kind of correspondence, 

I am motivated and encouraged to “keep on keepin’ on.” 

12 ExecutiveAgent Magazine

E A 

I encourage anyone who is ever in North Dallas, Texas, to 

visit our offices where you can read as many of those letters 

as you wish, but I always like to warn that if you read very 

many you will leave our company with everything we offer 

in the form of inspiration, training, etc. 

Reality is when you have a specific purpose in your life 

you are far more likely to maintain momentum than otherwise. 

I could get in a little commercial here and say if you 

read my book, Better Than Good, you will be able to clearly 

understand why. But in the meantime, let me encourage 

you to start working on discovering your real purpose in 

life--what gives you real joy? Have you ever reached down 

and lifted someone up with your words, your example, your 

career, your life, and they expressed gratitude for what you 

did for them? If you’ve done that even once, then you know 

what joy is all about. 

I have pondered this for many years--I notice that many 

people start out on a specific objective (getting in better 

shape physically, getting better educated, winning more 

friends, influencing more people, etc.), but along the way 

they had no specifically designed purpose and so they 

dropped out. I can tell you seriously, and if we were seated 

in front of each other I would look you right in the eye 

and say, “Since July 4, 1972, when my purpose in life was 

clearly defined, not one time have I even thought casually 

about abandoning our mission statement.” I had that dream 

and the dream had me. 

Passion is important, but passion can wear you out if you 

don’t clearly understand what you are pursuing--in short, if 

you have purpose the passion simply fuels the purpose. If 

you do not have purpose, passion wears you out. When you 

clearly understand that, you will realize that regardless of 

how many bucks you have in the bank, how high you are 

on the corporate totem pole, regardless of how healthy and 

happy and prosperous you are, you still have a huge hill to 

climb--and that is fulfilling our Biblical application of the 

Golden Rule, helping other people along life’s path. When 

you do that, then your purpose will be crystal clear and the 

results foregone. God bless you as you ponder these things. 

Zig Ziglar is a beloved author and America’s motivator. He 

is the author of 25 books and offers training and consulting 

to organizations all across the globe. To learn more about 

Zig and his business visit his website at www.ziglar.com 

Written By Zig Ziglar 


13


MAGAZINE 

Laura 

Folsom 


E A 

Rising to the Top 

By Julie Brown 

I 

n order to rise to the top, you have to start at the 

bottom. That’s how Laura Folsom built her real estate 

business. In 2007 the recession was just getting started 

and so was Laura’s career. The single mother of three is 

used to working hard and overcoming challenges, and 

breaking into the real estate industry was no exception. 

She spent the first few years of her career managing distressed 

properties where she learned all about property 

values and home improvement. It’s the kind of knowledge 

that only seasoned real estate veterans have and it has 

helped Laura to build a bustling business. “Times were 

tough, but I had to survive,” shares Laura. “Having a sense 

of humor helped. If you didn’t laugh, you cried.” 

Laura was born and raised in Riverside County. She 

attended Northern Illinois University on a volleyball scholarship 

and graduated with a degree in social services. She 

went to work in the industry for five years before considering 

a career change. A friend suggested that she would 

be a great fit for real estate and Laura liked the flexibility it 

offered her as a single mother. “Social services is all about 

taking care of people and making sure the well being of 

everyone is being considered,” says Laura. “I get to use 

those same skills in real estate.” 

After earning her real estate license in 2007, Laura joined 

Realty Executives where she has been ever since. With the 

market in a recession, she spent all of her time working on 

and managing REO properties. The job was all hands on 

and was very intensive according to Laura. “I was driven 

and ready to work hard,” explains Laura. “Everything 

comes from hard work.” 

Working with distressed properties gave Laura a strong 

knowledge of construction, property values and home 

improvement. “I learned all about flipping homes and how 

property values are determined,” shares Laura. “Now I can 

see things in homes that many other people don’t.” She 

also learned how to manage properties and continues to do 

so today. 

