Selling Past the Fear

By Dana Scalici - Director of Agent Development
June 27th, 2008

I have been hearing people say for the past year…”the real estate business is changing” , what “they” mean by this is that the way agents get their business is somehow different than it ever was…to that I say BOLOGNA!

This business is fundamentally the same as it ever was I’m going to give you the secret to sales success….ready? MEET A BUNCH OF PEOPLE AND MAKE A BUNCH OF FRIENDS. Wow, if it were only that easy. Guess what? It is! The only thing that has changed and for the better I might add is that now there are MORE ways to meet people and make friends. With almost 90% of buyers coming thru the internet these days there are opportunities everywhere.

So if it’s all so simple why do people fail? The answer to that is fear, fear of meeting new people and fear for rejection.

I wanted to see just how widespread this social fear is so I googled it. I typed in the words “fear of meeting people” and found 174,000,000 results, most related to overcoming this fear. So, let me start by setting your mind at ease…your not alone. Thousands of people share your anxiety about strangers. But you can overcome that and you must if you want to be successful in sales.

So how? What are some steps to overcoming that knot in your throat that you get every time you need to make a prospecting call or knock on a door?

I would suggest that the first step in the process is changing your mind, start doing confidence building activities, read books about communication skills…a great one that I think everyone should read at least once is “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie. If you can learn how people want to be communicated with, you will feel more at ease when prospecting.

Affirm your position, by that I mean…retrain your brain! Write daily affirmations like: “people want to hear from me”, “I communicate well and people recognize it”, “I say and do precisely what is necessary to get appointments”. Take 5 minutes from your day to become clear in your goal of becoming a positively aggressive individual who is successful in sales.

Role-play…I’m not a believer in being tethered to a script but I do believe in Role-playing and specifically the type of role-play where you hear the word NO!. Have a friend or family member on the other end of the line and have them be your worst nightmare call. That’s right, have them tell you that you stink and that if you were the last Realtor® on the face of the earth they’d sell for sale by owner. So why heap all this rejection on yourself? …no matter how eloquent you are, some people just simply won’t like you and you have to be ok with that in order to make the next call, and the next one and the next one. Prospecting is a numbers game and the more no’s you hear the closer you get to the yes.

Try these tips and then just jump in…I promise that the more you practice prospecting the more successful you will become and the easier it will be. I have been cold calling since I was 10 years old and fortunately for me I was too young realize I was supposed to be scared of it. Prospecting will become a habit and it needs to be. It is the single most important skill to sales success.

Copyright (c) 2008 - Written by Dana Scalici, Director of Agent Development for Exit Homeplace Realty.

About the Author: Dana Scalici is the Director of Agent Development for Exit Homeplace Realty. Dana works to train and coach agents on all aspects of their business from planning to implementation. Prospecting and presentation skills are key in this business and after 17 years in the real estate business, Dana has the knowhow to get a deal closed from start to finish, she grew up in the real estate business in Michigan where she worked side by side with her father in their family owned firm and admits that real estate is in her blood. Call her today (910) 202-0999 for a one on one interview. "I can help you gain the skills and knowledge to become a top producer."