"If you follow the usual prescription, not only will you put yourself on a path to burnout but you'll also miss a singular opportunity to turn the issue of fear to your advantage"
Tyler Lewke - Founder of Lewke Partners in Crystal Lake Ill.
Mr. Lewke made this arresting statement in the Commentary section of the latest issue of the Realtor magazine. It was response to a question posed about the biggest challenge facing today's unsettled marketplace.
How would you have answered the question? Would you say our biggest challenge is technology, new national players in the real estate marketplace, broker profitability, inadequate training, the credit market...to name a few?
According to the author, in his opinion "Fear has become the largest obstacle in transactions. All the skill in the world, all the prospecting, all the social media won't matter if we don't recognize the fear. If you listen to what customers and your colleagues in the industry say between their words, you can hear the fear, and you need to address it."
Are you hearing the fear? Are you aware of the fact that you need to listen for it? It shows up in some many different ways. For some, its' an inability to focus. Time spent playing around on the computer is somehow easier than actually getting out and meeting people. For others, it's the exact opposite...frenzied activity, chasing every 'potential solution' fearing that stopping for a second may signal the end of a career.
Real Estate has always been a numbers game like most sales based professions, but lately playing the numbers game is likely to be a recipe for the disaster. I'll never forget a real estate team that I encountered during my early years in the business. They were so focused on the numbers game that they asked the broker to literally take away their desks and chairs and install only a counter to facilitate the hundreds of cold calls they were making every single day!
Cold calling definitely has it's place as a viable form of prospecting, but in an era in which a negotiation for a short sales can take months, Mr. Lewkes points out that this type of 'militaristic approach to prospecting is a path to burnout and will also cause us to loose sight of some unique opportunities to address the issue of fear in ourselves and our clients effectively.
Dealing with Fear starts with awareness. Fear drains huge amounts of energy. When we're locked in it's grip, it's hard to think clearly and even harder to respond proactively. Awareness of the fact that our thoughts and actions are being influenced by fear has a way of dispelling the shadows. Fear drives with ruthless cruelty when it is shrouded in darkness. When we admit our reservations and our fears to ourselves and others, we often find that we are NOT alone and there may be far more support than we could have ever envisioned.
Facing the Fear within ourselves also allows us to listen to what our clients are really saying in between the lines and to address real issues rather than phantom ones. Facing the Fear enables us to invest energy into creative solutions and can facilitate the patience to persevere in spite of the odds.
Courage is not about the absence of fear, it's the ability to walk through the vice-grip and face Fear head on. Experience proves that Fear will always blink first when faced with the power of Courage. Recognizing, admitting and dealing with our fears greatly aids our ability to counsel others who are facing the same issue. And in today's world, the field of the afflicted is crowded.
Courage transforms into compassion when it links arms and walks another through the trouble to the other side. It is this sort of action which has the ability to transform our lives and our profession because it presents an incredible opportunity to support those we serve and provides an intrinsic value which goes far beyond the dollars and cents!
picture courtesy of flickr photostream of Mr. Kris ~ creative commons' license.
Click here to read Mr. Lewke's inspiring article on Putting Fear Behind Us in it's entirety.
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Lola Audu, is the Designated Broker & Owner of Audu Real Estate. Our company specializes in helping people buy and sell homes in the greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan area. We've had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients succeed in their goals of purchasing and selling property including demonstrated success in the negotiation of Short Sale Transactions. You can contact us via e-mail @ info@auduhomes.com or by phone at 616-791-0511.
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YUP...time to stop wasting so much energy and put our actions in it's correct place. Trying something new does take courage. Look at me today :)