County market. “I’ve had buyers write personal letters to 

the sellers,” adds Laura. “I’ve even had friends of a client 

vouch for her client to the seller because they lived in 

the same neighborhood where they wanted to purchase a 

home.” 

Laura’s background in social services has enabled her to 

look at transactions carefully to make sure everyone’s needs 

are being met. “It’s all about honesty, follow through and 

listening to people,” explains Laura. “I really care about 

people. I would never push anything on my client that’s not 

in their best interest.” She recalls a story of a client that she 

met at an open house who was looking for a rental property. 

Laura figured out that it would be cheaper for them to own 

the home, but their past experience with other agents had 

turned them off from the whole buying process. “Being able 

to change their perception of real estate agents and get them 

into a home they love is what I love best about my job.” 

When she’s not focused on her job, Laura stays busy 

keeping up with her three teenage sons. She also enjoys 

playing volleyball, cycling, studying art and visiting local 

wineries. Her family keeps her motivated to push forward 

and continue to be successful. Pushing forward is what 

Laura has planned for her business over the next few years. 

“I’ve really been running off of referrals and need to focus 

more on marketing efforts,” she says. “I hope to get some 

systems in place and bring in some extra help so I can take 

on more.” 

Laura Folsom 


3610 Central Ave., Suite 400 

Riverside, CA 92506 

Tel: 951-213-3500 

Folsom.Laura@yahoo.com 

www.RealtyExecutives.com 

DRE # 01823359 

Regardless of the market conditions, Laura has always 

valued hard work. Staying consistent and persistent are 

important factors that have contributed to her success. “I 

can work seven days a week and not get a check for two 

months,” says Laura. “You have to stick with it.” She’s 

also been successful by using some unique techniques to 

get the attention of sellers in the competitive Riverside 


E A 

Reduce Your 

Expenses! Raise 

your Profits! 


E A 

Written By 

Carla Cross 

I 

hope you managers and owners already have your 

business plans done. If so, check them against the list 

below. If not, it’s time to get that business plan thought 

through and finished for a more focused, goal-oriented 

2014. 

Here are 10 strategies to reduce your costs without 

hurting your productivity. 

Co-op expenses with a title company, escrow company, 

or other company that wants business from the same source 

as you (or wants your business). 

Quit advertising in mass media, (like your local, expensive 

newspaper), and teach your agents to “relationship market”. 

Advertise in targeted media, and teach your agents to do 

the same. It costs less, and gets a much greater return. 

Focus on listings selling, not listings taken (a training 

issue). Your long-held listings are costing you too much 

money. Do you know how much? How much ill will, and 

lack of return customers, is it costing you to have a listing 

that doesn’t sell? Quit wasting your money on overpriced 

listings! 

Stop chasing new customers. Focus on keeping the 

customer, not snagging new ones. Put your advertising 

dollars there. 

Decrease your costs by firing non-productive agents. 

Then, increase the number of productive agents through a 

recruiting program. 

Reduce the square footage of your office, by offering 

agents incentives for in-home offices. 

Reduce your secretarial costs by routing your phone calls 

directly to agents as much as possible. 

Stop buying experienced agents. Hire new agents and 

train them with a great high accountability, get started fast, 

business start-up plan and training/coaching program. 

Reduce the time you spend in non-productive activities. 

Systematize and delegate many of your duties to staff, so 

you can do what you do best – recruit, train, and lead your 

agents. 

Carla Cross, speaker, trainer and author, has had the 

good fortune to learn effective teaching techniques from 

the best. She is a master Certified Real Estate Broker 

(CRB) national instructor. Her passion is to assist owners 

and managers in conquering the challenges of managing in 

today’s real estate world. Copyright© 2006, Carla Cross. 

