(This is the 2nd post in a 9 part guide, please read them in order)
The perfect real estate mindset revealed
Why is real estate difficult for so many agents?
A lot of you are coming from traditional job settings, where there is structure behind the time you spend working, your responsibilities, and the tasks you do on a daily basis. In essence, most job duties can be captured in a written manual and easily shared with any new employee for a particular role. Processes can easily be replicated, and the business moves forward with a certain level of continuity.
In real estate, there are no fences around your time or your responsibilities, and you will be battling with your own mind every single day. When things go haywire, there is no manual to provide you a simple solution, and you will spend a lot of time solving problems that come out of the blue.
This is why understanding how to prepare and maintain the right mindset is the most important thing you can do in business.
Note that I used the word ‘maintain’ because your mindset isn’t something that you set and forget. Your inner voice won’t be very friendly when times are tough, so learning how to ignore it and forge ahead is going to be your super power.
So lets begin with what you need to know:
1. You are going to get rejected more than you ever have before
It’s going to destroy your enthusiasm and you’re going to question your self worth many times over, but there’s no time for that.
Come on, focus! *snaps fingers*
If you want to succeed in sales, you really have only TWO options:
a) Learn how not to care about being rejected (this takes practice)
b) Learn to love being rejected (pro version)
If you can’t do either one of the two, you will not succeed in real estate.
For an interesting case study, there was an individual who was deathly afraid of rejection and wanted to challenge himself to get better. So he embarked on a 100 day journey, where every day he would deliberately put himself into strange scenarios so that we could rejected. It’s a great watch, and you can find it here on Youtube:
Jia Jiang’s 100 Days Of Rejection Therapy
2. You will have to do boring things over and over again
Some people get dopamine when they start something. Some people get dopamine only when they finish something. Despite whichever one you are, you’re still going to be tested. So here are the TWO things you’re going to need to learn how to do:
1. Do a mundane/painful task once
2. Repeat that task consistently over days, weeks, and months (and years)
Your success depends on this habit.
It’s a habit worth developing and strengthening because if you can master it in real estate, you can transfer it over to other areas of your life and do things like lose that belly you’ve been carrying since college, or learn how to paint realistic paintings of your parrot. No judgement.
3. You can’t depend on motivation
It’s going to be a grind and you’re going to starve for motivation constantly.
What’s important to remember is: Motivation can get you started, but discipline will get you finished.
Here’s where you can find motivation as a real estate agent:
– training sessions at your brokerage
– conversations with inspirational people
– reading a good book on business or self development
– closing a sale
– real estate conferences
– talking with your personal coach or mentor
Note that all of this is external, and means you have to search for it and you are dependent on it’s availability.
Okay so now, here’s where you can find discipline:
– within yourself
That’s it. *womp womp*
The encouraging thing is that you don’t have to go anywhere to find it. You simply close your eyes, summon up your raw animal power, and make sure you don’t decimate a city block when you unleash it.
It’s worth repeating:
Motivation can get you started, but only discipline will get you finished!
4. You can’t be that top agent you admire
You can certainly find ways to earn the same amount of money as another agent, but you’re going to have to learn how to do it your own way.
As you spend more time in this industry, you’re going to meet successful agents who will tell you their story of success, and each time you’re going to have this sudden urge to change everything you’re doing and copy them.
Don’t do that, because:
a) Everyone is unique with different budgets, time frames, skill sets, & experience – it’s impossible to replicate someone’s real estate journey through the business
b) You will only see people’s current picture and not all the mistakes they made (and success stories seem to conveniently omit these details)
c) Shiny object syndrome is devastating in real estate and will have you running in circles
Here comes the imposter syndrome.
So what’s the solution?
Come up with a solid plan for your business based on what you’re capable of doing and don’t get derailed. This is why mentorship is so important. An experienced person can show you the road to take, how to stay on track, and watch your blind spots for you.
5. You can’t wing this – you absolutely need systems in place
Remember, this is not a job with one set of tasks. This is your real estate business and it is made up of many moving parts. As a sole practitioner, the busier you get, the less efficient you will become.
You will need to adopt systems in place to do some heavy lifting for you. You can achieve this by clearly understanding the different components of your business (think about the journey from first acquiring a client all the way until closing, and after!).
Then, you can use standard operating procedures and checklists to keep your processes consistent and error free. You can use technology to organize and enhance your workflow. And you can leverage your brokerage and it’s resources to help you scale your business efficiently.
That sounds a lot of thinking and preparation. Yes, it is. But spending the time and resources to set up everything right from the beginning is going to save you a whole lot of heartache and money later.
Lets proceed to Level 3: Knowing The Truth About What Your Real Estate Clients Want