BEST PRACTICE

Is your head in the game?

Real estate agents striving for success need to make sure they are mentally tough. Josh Phegan explains how to make sure your head is always in the game.

WE’VE all seen tennis players who are struggling physically and psychologically double-fault at moments of crisis and lose a tiebreak. Every day real estate agents face just as much pressure.

So how can you ensure you play like Roger Federer rather than Nigel Nobody?

Just as tennis players need to remain psychologically tough, real estate agents must ensure their head is in the game and they’re mentally ready, focused and stable in order to achieve success.

Resilience is the key.

It’s vitally important that agents never take anything too personally.

Like water off a duck’s back, agents should let negative customer comments rest in the first instance, rather than reacting instantly in an adverse manner. The comments can be filed away to use later as fuel for future success.

Agents must also understand the sales process inside out.

Customers will say no; they’re designed to. The secret is to become good at asking the right questions, so you find out exactly what they’re objecting to and why.

Once you know this you can realign your strategy and, hopefully, still achieve a successful outcome.

Successful agents also see every setback as a chance to make an almighty comeback. But how do you obtain this positive mindset, I hear you ask?

The secret is to nominate three people, other than your life partner, to play a major role in helping keep you focused and on track.

The positive person. Every time something goes wrong, ring them and they’ll pick you back up. Similar to having your own little fan club, this person can turn every negative into a positive, be it an opportunity for you to improve in some way or a chance for you to refocus and expand your business operation.

The negative person. Over time you may develop a feeling of invincibility, but if you call this person they’ll bring you back to earth. This is important, as feelings of invincibility can lead to a decline in effort; once that happens it can be hard to turn things around. Keeping your feet planted firmly on the ground ensures you always approach every sale with the right attitude and level of diligence.

The negotiator. Every time you need to make a tough decision in your life ring this person. Their superior negotiating skills will help you make that choice. As a distant third party they can look at each situation with a better perspective and without bias.

Once you’re off and running it’s important to avoid peaks and troughs in your mental stability. Those ups and downs could lead to similar highs and lows in your sales performance.

One of the best ways to do this is to focus on the number of appointments you book each week.

Only ever judge your success by the number of listings you gain each month. I suggest that my clients track their results on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of each month.

Focusing on the here and now helps you focus your attention and energy on what’s currently important. It prevents you from becoming overwhelmed by looking at too much of the pie at once.

If you focus on just a few tasks at a time, you ensure procrastination is kept to a minimum and your energy and dedication levels are at optimum rates.

Employing a real estate coach is also an excellent way of making sure your mental stability avoids peaks and troughs. They are able to analyse your situation objectively and devise opportunities to keep you on track.

If things do run off the rails, it’s important to remember why you started in real estate, what you love about it and how you can turn things around.

One solid tactic is to look for opportunities to book appointments with potential vendors.

I suggest my agents call all of the people who bought from them in 2012 and 2013, as they’ve most likely had a 20 per cent increase in their property value and now is the ideal time to capitalise on positive market conditions.

Maintaining a regular, healthy diet, exercise and sleep routine will also help you avoid mental burnout, as will controlling your stress levels.

Controlled and self-induced stress is better than imposed stress, so it’s important that agents learn to manage their anxiety and to channel it towards tasks and outcomes that really matter.

Another good idea is to keep a list of your goals, achievements and lessons learnt on your phone. It’s the easiest, quickest way to pick yourself up and help get your focus back on track.

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Josh Phegan

Josh Phegan is a renowned coach, trainer and speaker for high performance real estate agents and agencies across the globe. Visit joshphegan.com.au