All rights reserved. For information, contact the Frog 

Pond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@frogpond. 

com; http://www.frogpond.com 


17


MAGAZINE 



T 

here are a few things to be expected in the mortgage 

industry according to Janet Scott. Like the real estate 

market, it’s very cyclical. Lending requirements 

are always changing. People’s perception of the mortgage 

process isn’t always necessarily a positive one. These are 

the things that make Janet’s job as a mortgage consultant 

for imortgage both exciting and challenging at the same 

time. She has spent 23 years in the mortgage industry and 

wouldn’t change a thing. “You can work with a person who 

doesn’t think that they deserve or will qualify for a home 

and hold their hand through the entire process,” shares 

Janet. “Nothing compares to that moment when you hand 

them the keys. It’s so rewarding to see people get in the 

home of their dreams.” 

Janet grew up in Orange County and studied finance and 

interior design at California State University. She spent 

12 years working in the banking industry, but knew that 

she wanted to be a lender. She received her real estate and 

mortgage license in 1990 and went to work in the industry 

right away. “Banking is so institutional and is all about 

numbers and a scorecard,” says Janet. “With mortgages we 

look at people as individuals, not just numbers. Buying a 

home is such a personal and emotional process.” 

She worked on refinancing and new construction loans 

for a few mortgage companies before joining imortgage 

last year. Janet was attracted to the company because of 

their reputation and longevity in the mortgage industry 

and business philosophies. After working with builders 

like Beazer Homes for 20 years both as a lender and direct 

employee, she also respected their expertise as a builder 

mortgage company. “imortgage really understands and 

embraces the building industry,” shares Janet. “Plus, it’s a 

hands-on company made up of knowledgeable and experienced 

mortgage veterans who just get it and understand 

what a client needs.” 

One of the core imortgage business philosophies that 

Janet has embraced is that there’s a mortgage for everyone. 

“Trying to find a program for every buyer is like fitting a 

square peg in a round hole,” explains Janet. “I enjoy the 

challenge of helping people to qualify and get in the home 

they’ve always wanted.” Making that challenge easier 

are some of the industry changes she has seen that are 

incentivizing home buyers. Those include the availability 

of products like Federal Housing Administration loans to 

people beyond first time home buyers. She also shares that 

conventional loans now only require 3% down as opposed 

E A 

Janet Scott 

to 10% in previous years. “These changes are helping to 

get people back in homes,” says Janet. “Plus nobody alive 

today has seen interest rates this low in their lifetime.” 

The smoke from the recession is beginning to clear 

and paving the way for more active home buyers today 

according to Janet. She sees more first time buyers, 

retirees and people who had been previously displaced by 

the market now qualifying for loans. “Most foreclosures 

were prior to 2007 and after three years you can qualify 

for financing again,” explains Janet. “We are seeing those 

people getting back into the market.” 

Even with mortgage trends so favorable now, one thing 

that never seems to change is people’s perception of the 

lending process. “It’s like the excitement of having a baby, 

but knowing you have to go through labor to get it,” shares 

Janet. “People often dread the paperwork, documentation 

and time it takes to get through the lending process.” She 

works hard to make that process for her clients as painless 

as possible by anticipating their needs, keeping them 

informed every step along the way, and always being sure 

to never overpromise and under deliver. 

When Janet is not calculating mortgage payments, she 

enjoys spending time with her two kids and five grandchildren. 

Her hobbies include painting, reading, hiking, 

boating and decorating her home. She is very active in her 

local business community in Temecula where she plans to 

open her own imortgage office within the next few months. 

While her job keeps her working long hours, Janet 

believes the hard work is worth it to see the results of her 

efforts. She laughs as she reflects on a Hallmark thank you 

card that is sitting on her desk from a client. “It’s from a 

53-year-old man who came to America eight years ago 

with the goal of owning a home someday,” explains Janet. 

“He’s on track to purchase his first home ever and making 

his dreams come true. These are the stories that keep me 

motivated and it’s why I love what I do.” 

Janet Scott 

imortgage 

1250 Corona Pointe Ct., Ste. 101 


Tel: (951) 893-6325 

Janet.Scott@imortgage.com 

www.imortgage.com/janet.scott 

NMLS ID 488762 

imortgage is licensed by the California Department of 

Corporations CRMLA 4130969, NMLS 3096. Equal 

housing lender. 09/2013 


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NATIONAL PEST MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (NPMA)

DePeND ON 

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TicorAgent is a powerful and intuitive app made for you 

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Our web-based service tool, Ticor Live, is an efficient, 

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714.272.9552 

tomas.duarte@ticortitle.com 

www.TeamDuarTe.NeT 

Ticor Title Company 

18302 Irvine Blvd., Suite 100 

Tustin, California 92780

E A 

Successful 

Practice... 

