We are sometimes faced with uncomfortable situations or daunting tasks, both in our personal, and in our professional lives. In real estate, or sales in general, prospecting seems to fall into this category. Picking up the phone to cold call and deal with a potential negative interaction or rejection doesn’t resonate well with many people, so they do not execute, thus adversely impacting their overall success.
In past blogs I have discussed the notion of “re-framing” how we think about recruiting. Specifically, I conveyed the benefit of shifting from our pre-conceived notion of the term recruiting, to the task of building relationships, which is something most real estate or sales managers do well naturally, and as a result enjoy. It occurred to me that perhaps “re-framing” the task of prospecting could be beneficial as well, both in terms of recruiting, but also in your agents’ sales process.
I recently read a blog by Anthony Iannarino, Chief Sales Officer of a staffing firm and Director of a coaching consulting firm, that touched on the procrastination of prospecting paradigm. Iannarino not only points out the importance and simplicity of prospecting in a successful sales business, but also touches on the ramifications of not picking up the phone.
“If you spent more time prospecting, more time cold calling and opening relationships, you would have more opportunities. You’d even have a stronger pipeline. But your resistance to prospecting keeps you from doing as well as you might.
Knowing all of this is true probably still isn’t enough for you to stop procrastinating. You may not even be motivated by the fact that your fiercest competitors are prospecting, and they are calling your existing client and dream clients (just ask them). There is a simple solution that makes prospecting easier.
Just start making calls.
If you run or do any aerobic exercise, you know how uncomfortable it is to get started. My friends who run tell me that it takes them 3 or 4 miles to finally get their body to adjust. That metaphor works for prospecting. It’s just like that.
The most difficult call you make is the first call. It has nothing to do with who you call or the outcome of that call. It has everything to do with overcoming the internal resistance to starting. Each call after the first gets easier. You adjust. You find your rhythm. It gets easier.
This is why it’s important to prospect early in the day. That’s when you have the mental focus and the greatest capacity to overcome your resistance. As the day goes on, you will find other work to take the place of prospecting, and the world will start making demands of you.”
This new paradigm can be applied both in your recruiting process as well as in the training, coaching, and professional development of new and experienced agents. Helping them to understand this prospecting framework may help them develop successful habits and a newfound commitment to prospecting in their own business.
Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.
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