Do you suffer from these common misconceptions about prospecting?
- "I won't know what to say"
- "I don't have time to prospect"
- "I'll be seen as a telemarketer"
In addition, do you feel burdened with self-limiting beliefs like
- "If I prospect, I'm bothering people"
- "if I prospect I will be judged and rejected"
- "if I prospect I will be seen as a pushy salesperson"
If you resonated with these common misconceptions or these Self-limiting Beliefs, then read on….
Is it any wonder that you feel blocked when it comes to picking up the phone and calling prospective clients?
When you think about it for a moment, none of us were trained from our childhood to do anything like that. In fact in our conditioning we were trained to do the opposite. We learned things like "don't talk to strangers", "it's not okay to ask for what you want", "if you call people you're bothering them" and so forth the list goes on.
It makes sense then that you would probably have an avoidance pattern about prospecting. It goes something like this: "I don't really need to Prospect today; I've got plenty of other work to do. Maybe I'll get around to it tomorrow. I have some leads to follow up with AND I don't mind that. But when I look over to the phone to call up complete strangers, it seems like the phone to call up complete strangers, it seems like the phone weighs a ton."
Most of you have been avoiding lead generation for quite some time. And by avoiding I don't mean that you've avoided it altogether, it's just that you've been doing it inconsistently and you're noticing that that isn't enough. Making a few calls a day can hardly be called lead generation. You may be suffering from these common misconceptions:
Time: the first misconception that real estate agents have is that they don't have enough time to add lead generation into their schedule.Behind this misconception about time about time is fear. The truth is you can easily schedule in prospecting.
"I won't know what to say": Gary Keller in his book "shift" makes a remark that, "prospecting is nothing more than a set of tasks and skills that are well documented." In other words, you can learn what to say, it's not a mystery, you just need to have scripts for different categories of people.
Telemarketer misconception: This misconception is usually stated like this: "I really don't like it when telemarketers call me, I always feel interrupted and disturbed. How can I do to someone else what I don't like done to me?"
Here is the myth that lies inside of this misconception. You are not a telemarketer, because when a telemarketer calls you up, they are calling to sell you something. No matter how they may disguise it, they have something to sell. Contrast this to what you're doing.
When you call a client, you are calling to see if they need some help from you. For example if you call someone in the category of for sale by owners, then you're asking them if they might be able to use your services. Your chances are very high that they can use their services. They didn't realize when they got into selling their home by themselves that it would be such a hassle. Usually they don't succeed and often they will hire you when you contact them with the right approach the right tone in your voice.
What I've discovered after coaching real estate professionals for 15+ years is that the problem is really at a deeper level. Most of you are suffering from old, subconscious self-limiting beliefs that you may not even be aware of, that stop you from picking up the phone.
Most real estate agents consciously or subconsciously are carrying this belief:
If I call, "I'm bothering them". In fact, one of my former clients, Joanne, suffered from this belief and was stopped in her tracks. She was not able to prospect for years. Once we released that self-limiting belief and others, she was then comfortable with prospecting, grew to enjoy it, and now makes $35,000/ mo., only working 5 hours a day.
We created a new belief for her called," I have a valuable service to offer and people are happy to hear from me."
All of us fear rejection. However, rejection is subjective and rejection is how you define it. If you look at it objectively, you will see that there really is no such thing as rejection when you are prospecting for leads.
Why? Because you are looking for someone who matches the services you offer. You have an expertise in helping people to buy and sell homes. You can be proud of that expertise. When you do lead generation, you're exploring to see if you can find a match for someone who's looking for your expertise. If someone is interested in your services, you found a match if they are not interested in your services, they are not rejecting you. It simply is not a match. Thank them and move on to the next.
So instead of thinking your old belief, you can easily cultivate a new belief: "I easily attract people who match the services I offer."
Another self-limiting belief is this: if I call people, I won't know what to say.
This is a bogus belief for 2 reasons:
There is no shortage of places to go where you can find very good prospecting scripts. You can Google on real estate prospecting scripts, you can find real estate teachers who specialize in prospecting and go to their websites, and you can read books on lead generation. You can also be creative and make up your own scripts especially when it comes to calling your past clients and sphere of influence.
The script is only the lead in. Once you have someone's attention, you should be working on connecting with the person you're talking to. Convey to your prospective client through the tone of your voice that you are here to be of service and you care.
Have you heard the expression people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care? Express your caring for your warmth and through being in alignment with the intention of your heart, which is to be of service and help people.
If you are in alignment with your purpose, this will be reflected in your voice. The voice won't sound abrasive, it will sound invitational. It will have a lilt. People will be attracted to your voice and your energy, no matter which exact words you use.
An Empowered belief to counteract this could be; "as I connect with my true intention to be of service, words flow easily from me."
Can you see how any of these beliefs by themselves would stop you from feeling confident about prospecting? I have not met a single person who doesn't carry several subconscious self-limiting beliefs that are unique to them. They are hidden in your blind spots. They require some outside help to bring them to the surface.
I find that for most of my clients, the big shift in mindset about prospecting is going from the belief that "prospecting is begging" to embracing the belief that "whenever I prospect, I am in the position of the giver."
Once you release the old outdated Self-limiting Beliefs, you create space in your mind to embrace the truth.
The truth is you have a valuable service to offer. When you call people you are calling to see if you can be of service. You're calling from your heart to see you might be able to help them. When you come from contribution, people will pick up on that and will be very receptive to you.
You will also begin to understand that there is no such thing as rejection. There is either a "match or not match". If it's not a match, you're not being rejected; the person simply does need your service at this time so you move on.
I found that the real estate agents, who succeed the quickest, are the ones who are eager to help people. They wake up in the morning with the thought "who can I help today?"
I will leave you with this positive thought: Change your focus to one of being of service to people. We all have a need to contribute. You have valuable skills and expertise and you can make a valuable contribution to people's lives. Whenever you set out to prospect, remember the skills that you offer and how valuable these skills are in helping people with their real estate needs. Visualize people being happy to hear from you.
Start every prospecting session with this Empowered Belief: "I have a valuable service to offer and people are happy to hear from me."