We all have a fundamental choice when we fall 

short of our goals and dreams. We can choose 

to modify our goals and dreams or magnify 

our skills needed to reach them. These are the only two 

solutions to this quandary we are in. Which are you going 

to choose? We must focus on acquiring the skills to create 

abundance in life. The mastery of the skills will create a 

life full of rewards. To acquire the skills in sales in order 

to create abundance, we need to break it down to two 

components. 

The first is we must talk to a lot of people. Great salespeople 

talk with more people than mediocre salespeople. By 

talking to lots of people daily, we insure victory. Mediocre 

salespeople let their feelings dictate their success in 

prospecting. When they don’t feel like prospecting, they 

don’t. Great salespeople cause their minds to control their 

actions in a positive manner. George Patton, the famous 

general, said, “You have to make the mind run the body. 

Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body 

will always give up. It is always tired—morning, noon 

and night. The body is never tired if the mind is not tired. 

You’ve always got to make the mind take over and keep 

going.” Which is winning daily in your life? The mind or 

the body? Resolve to control your body and talk to lots of 

people daily. 

The second solution is practice. Daily practice is as 

valuable as making the sale. To develop a high level of 

skill in life we must practice. I spent hours in my youth 

practicing on the racquetball court my variety of shots. 

If I had not I would never have won any tournaments. 

For me to be able to be able to play at the professional 

level in racquetball, I hit hundreds of thousands of crosscourt, 

backhand shots. This allowed that shot to be 

automatic under tournament pressure conditions. What do 

you need to practice on to become a world-class Realtor? 

Is it your prospecting, qualifying, listing presentation, lead 

follow-up, negotiating? Each one of these areas needs 

practice. To achieve mastery of these skills it will take 

thousands of opportunities to improve your skills. Do you 

want to make the errors on “live” buyers and sellers or 

do you want to practice on partners where it is cheaper? 

Which do you choose? 

Let me share another example. Your child is learning to 

ride a bicycle. Do you send your child out on the busiest 

street for their first day or do you keep him or her in the 

back yard? I am sure the answer is obvious. Practice in a 

controlled environment gives us confidence and the skill to 

compete. It allows us to create wins in practice before we 

have to play the game. 

Make sure you adopt these philosophies and make a 

concerted effort to talk to a lot of people. You then need 

to practice daily so you improve your ability to execute in 

the moment. 

Dirk Zeller, President of Real Estate Champions, 

is recognized as the premier coach for the real estate 

industry. He has developed a system that takes “regular” 

agents and “regular” managers and transforms them 

into “top gun” agents and managers. Dirk’s coaching 

systems are built around his incredible success in the 

90’s as one of the top agents in all of North America. 

He closed over 150 transactions annually while working 

Monday through Thursday and taking Friday, Saturday 

& Sunday off. Copyright© 2000-2001, Dirk Zeller. All 

rights reserved. To contact Dirk about his availability to 

speak to your group, please call the Frog Pond Group at 

800-704-FROG (3764) or email susie@frogpondgroup. 

com; http://www.frogpondgroup.com. 


E A 

Written by 

Dirk Zeller 


23

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Call one of our Account Executives today! 

www.ProminentEscrow.com 

RESALE • REFINANCE • COMMERCIAL • REO • SHORT SALE • AUCTION

E A 

Patterns 

Of 

Buying 

There are four common types of buyers out there 

in buyerland: 

The Impulse Buyer - sees it & buys it. 

The Investigator - researches, studies, thinks and buys. 

The Fooler - researches (for maybe a year) and then 

one day walks in and buys. Looks like The Impulse 

Buyer. 

The Never Buyer -investigates, agitates, & 

procrastinates. (Every salesperson’s nightmare!) 

