Using the Web and social media to sell real estate

Roberto Mazzoni, here, and today I have an incredible story to tell, that of Joe Rivera, a previous WBA welterweight world champion that has toured the whole world in the 80ies and 90ies fighting against some of the most formidable boxers and winning three championships, and now living a very frugal life, biking 37 miles a day, both ways, to get to work.

I have met this man by chance today in a little rehab project I was running in Clearwater, Florida. He was brought to the site by a friend of mine who is the general contractor running the show and I was surprised by the incredible energy coming out of this man who self proclaimed himself one hundred per cent American Indian, with a Puerto Rican accent.

Joe Rivera is the name of this gentleman who has become an handyman after having come very close to being incredibly rich. I couldn’t believe his story myself, so I spent some time researching online and checking it with my friend the contractor, and Joe is the real deal. He has actually fought on the most important boxing rings in the world.

He is a simple man with little education that apparently succumbed to the cunning of agents that knew much better how to read contracts. And he, on his side, was not able to govern his riches when he had them due to plain lack of education. A man who has learned to live life in a tough way and he enjoys doing it. Listening to his video interview you will get three advices:

1. keep your hands up
2. always throw punches
3. never, never, never doubt your corner

which mean never doubt the advice of your coach and be always ready to follow them promptly and precisely. Your coach will make you great providing he is a great coach and you are willing to listen.
A lesson that is applicable to any field and that I want to pass on to you today.

And remember: Always a “nobody” can beat a “somebody”. Do you feel like you are nobody, well you could as well be the next champion.

Roberto Mazzoni

P.S. there is another Rivera who is also a boxing champion of much more recent times and who is all over the Internet, therefore Joe not only has lost everything but the very memory of him his challenged. Help me build him a little piece of eternity on the Web by linking to this post or passing along  the video of him.

There is a little story that I want to tell to make my point today. It is the story of the scoprion and the frog that some of you might already know.

One day, a scorpion decided that he wanted a change and went on journey until he reached a river.
The river was wide and swift and he saw a frog sitting on the other side and decided to ask the frog for help getting in crossing the stream.
The frog replied: “How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?”
The scorpion replied: “If I try to kill you, then I would die too!”
Now this seemed to make sense and the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river.
Halfway across, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back.
Why on earth did you do that?” asked the dying frog.
The scorpion replied while drowning: “It’s my nature.”
Some people can be very convincing and there are many business opportunities that seem too good to be left alone, but you can’t get into a field you don’t know without knowing fully whom you are dealing with. In real estate for example, where most of my activity is concentrated, I get daily suggestions about “good” deals some of which are just not so good. And I know that many of the international investors that come to me for advice and service have had bad experiences, not deadly but painful.
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America is the land of systems and indeed much work can be done by using computers and automatic tools, but since they are available to many, I am afraid that the “people component” remains one of the single true differentiating factors. It can be the people using the system or the people that appear in your message.

The most “personal” type of media today is definitely video. It communicates the reality of the event just as it is, with all the characters involved, the surrounding scenario, the emotions and the comments. Some just don’t feel confident with this medium and don’t use it or use it occasionally. Yet it is very powerful and if the information or situation you provide has some unique value and can be attractive to the public you are targeting, you shouldn’t worry too much about the quality of lighting, the perfection or you speech or the steadiness of the image.

Some of the best video bloggers actually suggest to never edit your videos at all, but use intead the first take and just make sure you feel as authentic as possible. If you don’t feel like shooting straight video, there are sites that produce very neat animations starting from your still images. Animoto.com is one example, Slide.com is another one.

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Today I have begun my running routine under the training one of the best running coaches in Italy. I have been running with my kids and it has been a double pleasure. We skirted around a gold course that is near my house in Florida and we also watched some of the players: really a great time.

My coach is coaching me from a distance, via e-mail, and the sole fact that I have a routine to follow for actually keeping myself healthy is a wonderful thing. I have purchased the right shoes. I didn’t realize there are different types of running shoes for any type of foot. I have gone to a local sport apparel shop and I have found a very competent young man who got me walking and swinging and standing still, and who by the sole observation of my gait was able to determine what was needed for me.

This is the kind of professional service one expects from any type of business. The competence must be so high that by only looking or listening to your costumer you should be able to know right then what is good for her. And as a matter of fact the shop where I went to buy my running shoes is always busy, despite it being relatively small, kind of hidden inside a secondary mall.
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Yesterday I have started a new mastermind group that is an evolution of the mastermind activity already conducted by The Wealth Building Annex in Tampa. What is a mastermind first of all? Well, it is a place where you go and meet people who are trying to achieve something different in their working life and share their experiences and necessities with others so to obtain and give help under a facilitator that makes sure that no time is wasted and that every meeting has a productive outcome.

Well maybe some of you already belong to one so “what is the big deal” here? The deal here is to create a whole new model of high end mastermind that will then be used elsewhere. Having this purpose alone will make it so much more powerful.

The official objective anyway is to iron out business strategies and to enable a faster growth leveraging to experince of Mark Katz, the facilitator who has a substantial background in business development in the US. Joining this smaller elite mastermind inside TWBA has also changed my status in the organization, bringing me to “governor” level which means I will now be able to have a deeper insight into the evolution strategy of what I consider the most advanced mastermind organization in the whole nation.
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