In last week’s article, I talked about “creeping self-doubt.” This week, we have a related-but-broader topic: confidence.
The events of 2020 have rattled many brokers’ confidence, yet confidence is an important prerequisite for business and personal success.
I’ve been thinking about confidence lately and the role it plays in our success. On countless occasions, I have seen CRE agents who have less experience, less education and less professional “polish” outperform seasoned agents, who at least on paper, ought to be superior. Generally, there are three variables that explain this phenomenon. Two of them are discipline and work ethic. The third is confidence.
Confidence can make up for deficiencies in other areas. If you would like to boost your own confidence or the confidence of an agent on your team, read on…
Attitude – Top producers studiously abide by three words: responsibility, authority and accountability. They accept total responsibility for their lives and careers, they know they have the authority to carry out their responsibilities, and they are 100-percent accountable for whatever happens. If they succeed, they graciously accept credit and never chalk it up to “luck.” If they screw up, they take full responsibility even if they got a raw deal.
They never blame, and they refuse to be victims. They never discount what they have accomplished. Rather than being guilty about the success they’ve enjoyed, they’re grateful. Rather than allowing external circumstances to be an excuse for failure, they choose to overcome them.
If you make a commitment to living your life with this responsibility-authority-and accountability mindset, it will do wonders for your confidence over the long term.
Initiative – Confident people take the initiative. They are proactive and don’t wait around for someone to give them “permission” to do things.
If this is not a natural trait for you, choose one thing you have wanted to do but have put off. Decide to do just that one thing, but do it “all in.” After you complete it, assess how it went. Think about what you learned. Then take the initiative to do another thing, perhaps a little more outside your comfort zone. Then do it again and again…
Start small – As you’re taking the initiative, start small. A small risk is easier to digest than a big one. As you start to enjoy a string of small victories, you’ll become emboldened to take bigger chances. Your risk tolerance will grow and your comfort zone will balloon.
Practice – Preparation makes you more confident. I recommend playing out in your mind how you will approach a situation and then you can practice it. Some people do that in front of a mirror, while others will role play with a friend or colleague. Still others just contemplate it in their minds, envisioning scenarios and rehearsing future conversation. As you do that, envision yourself doing a great job. Envision success.
Learning – Be on the lookout for new ideas. Keep on top of things. Stay up on the rumors and intel in your industry and your client’s industries. Knowledge is power and power gives you more confidence. The more you know, the easier it is to be confident.
Language – If you want to feel more confident when you call cold prospects, work on your message. When you know exactly what you’re going to say and why you’re going to say it before you call a prospect, you’ll have much less fear of rejection. Brokers procrastinate calling cold prospects because they hate rejection. The biggest reason they are rejected is because they don’t have effective, prepared-in-advance messaging they know will work.
Advice and consultation – To grow your confidence, it helps to have confidant. You need a trustworthy person (or persons) who will help you grow and develop as a professional.
A couple ways come to mind. One is to choose another broker to be your accountability partner. The two of you help each other succeed, support each other, but are willing to ask each other uncomfortable questions.
Another method is masterminding. A mastermind is group of smart people meets regularly to tackle challenges and problems together. They lean on each other, give advice, share connections and do business with each other when appropriate. It’s very much peer-to-peer mentoring, and if you join one, you will almost certainly see a marked change in yourself and your business.
In closing, many brokers could use at least a little boost to their confidence (even if they won’t admit it). While it is true that some people are just born with more confidence than others, I am 100-percent convinced that you can create your own confidence. I have watched it happen countless times.
CRE firms around the world are using Dealmakers online sales training program, and they are happy with the results as evidenced by this comment from Bjarne Bauer, managing director at NAI Sofia Group in Shanghai, China:
“Let me give a brief heartfelt referral: about three months ago, we started subscribing to Jeff Beals’ Dealmakers online courses, and we are very satisfied. The content addresses the challenges our team faces. So far, we have come to module 13 and are very happy with it. For each module, there is typically a 12-minute video with an exercise that takes another 10-to-20 minutes. If you haven’t tried it yet, then I suggest you have a look.”
Even though Dealmakers requires a low investment, we still want you to be comfortable before you subscribe. You can check out a free sample module on “telephone and voicemail prospecting” by clicking HERE (simply fill in your name and email and then you’ll have access to the module).
If you’re ready to join Dealmakers now, click HERE.