How do you identify who buys how? Ask questions. 

You might ask the prospect directly or you might ask an 

assistant if the opportunity arises. “I noticed you just got 

a new phone system. How did that happen?” OR . . . “ 

How did you buy your last car (or computer)? “ 

With just a little prompting, people will tell you how 

they decided they need new phones: 

They got out the yellow pages, made three calls, 

listened to three presentations the next day and had the 

system in place the following Friday. (Style #1) 

They subscribed to Consumer Reports, called every 

company that made phones, poured over the literature 

that was sent, listened to 73 presentations, did more 

research, created a task force, mulled it over, presented 

3 options to the president and a year from day one got 

the phones installed. ( Style #2) 

Did some of the B activities, then one day called and 

had the phones installed the following week. (style #3) 

Decided 4 years ago they needed new phones and are 

still having weekly meetings about it. (Style #4) 

Once you know the buying pattern you can tailor 

your presentation and your expectations to that buying 

style. The reason so many salespeople - in real estate, 

mortgages or widgets - get frustrated is because they 

expect faster decisions. Many people cannot make fast 

decisions. 

Morgan Carter, the Chicago PR guru, says: “Frustration 

is a function of expectations.” If your expectations 

are appropriate, your frustration is diminished. Lower 

frustration means more energy and that equals more 

sales. 

Investigate those buying patterns! 

Linda Brakeall, GRI, CRB, is a nationally recognized 

expert in sales and marketing for Realtors® and Mortgage 

industry. She has been speaking professionally speaking, 

training and consulting since 1992. © 2008, Linda 

Brakeall. All rights reserved. For information about 

Linda, contact the FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or 

email susie@FrogPond.com; http://www.FrogPond.com. 


E A 

Written By 

Linda Brakeall 


27


MAGAZINE 

The Real Estate Yin and Yang 

Debbie Docherty and Amie Peterson are the yin and 

yang of real estate. This mother and daughter duo 

have opposite, yet complementary, skill sets that 

when combined create a dynamic team. Debbie is a real 

estate veteran who enjoys working with people. She’s a 

networker and nurturer who likes to take care of others. 

Amie is new to the industry and is analytical and technically 

savvy. She’s a marketing guru who is very detail oriented. 

Together the duo is creating a successful business in an 

industry that they both ironically stumbled into. 


E A 

Debbie & Amie 


Debbie earned her bachelor’s degree of science in 

nursing and spent most of her career as a registered nurse. 

When her parents passed away over 20 years ago, she was 

forced to sell their home. Unable to get the information 

and answers that she needed, Debbie set out to arm herself 

with real estate knowledge. She took classes and before 

she knew it she was working on her license. “I backed into 

a career that I really love,” says Debbie. 

She earned her real estate license in 1984 in West 

Virginia and moonlighted as an agent while still practicing 

nursing. Her husband was a physician so her clients were 

mostly people in the medical field. “I sold a lot of homes 

to doctors and nurses,” shares Debbie. After moving to 

California in the early 90s, she got her broker license and 

eventually transitioned into real estate full time. “I enjoy 

taking care of people and was able to translate that passion 

to real estate,” adds Debbie. 

Amie earned a master’s degree in English and went 

to work for an advertising agency after graduate school. 

She later started her own freelance copywriting business. 

Ironically one of her clients was her mother whom she 

helped to market her real estate business. Amie wanted to 

immerse herself in the industry, so like Debbie she took 

real estate classes and later earned her license. Her mother 

eventually became her main client and Amie officially 

joined her in the business last year. 

“Amie had been working with me for two years before 

she decided to make the leap into real estate full time,” 

shares Debbie. “It was a natural transition for her.” It 

wasn’t much of a leap for Amie who had watched her 

mother slowly build a real estate business throughout 

the years. “She always had fun and it was great to see 

her match people with properties,” explains Amie. “It’s 

like putting pieces of a puzzle together and that really 

appealed to me.” 

