Just
a few tips from an INTROVERT
on how I was able to pull this real estate career off as an EXTROVERT.
Those who know me outside the real estate industry know me a very shy
introvert who would rather be alone than in a crowd of people.
My best friend calls me "THE WALKING DEAD".
That is just me. Some outside of real estate may
think I am moody.....some may think I am stuck on myself.....and some
say I am the walking dead. In reality, I am just a quiet guy
suffering severe chronic pain (just maybe another blog on tuning out
severe pain) that listens very well and will throw in my two
cents if no one has a good idea. This has been me for my
entire life outside of real estate.
Those
that know me in real estate will probably not believe the upper
paragraph, and those that know me outside of real estate will have a
hard time believing what I will write below.
So when I got into real estate in 1982, I realized that I had this
personality challenge that I had to overcome or I would have little
chance of success in this business. So here is how one person
pulled it off.
A few years earlier (1979) a movie came out called "All
that Jazz" with Roy
Scheider. A line that
was repeated over and over was "IT'S SHOW TIME FOLKS".
This is a common line to get actors use to both get over the
butterflies and get them into their mindset of their role.
i.e. I am not Roy Scheider, I am Joe Gideon (the character).
So from day one I stole a portion of that line. I
would and still wake up today and say either vocally or in my head,
"IT'S SHOW TIME". From that second on, my real estate face
and extroverted personality kicks in and the old Tim Moncrief stays
behind. I really feel I become a different human being and that there
is no obstacle I can not conquer. Oddly the joke in the real
estate community is that I am the one that won't shut up.
I go on listing appointment that most agents spend 30 minutes to an
hour; and I spend 2-3 hours. Maybe the clients are just worn
our and they throw in the towel and say "OK, where do we sign?
With one company I worked with, there was a contest for the best
presentation by and agent from a secret shopper.
For those that do not know a secret shopper is hired by a
company and has a hidden video camera on, and you make your
presentation to them or show properties to them. So the agent
has no clue if who they are talking to is a client or a shopper.
Most companies give a time line and this company gave us a 4
month time line in which this shopping was to occur. The purpose is to
improve your skills and to make sure you are not saying anything you
should not. The non-Realtor Tim Moncrief said to himself, "I
have no chance, as there are 30 something agents and I can see half of
them with more outgoing atypical "salesperson" personalities. At the
end of the contest they announced that the winner was me.
Huh? Shy Tim Moncrief. I really was
baffled. So I went to the manager and asked them how in the
world did I win this contest. My manager said, "Tim, the
shoppers' videos of the 30+ agents ran from a low of 6 minute to a high
of 45 minutes with one exception, you. Your presentation
lasted nearly 2 hours. There was no one even close to you in
the contest". I say that not to brag (well maybe a little),
but to show you the power of mindset if you tell your mind where you
want it to be.
I tell my mind that I am a top producing agent and put on my game face
nearly every day (yes, there are a few days, I forget to say "It's Show
time"). But, at the end of the day, the show is over, and Tim
Moncrief comes back and goes back into his shell. For me,
this is not an event that I have to do from time to time, it is
everyday. So over the years, I have developed little mind
tricks to pull me out of my shell and become an outgoing successful
extroverted agent.
LISTING
PRESENTATIONS: My
assumption is that I am going to get the listing....bottom line.
I don't care who is competing against me and I never ask.
When I do lose a listing, I am totally shocked and tend to
fall back into the non-real estate Tim Moncrief. Was I the
real Tim Moncrief or Tim Moncrief the Realtor (and my neighborhood
nicknamed me "the mayor of River Place")? Then I put my
Realtor hat on and analyze, did I do anything wrong? Now this
will sound very arrogant, but in most cases I would not have changed my
presentation. Like an actor, I made the best presentation I
can do and it just may not be the right fit for that movie; but
sometimes actors do get kicked out of their part! So when I
do lose, I just wait for that part to pop back up again.
OPEN
HOUSES: Not only do I say
"it's show time" before the day starts, but I also say it when someone
comes in the door. Here is my little trick that works every
time. Yes, every time. I pretend that the person
walking in the door is coming back for the second time; and, I also
pretend that this home is my home, not my clients. Thus, ask
yourself, how would you treat someone that came to your home for the
second time? Think about that one for awhile. The biggest
compliment I can get is if a client gives me this odd stare and says
"have we met before?" When that happens, I know have
accomplished what I have intended.
BUYERS:
I treat buyers the
very same way as I do OPEN HOUSES. Again I pretend that we
have met before; but instead of showing them my home, I am just showing
them around my neighborhood. It is an easy mindset if it is
your neighborhood, but a bit tougher if it is not. Again, if
the client asks if I live in a given neighborhood (that is not mine), I
know I have accomplished my goal.
THE
PROCESS: The
process would be from the listing period to closing and thereafter.
First of all my mindset is that I already knew these people
to begin with, so the process becomes quite easy for me. How
would you treat your friends in the process? Or perhaps said
a bit differently, would you treat your friends and your clients any
differently during the process? If so, why?
These are but a few categories without making a book of this post.
The bottom line is MINDSET.
You are to a great degree what you are and where you are in
your life by what you think what you are and where you are.
Thus all you have to do is to change your thoughts of what
you are and where you are at in your life. It sounds
simple...and it actually is. It merely is a daily commitment
of telling your mind what you are and where you want to be.
This is not acting, this is directing your mind to where you
want it to go. So all you have to do is do it.
Sadly most don't.
Most wake up everyday and think of all of the negatives about
themselves and about the market and about everyone else. We all think
this a times. So all you need to do is to flip that switch
and take on the day.
6 Comments on Tips on succeeding as an INTROVERT...... from an INTROVERT
AUG
30
2009
I can definitely relate. On the Myer's Briggs Inventory, my Introvert to Extravert ratio is a little higher (maybe a point or two) on the Introvert side. The Introvert side needs lots of TLC. Very interesting post.
Wow, that was a long post....but I ready every word. Many take aways here, be positive, be prepared, know your going to get the listing and put on your game face.
Wow, that was a long post....but I ready every word. Many take aways here, be positive, be prepared, know your going to get the listing and put on your game face.
Wow, that was a long post....but I ready every word. Many take aways here, be positive, be prepared, know your going to get the listing and put on your game face.
Tim, I would not have guessed that about you. I picture you as very outgoing, very detailed and a designated driver ( don't try to figure it out) it comes from Auburn Universities take on the DISC theory which is better than DISC.
I keep saying when I get to Austin, I will look you up. I come over about three times a year. I am very interested in you systems and office persona.
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;)
;)
I can definitely relate. On the Myer's Briggs Inventory, my Introvert to Extravert ratio is a little higher (maybe a point or two) on the Introvert side. The Introvert side needs lots of TLC. Very interesting post.