Are your agents resisting getting into action?

I’ve just published the 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. In it, I’ve included lots of up-to-the-minute updates. You can read some of them, in these blogs.

Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.

Below is an excerpt from the newest edition of the book.

{To agents}

Real Estate Sales IS Challenging!

Ia��ll bet you didna��t know how challenging real estate sales were until now. To cope with those challenges, your creative subconscious may be coming up with ways to convince you to avoid getting into action. You might even start believing your subconscious! One of the most common reasons is the old a�?I cana��t do that because I dona��t know enough.a�? Or, maybe your subconscious has convinced you that youa��re not organized enough to get into action, or that youa��re not perfect enough.

{Managers: Do you have some agents frozen into inaction–or trying for perfection before they’ll start?}

Getting Ready to Get Ready

Ned, an agent in my office, acted in a way that is an example of creative avoidance. In the business eight months, Ned had made only one sale. However, he was in the office regularly and appeared busy with paperwork. He attended law courses and was well-informed on financing. One day I saw Ned collating maps. I asked him what he was doing. He explained that he was putting together a series of maps for a buyera��s tour. I thought that was exceptional; buyers would really want to know the whereabouts of the homes they were seeing. Unfortunately, Ned had used his strategy with only six buyersa��all the buyers he had put in his car in the past eight months! He had spent his time on this nifty map system, but had not talked to enough people to get them into the cara��or have the opportunity to appreciate the map system! Which is more important to your goal attainmenta��talking to people, qualifying them, and showing them homes, or working diligently on a map system in case you find someone who wants you to show them homes?

How People Get into Action

How do you a�?get into actiona�??a��In a wonderful book, The Conative Connection, Kathy Kolbe explores the ways different personalities get into actiona��not how we learn, but how we get into action. Some people barge ahead and worry about the details later. We start badly, but, because wea��re tenacious, we surprise people by how good we finally get. Unfortunately, our supervisors often remember only how bad we were when we started. We must be tough-minded and keep at it; we must retain an image of ourselves as a�?finished products,a�? because others will not see us that way. Other people observe the action for a long time. Finally, when we feel ready to perform well, we get into action. We start slowly but well. Because of our slow start, we dona��t get much positive reinforcement from our supervisors (or coach or manager), who note our lack of progress compared with others in the office. If slow starters are tenacious and believe in themselves, they become very good because they practice perfectly. Kolbe points out several a�?get into actiona�? styles. This book will help you pinpoint your a�?get into actiona�? style as well as the barriers and challenges you face as you start your real estate career.

Embrace Embarrassment

Go aheada��be embarrassed.a��There is no way to be experienced until you get experience. No agents like to take risks, be embarrassed, or have buyers and sellers guess that they are new in the business. But face ita��everyone has been new in the business. Just go ahead and get those first few months over with. You will be embarrassed every daya��many times. As a new agent, my most common statement to buyers or sellers was a�?I dona��t know, but Ia��ll find out.a�? In music, little could stump mea��but in real estate anything could stump me! Still, I muddled through it, and you will, too.

* Big Idea: Your ability to get into action and risk being embarrassed is one of the attributes of a successful new agent.

Why not take your time?a��Ia��ve interviewed prospective agents who told me they really didna��t want to sell real estate right away. They wanted to learn everything they could. Then, after six or eight months, they would feel ready to sell real estate. It doesna��t work that way! I wish I could tell you that you can successfully launch your real estate career by taking lots of time to a�?get ready.a�? However, if you take all the time in the world, you will fail:

Real estate is a performance art. It doesna��t matter how much you know; it only matters how you interact with people. And that takes practice and performance. To remember and emulate good performance, we need to perform right after we have heard, seen, and practiced that performance. Learning something in a class and letting that skill lie dormant for months just guarantees poor skilla��and high stress.

* Big Idea: 99 percent of what we learn we learn by doing.

Managers: Are you unwittingly stopping people from getting into action by insisting on perfection?

Do You Have a Proven Start-Up Plan with Inspiration Built In?

Up and Running in 30 DaysA� has lots of up-to-the-minute updates. Plus, a proven, prioritized business start-up plan with inspiration, motivation, and action items built in. Check it out!