“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
If you’ve heard this from a top salesperson, you’re not imagining things, it’s common.
In real estate sales, that mindset often reflects experience and success.
But here’s the twist: what once worked – maybe spectacularly – can become a silent handbrake on future growth.
Many high-performing agents resist adopting new, smarter processes, even when those processes are proven to expand their results.
Why? Let’s unpack the psychology behind this and arm you with a way forward that’s rooted in neuroscience and your own high-performance mindset.
Let’s first consider some of the reasons why people choose to become real estate agents.
Money usually ranks high
Freedom
Uncapped opportunity for career growth
Let’s now consider the risks to become an agent
Uncertainty of income from month to month
Little recurring revenue
Yet the person has chosen a profession that rewards hard work and, for those who develop themselves, bigger opportunities. Risk vs Reward.
When you sign up, you take risks and they pay off, and once you become settled, the risk adverse mentality starts to dominate.
Suddenly, you find yourself growing slowly, and yet there are agents who continue to grow, their commissions to their business. What’s the difference?
Comfort Trumps Change Every Time
Our brains are wired for familiarity. Two cognitive biases fuel resistance:
• Confirmation Bias: We filter for what confirms our existing beliefs. If you believe “100 calls a day wins appointments,” you’ll notice and remember any success tied to volume, even if conversion rates are tanking.
We intentionally turn a blind eye to evidence that contradicts our existing beliefs. Unfortunately, in real estate, the Mantra of Working Hard is reinforced continually, but the Mantra of Think Smart is not.
Immediate gratification always wins for many people.
• Belief Perseverance: We cling to beliefs even when confronted with contrary evidence.
Admitting a familiar strategy is broken feels like admitting we’re wrong, worse, wrong for trusting ourselves.
Have you ever heard someone say that they are a really good driver but have been in multiple car accidents and always blame it on someone else’s fault?
So, an agent underwater in conversion may still double down, because changing the strategy means confronting the emotional pain of being “wrong.”
Think about it this way: in sales, the sales scenarios are usually very similar, and so are the results.
Ever thought about how you could improve the results with the same amount of work? ie difference between efficiency and effectiveness.
So, what industry or business changes from one season to the next and continues to evolve and adapt to changing competitors?
Professional Sports.
There are so many examples of these professional teams and single-person professional sportspeople who continually evolve their processes and techniques.
Tiger Woods took a whole year off the circuit to change his swing, as he knew it would not be good enough to dominate the tour.
NFL teams, Rugby teams, Rugby league teams, and cricket teams all evolve their games, always looking for that edge over their competitors.
So why are salespeople so hesitant to change?
The Illusion of Control
Hard work feels safe. If I dial 100 numbers, I control the volume. Trying a new approach?
That feels like leaving success up to chance. Better to grind than risk unfamiliar “smarts,” even if smarter wins more.
I once coached an agent who proudly said, “I just call till someone says yes.”
His burnout looked like a stall. Yet every week, I pointed out how one small reframe could book three extra meetings.
Harder work or smarter talk? He eventually chose the latter and doubled his results in a month.
A very simple way to think about this is in another industry dominated by a results focus, copywriting.
Change one word in a sentence, and you change the meaning and, importantly, the response.
Copywriters are continuously looking to generate better reply rates.
The first lesson.
Know the outcome-the Goal
Tweak the process-focus on this
Change depends upon the attitudes of the person; do they think success is about working hard and succeed by outworking everyone else, or do they want to dominate?
The salesperson who is outperforming everyone else is usually driven to dominate their competition.
They think differently, they are always looking to improve, even when failing.
Elastic Thinking: The Antidote to Resistance
Enter Elastic Thinking, a concept from Leonard Mlodinow’s Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change.
Mlodinow defines it as our ability to abandon rigid thinking, reframe problems, and adapt creatively, exactly what seasoned salespeople need but often avoid.
Humans operate using three modes of thought, scripted, analytical, and elastic:
• Scripted: Auto-pilot responses (sell by rote learning, scripts).
• Analytical: Logical step-by-step (calculate risk).
• Elastic: Creative reframing and patternmaking (what’s the bigger picture, how do we disrupt it?)
Sales agents often over-rely on scripts they know. Elastic thinking invites them to shift frames and accelerate deal flow through curiosity, story, and context, not volume.
An agent earning over a million dollars a year usually can’t work any more hours.
They have a team, but the secret lies in process improvement. If that agent wants to go from one million a year in commissions to earning an extra five hundred thousand, then a percentage increase is required while working the same hours.
Why Trainers Who Preach “Harder” Still Win Trust
Trainers who blitz hard work, “100 calls, full volume, no excuses”, validate what agents already believe: that effort is heroism.
That feels safe. It avoids asking them to rethink their identity or step into discomfort. Sales is a number game.
Persistent praise of hustle feels more like a nod from a buddy than an opinion.
Meanwhile, smarter approaches feel like risk. Selling smarter isn’t sexy, but breaking the ceiling is.
The Notebook Salesperson
One agent refused to use the CRM. His reason? “Everything’s in my notebook.” Of course, one latte spill later, the notebook and hundreds of client notes were gone. His response?
“No worries, I’ll rebuild.” Resistance turned head-slapping hilarious until he finally switched systems. Now he says with a grin: Tech is safer than coffee.”
The Cost of Resistance
The price of sticking to old habits:
• Lost deals, because the pitch no longer resonates.
• Burnout, from chasing volume, not value.
• Stalled income, even amid market shifts.
• Fading edge, as competitors adapt faster.
The world moves fast. Real estate succeeds when professionals do too, not when they resist. How to Shift Mindsets – Soft, Smart, Strategic
1. Reframe Change as Experimentation
Offer: “Try this phrase for two calls. No risk. Let’s see.”
2. Reward Elastic Wins
Showcase how one reframed objection led to a signed listing. Let success be the example.
3. Bridge Identity with Adaptation
“You’re already a top agent; this process just sharpens that.”
4. Stimulate Elastic Thinking
Use Mlodinow’s concept of default-mode thinking: periods of relaxed thought where fresh ideas emerge.
Even top firms like Google build “nap rooms”, they know relaxation fuels invention ,Knowledge at Wharton.
Final Thought: Rise Above Rigid Thinking
When salespeople cling to “working harder,” they build habits. Good at first, limiting later.
But when they open to elastic thinking, questioning, reframing, and adapting, just close deals they redefine what’s possible.
