I am hearing a collective “holding of our breath” in the Real Estate world right now.  It’s natural to feel a little bit of fear when the real estate market starts to change. After all, your livelihood is at stake! To be honest, we have gotten spoiled as agents in the last 24 months.  Listings selling for insane levels above asking price, buyers so “motivated” that they would do just about anything to get the home.  Homes selling in hours and at most days.  My friends…this simply isn’t reality and the proverbial dance is about to end.  

In every changing market there are leaders, companies and agents that thrive and expand.  In fact, as others are in fear it represents an optimum time to gain market share.  My clients and many of the top agents are celebrating this change and welcoming the adjustment.  Why?  Because they are prepared.   I’ve found there are three simple steps you can begin with to lay the foundation to have certainty versus fear in these new times.

The first step is to educate yourself. You can’t make informed decisions if you don’t know what’s going on in the market. One of my mentors used to say to me, “Knowledge Equals Confidence and Ignorance Equals Fear.”  Start by studying industry publications (Keeping Current Matters is a must), listening to podcasts, and attending webinars.  Dive in weekly to your local MLS numbers to first educate yourself but secondly to be able to talk intelligently to clients about local and national trends. 

The second step is to create a plan. This doesn’t have to be a complicated, 100-page document – but it does need to lay out your goals, strategies, and timeline for taking action. What do you want to achieve in the short-term?  How many people do you need to connect with daily?  How many appointments weekly?  What strategies must you implement?   What skills must you sharpen that you haven’t used that will now be necessary in this market.  Here are some I recommend you start with: 

•  Pricing Property Competitively
• Creating urgency with buyers and sellers
• Getting Price Reductions
• Implementing a weekly “seller follow up plan” 

The third and final step is to take action. This is where the rubber meets the road – it’s time to put your plan into motion and start seeing results. Remember, confident people don’t just sit back and hope for the best – they take charge of their own destiny by taking massive action. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start making things happen!

By following these three steps, you can massive confidence in the changing real estate market – no matter what happens. So don’t be afraid to seize opportunities and take your business to the next level. The sky’s the limit!

Success truly does leave clues. Over the last 30 years of being in sales, running large highly successful sales organizations, and coaching the top real estate agents and teams in the world, there are key communication “Laws” that separates the extraordinary from the ordinary. If you’re serious about selling, then you need to be aware of the 7 Irrefutable Laws of Sales. These laws are: the Law of Preparation, the Law of Energy, the Law of State, the Law of Mindset, the Law of Empathy, the Law of Authority, and the Law of Listening.

The Law of Preparation: This law states that you need to be prepared before you can expect to be successful in sales. This means having a solid understanding of your product or service, your target market, your strategy, and the scripts to support effective dialogues with clients. It also means being prepared to answer any objections that prospects may have.

The Law of Energy: This law states that selling requires energy. You need to be passionate about what you’re selling and have the energy to put forth the effort required to close a sale. Remember that communication is nothing more that the transference of energy between two people.

The Law of State: This law states that your emotional state will directly impact your results. In a conversation I once had with Darren Hardy he told me that the difference between those who are extraordinary in their fields and those that are average is that the average “Do what they want to do on the days they feel like doing it” whereas the greats “Do the things they don’t want to do on the days they don’t want to do it.” Your state can be managed by developing morning rituals that “prime the pump” and generates momentum into your day and the tasks ahead.

The Law of Mindset: This law states that your mindset is the key to success in sales. The Greats work every day on their personal psychology with affirmations, gratitude journaling, reading, listening to podcasts, exercising, and guarding what they allow into their mind. They weren’t born that way; they created an unshakable mindset daily with their actions.

The Law of Empathy: This law states that salespeople need to be able to put themselves in their prospects’ shoes. You need to understand their needs and wants and be able to communicate how your product or service can meet those needs. Think about what you like about your prospects, what you appreciate, how you are similar, and what is their problem and how you can be the solution.

The Law of Authority: This law states that prospects are more likely to do business with someone they perceive as an authority figure. If you can establish yourself as an expert in your field (through your knowledge and your tone when you speak) you’ll create certainty for the client, and they will feel comfortable to move forward with you.

The Law of Listening: This law states that the best salespeople are the best listeners. You need to be able to really hear what your prospect is saying and understand their needs before you can effectively sell to them. You must listen to understand, meet them where they are, and give acknowledgement and approval of their answers for them to feel safe in the communication to answer authentically.

Work on mastering each of these one by one. Study people who are experts in each of the Laws. The clues are there like a treasure map and all you have to do is follow the map to find the pot of gold that’s in front of you. Happy Hunting!

