How to Get Motivated

There is an 8-step process we go through whenever we want to make a change. You must succeed at all 8 steps to see the results you want. Let’s take them apart one by one.

Let’s pretend you want to start making prospecting calls to generate leads and ramp up your business, but you’ve been putting it off. Here is how the 8-step process works:

STEP #1: AWARENESS

Change starts with an awareness that you have a problem. In this example, you wake up one day and realize your pipeline is empty and you have no business lined up. This wakeup call makes you to realize you need to do something different to get better results.

STEP #2: INVESTIGATION

Now that you are aware you have a problem, you start looking into how and why you got into this situation and how you can improve it. You start by asking your manager for suggestions, and they recommend making prospecting calls because it is the fastest and least expensive way to uncover opportunities.

STEP #3: KNOWLEDGE

You decide to buy a book about how to make prospecting calls (e.g. Conversion Code), and you also decide to watch the Lead Generation session in the Leader’s Edge Virtual Training system to learn scripts and dialogues.

STEP 4: POTENTIAL

With your newfound knowledge, and after learning about how other agents are succeeding using phone prospecting, you see the potential benefits and decide to do it.

STEP 5: MOTIVATION

Seeing others succeed in an area that you find challenging gives you the motivation and self-confidence to start phone prospecting. You aren’t excited about it, but you have the confidence to step outside your comfort zone and try.

STEP 6: ACTION

This is where the rubber meets the road. You generate a neighborhood call list (either using Cole Realty Resource, Telelistings.net or a similar service). You check the list against the DNCL. You print 2-3 phone scripts and practice them with a partner. You book 90 minutes a day on your schedule to make calls, and finally you pick up the phone and start dialing for dollars.

STEP 7: PATIENCE

The first few calls you make are likely disastrous. You bumble over your words, and it feels uncomfortable. No one is good at something their first time out. It takes practice to improve your conversations. Starting something new takes patience because some days you win and some days you don’t. It’s a numbers game and it takes persistence.

STEP 8: RESULTS

If you stick with it and make prospecting calls day after day, it soon becomes second nature, the conversations get easier, and you convert more calls to appointments. The next thing you know, you have a full pipeline and life gets easier.

 

Every time you try to make a change in your life, you go through this 8-step process (most of us do it unconsciously). If you get stuck anywhere along the process, figure out where you are breaking down:

• Maybe you investigated options, but you didn’t get all the answers you needed and you didn’t truly develop knowledge.
• Perhaps you’re motivated, but you didn’t organized your call lists and scripts to be able to take action.
• Maybe you took action and made some calls, but you lost patience, quit too soon, and never saw results.

There are no magic bullets or easy buttons! Wherever you find yourself stuck in the 8-step process, pick it up from there and follow through to the end.

Motivation is important because change is uncomfortable. If you forget WHY you want to make the change, or your why isn’t powerful enough, you won’t do what it takes. Making any change in your business (or your life) requires making a commitment. I recommend a 5-step approach to make sure you honor your commitments.

STEP 1: RECORD YOUR MOTIVATION

The first step is to state the change you want to make (e.g. I want a consistent funnel of leads, so I never worry about where my next payday is coming from). Write it down. Seeing your goal in print makes it more real and serious.

STEP 2: SET A REALISTIC PLAN

Seriously consider what you need to do to make your goal a reality. Consider where you are starting from (perhaps you’ve never made a prospecting call before) and plan the specific steps to achieve your goal (taking a course, memorizing scripts, practicing objection handling dialogues, choosing a area to prospect, printing call lists, etc.)

STEP 3: PRACTICE YOUR NEW HABIT

Perhaps you’ll start with prospecting three days a week, then four, then five. Practice using different scripts to see which ones work best. If you don’t get the results you want, don’t give up, figure out what you need to change. Book a coaching session with your manager to ask for their advice.

STEP 4: REVIEW AND REWARD YOUR PROGRESS

Your goal should be to make fewer calls to book an appointment. We don’t get paid to make calls; we get paid for results. When you book an appointment, reward yourself. Schedule something you love to do – get your nails done, go to the spa, book a massage. Do something that nourishes your soul.

STEP 5: IF YOU FALL OFF THE WAGON, GET BACK ON

Feeling guilty or down about your mistakes is a waste of time. If you promised yourself you were going to make prospecting calls every day and you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. Forgive yourself and get back on track tomorrow.

If you want to learn more about how to succeed in real estate sales, check out https://leadersedgetraining.com/virtual-training.

Chris Leader
President
Leader’s Edge Training