Why are we so enamored with the negative?
I was asking myself this question as I read the comments from my post "Try Talking To Your Prospects Like This" last week. It was the follow-up to my post "Do You Talk To Your Prospects Like This?" and offered an example of good, honest and effective introductory communication by email to a fresh internet lead.
The reason I pondered this question is twofold:
1) I come from a family of teachers and shrinks so I tend to analyze everything.
2) I noticed considerably less views and comments compared to the "Do You Talk To Your Prospects Like This?" blog post.
I wondered why so many more people were attracted to the negative rather than the positive, to the problem rather than the solution. To date, the "Do You Talk To Your Prospects Like This?" post has 2,313 views and 123 comments compared to 662 views & 9 comments for "Try Talking To Your Prospects Like This." That's a difference of nearly 75% in views and 93% in comments!
I thought about my own tendencies and I have to admit that I do this sometimes, too. We are attracted to the proverbial trainwreck. We turn on "Big Brother" and other so-called 'reality' shows just to see how manipulative and deceitful people will be to each other when enough money is at stake. We look at an example of poor communication and say "I would never do that." Heck, that's the root of that blog post ("Do You Talk...?")...me looking at that email and thinking "I can't believe someone would think this is okay."
The easy part is saying "that's wrong" or "that's bad." The real challenge is saying "this is right" or "this is good." This requires commitment and belief in a way of doing things and affects not just our business life but our professional life as well.
Take time to scrutinize your efforts in this tough real estate climate. Scrutinize your attitude...this is a time of adjustment and an evolution in the way real estate (and all business) transations are being cultivated. What used to work isn't yielding the same results anymore. Pointing the finger at what's wrong is only half the battle. We must be ready to embrace the solutions, especially if it means we may have to tweak our methods.
The poor email example I used is (I believe) an example of frustration spilling over into our communication. It was a real, though very extreme, example. I see examples every day of communication where the verbage isn't nearly so extreme, yet the results are the same. Now is the time where it is most difficult to remain positive, yet if we do we can have a profound effect on our prospects and repair the damaged integrity of this business we call real estate.
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