There is something about the Eiffel Tower that always inspires me. I think it’s the way it towers above everything else in Paris – it’s one of the most iconic structures in the world and inspires awe to anyone that sees it. Recently, sitting with my family having lunch on the grassy Champs de Mars, looking up in amazement at the Eiffel tower, got me thinking about sales, and how having a strong foundation is essential to success. So, here’s what I learned about sales from the Eiffel Tower, and how you can apply these principles to your own business!

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, is over 1000 feet tall, weighs 7300 tons, and is one of the most iconic structures in the world. It’s a symbol of strength and resilience, two essential qualities for any successful salesperson. The tower was built on a strong foundation, which is essential for any structure – if the foundation is weak, the whole structure will collapse. In the same way, a salesperson needs to have a strong foundation to be successful. Without a strong foundation, your sales career will collapse.

The Eiffel Tower is also a symbol of perseverance. It took over two years to build and was initially met with criticism from the French public. However, the builders persevered much in the same way that all great salespeople do if they simply stick to the foundations and cornerstones of their business.  Your success won’t always come overnight, it will take long hours of practice and may feel like a failure; however, every failure gives you a learning lesson, and when you take that lesson and change you improve and are more prepared as you move forward.

We know the foundation for the Eiffel Tower was very important, but what exactly makes up a strong foundation?  For the architects, it was enormous mason blocks measuring 16.3 meters that were precisely calculated to manage the load based upon the varying geology around the river Seine.  For salespeople, there are a few key things we need to have to set ourselves up for success:

A positive sales  mindset

A willingness to learn

A willingness to practice and build your skills daily

A coach or mentor to guide you

A strong follow-up and conversion

A disciplined daily schedule

A commitment to a minimum of one hour a day prospecting

A desire to serve people

If you have these eight things, you are well on your way to building a strong foundation and your success and career will shine the way the Eiffel Tower does over Paris.  A sight to truly behold.

What do you think makes the Eiffel Tower so special and unique? Let us know in the comments below! And don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends if you found it helpful! 🙂  Until next time, happy selling! :

If you’re looking for more information on how to build a successful sales career please visit www.agentacademy.com.

It’s no secret that sales is a mental game. In order to be successful, you have to believe in yourself and your product – and you have to be able to convince the customer that they need what you’re selling. Believe it or not, your beliefs about sales can actually influence how well you perform in your career.  Let’s discuss the psychology of sales and how your mindset can affect your success rate. Stay tuned for more tips on how to improve your sales skills!

It’s been said that sales is 80% mental and 20% actual skill. This means that your mindset matters a great deal when it comes to sales. If you don’t believe in yourself or your product, it will be very difficult to convince someone else to do so. On the other hand, if you have a positive sales mindset, you’ll be much more likely to achieve success.

So how can you develop a positive sales mindset?

First, it’s important to understand the psychology of sales. What motivates people to buy something? Why do some salespeople succeed while others fail? Once you understand the basics of human behavior, you’ll be better equipped to sell effectively.

Second, it’s important to have realistic expectations. Sales is not easy and there will be times when you don’t make a sale. That’s okay! Don’t get discouraged – keep pushing forward and learn from your mistakes.

Finally, always remember that mindset matters. Your beliefs about sales will influence your success. So if you want to be successful in sales, believe in yourself and your ability to sell!

How do you develop a belief in your product?

It starts with really understanding your product, its features, and how it can help solve your customer’s primary problem. You need to be able to articulate this in a way that is clear and concise. Second, you must truly believe in what you are selling. This means being passionate about your product and having confidence in its ability to help others. By doing these things your sales mindset will naturally follow.

What are healthy Expectations:

Many salespeople have unrealistic expectations.  They are either too high or some are too low.  If your expectations are too high, you will be constantly disappointed and feel like a failure. This can lead to sales discouragement and sales apathy. On the other hand, if your expectations are too low, you will not push yourself to reach your full potential. You need to find a healthy balance between the two extremes in order to be successful in sales.

Stop being afraid to sell:

Everything that you do in life is based upon sales; however, in today’s world there are many negative associations to “selling”.   Daniel Pink in his book “To Sell is Human” states that “To sell well is to convince someone else to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him/her better off in the end.”   If you believe Pink(which I do) then the world has been made better from selling not worse.  From Thomas Edison and the light bulb, the Wright brothers and a man flying, Rosa Parks and equality…every one of them was a master salesperson who had beliefs in what they were doing, expectations of themselves and embraced their roles to use sales to change the world around them.

Truly selling is not evil, it is noble.  And if you can master the art of sales, you will be much more successful in achieving your goals in life and more importantly helping those around you achieve theirs.

What do you love about being a salesperson?  Let us know in the comments below.

If you’re looking for more information on how to build a successful sales career please visit www.agentacademy.com