Behavior Change

RULE #1: You must have clear, personal reasons that justify a strong desire to change.

When your WHY is powerful, the how will materialize. Your why is centered on your goals. You need a goal so powerful that you are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. Your goal can be a REWARD or an OBLIGATION. In some cases, life hasn’t given you the experience you want. When you hit the point where you are fed up with not having enough, it is a powerful driver to change to get the REWARD you want. In other cases, you have bills to pay and a family who is counting on you. This OBLIGATION may be enough to give you a powerful driver to change. How would your life change if you signed a new listing every week? What are you willing to do to have that? To change your behavior, the first step is having a strong motivator.

RULE #2: You must minimize obstacles to adopting the new behavior.

What obstacles do I hear from agents? I don’t know how to pull lists. I don’t know what to say to prospects. I’m afraid of violating the DNCL. I don’t want to be seen as a telemarketer. I’m afraid of rejection. I don’t like the feeling of begging for business. How do you minimize these obstacles? Take training to learn who your best prospects are, where to find them, and what to say. If you are prospecting strangers, ask your manager for information on how to scrub numbers against the DNCL. Stop viewing yourself as a telemarketer. You are a local expert offering a great service. Be proud of it. If the fear of rejection is stopping you, shift your thinking … why are you letting a stranger (who you wouldn’t recognize if you ran into them in the street) negatively affect your career. If someone is nasty, the word you need to learn is “next”.

RULE #3: You need the necessary skills and confidence to implement the new behavior.

SKILLS: Having the necessary skills boils down to training. Successful prospectors use scripts. Do you? Depending on who you prospect, every group has different triggers for considering a move: Boomers are interested in downsizing, first-time buyers are interested in building equity in their future, investors are interested in making money, and young families are interested in school districts and family-friendly communities. Know your audience to tailor your conversation.

CONFIDENCE: Confidence comes from knowledge. Know your market stats, so you can have intelligent conversations with prospects. You must have answers to questions they ask. Research the MLS every day for new listings/sales in your area, average days on the market (is inventory rising/falling), what homes typically sell for in their area. If you don’t know this information, your prospect will quickly identify you don’t know what you’re talking about and your conversions will plummet.

RULE #4: You must feel positive about the new behavior and believe it will be beneficial.

Most agents don’t like prospecting. How do you change your attitude, so you feel positive about prospecting? Think about the benefits. It is a straight line to the outcome you want … more money. It is the easiest, fastest way to find listings. If you have time but no money, you must prospect. If you have money but no time, you can market. Most agents market when they can’t afford to with the hope they can avoid prospecting, but they run out of money before they see the return. There is no cost for prospecting, except research and time. If you talk to enough people, a percentage will convert. To believe prospecting will be beneficial, you must see results. Use the free Agent Success App so you can see your results over time and focus on the prospecting that gets the best results.

RULE #5: Your goals must be consistent with your self-image and social norms.

SELF-IMAGE: Prospecting often makes agents feel like they are begging, which doesn’t fit with the professional self-image they want to portray. Here is your wakeup call … you are NOT begging; you are a local expert offering a valuable public service. Stop worrying about your ego, it doesn’t pay the bills. Pride can be debilitating. You need to get out of your own way. What should make you proud? More sold signs.

SOCIAL NORMS: We see ads every day about blocking robocallers. We perceive the public doesn’t like receiving prospecting calls (and most don’t). How do you get around this stigma? Build a reputation in a specific market through consistent contact. Homeowners will see you as a local expert, not an opportunist. When you call homeowners, introduce yourself as a neighbor. It is harder to be mean to a neighbor than a stranger. Success breeds confidence which triggers a mental shift. The more success you have with prospecting, the more you will enjoy it. Remember, you have a responsibility to inform people about sales in their area, and why it is a good time to sell. You are doing a public service.

RULE #6: You must have support and encouragement from people you value to support your new behavior.

Real estate is a lonely business. Prospecting is easier if you do it in groups. This is why people join weight watchers or hire a fitness trainer. It is easier to do something uncomfortable when you have support. Set up call nights in the office (or on videoconference if you can’t get together physically). Ask family for their support and uninterrupted time when you are making your calls. Get an accountability partner to challenge you to make prospecting calls every day. Ask your manager to hold you accountable. Hire a coach to hold your feet to the fire. There is no shortage of support systems you can set up to hold you to your commitments.