A Proper Mindset Turns Bad Leads Into Good Leads

Two agents compete in the same marketplace.  They both have the same amount of time and access to the same information.  One is highly successful and the other struggles… why?  The answer is mindset. 

Mindset resolves everything.  A proper mindset enables you to possess the tenacity to turn a bad lead into a good one, so that you can discover opportunity where your competitor only saw a problem.  Conversely, a poor mindset destroys opportunity and spreads like a weed.  To appreciate the importance of your mindset, ask yourself why you became a real estate agent in the first place. 

Perhaps you felt your ambition was held in check by the corporate world of red tape.  You are not driven by the need to make money, but by the need to make your dreams a reality.  You prefer to participate versus just being a fan.  Your optimism defeats your pessimism.  You tend to set realistic goals and, contrary to popular belief, your risk tolerance is based upon calculated experience, not your gut instinct. 

If this profile fits you, you are likely experiencing some success selling real estate.  However this profile was not created for real estate agents. It is a profile on the mindset of entrepreneurs based upon interviews with people such as Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Howard Schultz (Starbucks) by Entrepreneur Magazine.  The fact is you are an entrepreneur; you accept full responsibility for your successes and assume significant accountability for your failures.  You operate and manage your business. 

With the proper mindset there are no bad leads; you are either successful in converting them or not.  Think of that famous scene from Glengarry Glen Ross.  Blake (Alec Baldwin) asserts:  “These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they're gold, and you don't get them. Why? Because to give them to you would be throwing them away. They're for closers.”

Only one agent wins the listing presentation.  Only one agent wins the buyer contract. 

Maintaining a proper mindset requires:

1. A routine that prepares you to make the call.  Each call should begin with a clear desk and a clear mind.  You never know what’s on the other end of this call, so prepare as if this is your most important call of the day.  Are you better at making calls around your peers or alone?  Many people find that if they make calls in the company of others, they are more persistent.
2. A memorized follow-up scirpt.  If you were building a home, the script would be your foundation.  If you do not have a memorized follow-up script, your business will fall down.  A script only sounds like a script if it’s not memorized and absorbed into your personality.  Once it is absorbed, it’s no longer a script; it’s you. 
3. A sole and focused agenda of what you want to accomplish.  On the initial call that agenda should be to qualify.  Are they motivated to buy or sell in the next 60 to 90 days?  Are they financially prequalified?
4. Objection Handling. There are only so many objections; learn to handle the common ones.  Know the difference between an auto-response, a true objection and a condition.
5. Removing yourself emotionally from the outcome of the call.  Be true to your agenda.  You’re not making a new friend, you’re developing a business relationship and this requires both parties to participate.  If the prospect is “stand-offish” and will not cooperate, do not hesitate to continue to pursue your agenda, and even cut them loose, versus “rolling-over” and pacifying them.