“Take one single moment to feel sorry for yourself, and then bounce back better than ever.” Barbara Corcoran
I’m a big fan of real estate icon Barbara Corcoran and saw her post this on Facebook this week. It’s timely, because recently I’ve had a lot of real estate agents talk to me about how to cope with the losses in this business.
Real estate is tough, of course. Maybe you spend every day for a week putting together the perfect listing presentation, go over and over the pricing data, rehearsing your answers to the seller’s anticipated questions. You may work hard, stay up late, and feel ready to land that client. And then all of a sudden, despite your preparations, you fail. The seller chooses another agent.
Or, you work hard at establishing a solid relationship with a buyer. You show them everything in their price range, spend Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons with them. You take their calls in the middle of dinner. You become their trusted real estate advisor. Or so you think. Then they call to excitedly tell you they’ve just made an offer on a FSBO out of town, and that it was accepted.
These losses hurt. You’re a human being, and it’s natural to have expectations. And when those expectations don’t pay off, it’s natural to feel frustrated and upset, especially when you’ve worked so hard.
But of course, that’s only half the equation. After all, in every challenge there is also an opportunity. In the words of our friend, Barbara, go ahead, take a minute to feel sorry for yourself, that’s okay. But, after that moment, pick yourself up and brush yourself off.
After all, these kinds of losses result in opportunities for growth. What have you learned? What could you do differently next time? You’re no quitter. You work hard and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But, you know you are only going to get the wins if you keep on working at them.
So when you fail to land a seller, ask for feedback. What made them decide to go with another agent? What might you have been done differently or better. And that FSBO buyer? Well, maybe the experience leads you to make the subject of FSBOs a regular part of your meetings with prospective clients.
But no matter what, always remember that dwelling on bad experiences should never take up more than a moment of your time. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from the experience, and get back out there.
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