As you head into this industry, prospecting will have to take a front and center position. One question I am asked over and over again, without fail, is, “How do I get over the fear of prospecting?” The truth is, you don’t get over it; however, you sure can get through it, and get great at prospecting. When you do, your confidence goes up, your results go up and your ability to touch more lives goes through the roof. Keep those three things in mind as we dive into some strategies!
- Own the fact that the fear doesn’t go away. I can hear some of you now, “Gee, Darryl—that’s motivational!” Maybe not, but it’s the truth. Every successful person, from Olympian, pro-athlete to performer gets nervous and has a level of fear. Use those nerves to compel you to be your best every time.
- Work from your commitment, not your fear. What are you committed to? A better life for your family? Your name on the listing leader board at the office? A new car? What is it? When you focus on what you are committed to rather than the fear, you’re able to dig in and do what you have to do.
- Commit to the activity, not the results. For example, commit to making your calls at least three days a week for at least an hour. That’s the activity. Whether you get a yes or a no to an appointment is not the goal. The goal is to do the activity. When you’re living in fear of your expectation or results, you shut down. It’s like when you’re on a diet and you’ve lasted a whole day and step on a scale and the needle doesn’t move. You feel crummy, right? Stick to the activity schedule—the results will come.
- Commit to the relationship, not the appointment. When you are calling and your only focus is to get the appointment, you set yourself up for a win/lose game that doesn’t make anyone feel good. It causes more stress, you beat yourself up more and you get stuck in a negative cycle. However, if you look at every call as an opportunity to move a relationship forward, offer service, ask questions—that’s a win. Focusing on the relationship also makes you more effective at your calls because you are forced to be more empathetic, to listen more and be present in the conversation.
- You’ve got to fit prospecting into your life, rather than fitting life into your prospecting. I’ll share a story with you. Years ago, I committed to running the NYC Marathon for Children with leukemia. (What can I say, I’m a sucker for kids!) I’m not a svelte guy. And I hate exercise. And there was nothing about training for that run that I liked. Nothing. But I had to train in order to do it. My life isn’t conducive to training for a marathon, so I couldn’t just fit running into my life. I had to shift my life to make room for the running. It’s the same with prospecting. When we have something we don’t want to do, you can’t wait until everything is perfect to do it. You’ve got to put that first and mold everything else around it. The good news is when you get good at prospecting, then business improves—life improves.
You’ve got this. I’m here to help, with a passionate community of Power Agents® that can be there for you as well. Learn more at www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess.
Darryl Davis, bestselling author of “How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate” and owner of Darryl Davis Seminars, has trained and coached over 100,000 real estate professionals around the globe for more than 27 years. He is the founder of the Next Level® real estate training system, The Power Program®, which has helped agents double their production over their previous year. For more information, and the new agent tools that can help take you to your Next Level®, please contact darryl@darrylspeaks.com or visit www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess.