The duo is like a puzzle themselves whose individual 

pieces fit naturally together. “Our strengths really complement 

one another,” says Amie. She handles all of the 

marketing while Debbie focuses on relationship building. 

“Together we complete the puzzle,” adds Debbie. “I have 

decades of experience to draw on and Amie brings the marketing 

and technical background to our business.” 

as well as investors. Plus, with all of the information that 

buyers can find on the Internet today, Amie’s technical 

expertise helps them stay apprised of online trends. 

The duo joined First Team® Real Estate this year so 

they could start fresh as a team. Amie is working on 

branding and marketing efforts that include social media. 

Debbie is focusing on building client relationships and a 

referral base. Both ladies hope to expand their business 

into areas of Orange County that are less competitive and 

saturated. “Moving to First Team was a great fit for us 

because it allowed us to start fresh in an area with lots of 

opportunities,” shares Amie. “Plus they offer a lot of great 

resources and support to help us with our careers.” 

When the duo is not working on their business they 

both enjoy the outdoors and traveling. Debbie has two 

other daughters and one of them is considering joining 

the family business. “She works in interior design and 

is thinking about getting her real estate license,” says 

Debbie, who welcomes the idea. “I enjoy seeing my 

daughter everyday and being able to work with her.” 

Whatever the future holds for their growing family 

business, both ladies enjoy where they are today. “I love 

working in real estate because it’s so relevant and it’s 

something that everyone has a vested interest in,” explains 

Amie. “When people hear I work in the industry they 

always have questions and commentary.” For Debbie, her 

caregiver instinct carried over to her real estate business. 

“I love helping people to achieve their goals and sharing 

my expertise with them,” adds Debbie. “My goal is to 

make people’s moves and experience as seamless as 

possible.” 

Debbie Docherty & Amie Peterson 

First Team® Real Estate 

27451 Los Altos, Suite 100 

Mission Viejo, CA 92691 

Debbie: 714.357.7152 - Amie: 714.402.7461 

debbie@debbiedocherty.com 

amie@firstteam.com 

DRE # 01867809 - DRE # 01911414 

Not only do their opposing backgrounds and strengths 

work to their advantage, but their age does as well. Amie 

is able to appeal to young first-time home buyers while 

Debbie is a natural fit for experienced and repeat buyers 



MAGAZINE 

“My mission is to continue building a 

successful long-term career 

in the Real Estate industry while 

enhancing others careers along the 

way. I passionately pursue to build 

environments that are progressive 

and that provides growth 

and advancement opportunities 

to those who excel.” 

Regency Realty 


E A 

Jeff Farr 

Life at the Speed of Success 

By Shannon Hartsoe 

If there’s a pattern to Jeff Farr’s professional life, it’s 

start small, build quickly, help others and give back. 

This is the pattern that drove him to succeed in the automotive 

industry, the furniture industry, mortgage lending 

and now real estate. 

For Farr, life is a challenge – an interesting compulsion to 

grow his business as big as he can, not for the sake of success 

itself, but to help others build on his success and in turn help 

others. It’s a kind of professional “pay-it-forward.” 

“What better compliment,” he says, “than to look back 

at the end of my career and see all of the people who were 

inspired to go out and do it themselves, all because they 

worked with me.” 

Farr opened the doors to the Orange location of Sellstate 

Regency Realty early in 2013. In just a few short months, he 

went from one agent to 11 with plans to add more locations 

in the coming year. If it sounds ambitious, consider this: Farr 

was a fully licensed automotive master technician when he 

graduated from high school. His gift, he says, was “fixing 

things.” So rather than pursue academic scholarships he 

worked and put himself through college. By the time he was 

22 he had gone from labor jobs to sales then to management 

while earning a degree in business and accounting. 

By the late 1980s, Farr was making very good money 

in management, as he discovered the dark side of an early 

success. “Life in the fast lane can be dangerous” he says. 

Unfortunately, this took him down the wrong road and it 

got the best of him. “I knew something was wrong and that 

something needed to change.” he said. With the help of a 

dedicated support system Farr poured himself into working 

on his sobriety and is proud of his nearly 20 years without 

any hiccups. 

