Prospecting. The very thought can create anxiety, especially when housing inventory is already low. Out of millions of agents across the country, why should they choose you?
Abundance versus scarcity thinking
The mind is a powerful thing; and whether you go into your prospecting with a mindset of scarcity or one of abundance, you will get whatever you expect to get. Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t want to send out postcards to people who already have a real estate agent.” That’s coming from a scarcity mindset. Abundance thinking will lead you to think, “Even though these people have an agent, they know plenty of people who don’t.”
An example
I have an attorney that I use for almost everything, and I will recommend this person to everyone I know. However, I am currently working on a project with a different attorney because they have the knowledge to help me, whereas my usual attorney doesn’t.
‘Shaking the trees’ analogy
I saw a video a while back about how farmers in mango orchards collect the mangos. They place buckets on the ground under the trees before shaking the trees so that the ripe mangos fall off. They (mostly) fall into the buckets, and the rest are gathered up quickly and easily. The mangos that aren’t ripe yet don’t fall, so the farmer goes back every so often to shake the tree again, collecting those that have ripened.
Prospecting with an abundance mindset works the same way. You don’t climb a ladder and handpick each individual fruit and make your own judgment as to whether it’s ripe or not. Not only would this take too long, but you could also be wrong.
Sure, some people you prospect to might already have an agent they usually work with, but here’s the thing: They might not work with that person next time if you impress them.
Analysis paralysis
Scarcity thinking also convinces you to discount potential clients before you even call. You might think, “They aren’t really in my neighborhood,” “That expired was priced too high, they won’t come down” or “They won’t want to pay my commission.” Abundance thinking will leave you realizing that everyone is a potential client, and you will not invent reasons to avoid calling because you’ll be too busy putting yourself out there gathering all the fruit.
Darryl Davis has trained and coached more than 100,000 agents globally. He is a best-selling author of “How to Become a Power Agent® in Real Estate,” which tops Amazon’s charts for most-sold book to real estate agents. Davis hosts a weekly webinar to help agents succeed in changing times. Visit www.DarrylSpeaks.com/Online-Training.