That experience taught him another lesson – one he hopes 

to instill in his children and his agents. “There is no failure. 

If you fall on your face but you learn something, get back up 

and try again, that is success in and of itself,” he says. “Now 

I try to give back that which was so freely given to me.” 

Mentors Matter 

Farr says he couldn’t have built a successful career without 

the help of two people he counts as mentors. As an only 

child to a single mother who worked hard to support him, he 

was destined to spend long hours by himself, left to his own 

devices. Fate intervened in the form of his “rent-a-parents.” 

“Mike and Jay were a married couple who lived not far 

from us,” he says. “They couldn’t have children and wanted 

desperately to be parents and I was alone. He taught me 

everything I needed to know about how a man should be – 

upstanding in business deals, respectful to women, all that 

stuff. And she taught me a lot of things from a woman’s 

perspective. I learned early on that a work ethic is important.” 

Starting at age 13, Farr was always working – whether it 

was a paper route, cutting lawns or earning his automotive 

technician license. Today, he is always in motion -- an 

energetic, affable man with an easy laugh and a generous 

personality. 

Go, Grow, Give 

Today, he and his wife try to instill those same values 

into the lives of their four children. In subtle and sometimes 

not-so-subtle ways, they work to teach old-fashioned values 

like respect, money management and charity. Everyday 

experiences turn into teachable moments. Each child will 

be required to have some type of job outside the home 

when they turn 15. They’re already required to manage 

their own resources. “We give our children what seems like 

extravagant allowances,” he says. “But in return, they’re 

responsible for saving up for things they need and for things 

like birthday gifts for their friends. It works.” 

Each child is also involved in the family pastime – racing. 

The four, ages 8 to 13, all participate in the NHRA Junior 

Drag Racing league. 

“Our kid’s cars are the only thing faster than the real 

estate market,” Farr says with a laugh. “There’s always an 

adventure when you’re in real estate.” 

Jeff Farr, Broker/Owner 


321 S. Tustin Street 

Orange, CA 92866 

Tel: 714.289.4400 

Email: Jeff@ssregency.com 

Web: www.SsRegency.com 

DRE # 01336678 


E A 

The 

Thinker 

Leadership 

Style 


Written By 

E A 

Tony Alessandra 

If You’re a Thinker...Your high standards are a twoedged 

sword. Your employees are inspired by your 

quest for excellence, but often they feel frustrated 

because they can never quite seem to please you. 

One of the best things you can do is lessen and soften 

your criticisms spoken or unspoken. You can seem so stern 

sometimes! 

Ease up on your need to control. Walk around and spend 

more time with the troops, chatting up people at the water 

cooler or in the lunchroom. 

Wake up to the fact that you can have high standards 

without requiring perfection in each instance. That’ll take a 

load off your shoulders--and off your employees, too. 

Whatever your style, being adaptable can help you 

to build bridges to your employees and make them feel 

valued. By learning to best respond to their interests and 

concerns, their strengths and weaknesses, you can get the 

most from your people as well as leave them more satisfied. 

Dr. Tony Alessandra, CSP, CPAE has authored 13 books, 

recorded over 50 audio and video programs, and delivered 

over 2,000 keynote speeches since 1976. Copyright© 1999, 

Tony Alessandra. All rights reserved. This article has been 

adapted from Dr. Alessandra’s book, The Platinum Rule 

(Warner Books, 1996). Dr. Tony Alessandra is recognized 

by Meetings and Conventions Magazine as... “one of 

America’s most electrifying speakers.” For information 

about Tony’s keynote presentations, please call The Frog 

Pond Group at 800-704-FROG (3764) or email susie@ 

frogpondgroup.com; http://www.frogpondgroup.com. 


33

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through our 

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Director 

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Your REALTOR® membership in The Inland Gateway Association of REALTORS® Connects You with exclusive products, programs and 

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Association of REALTORS® 

321 E. Sixth St. 


TIGAR 


Association of REALTORS®

Exceeding Expectations 

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