As a starting real estate agent, you may fear dealing with a client or prospect's rejection. But rejection can actually be a good thing! It steers you in the right direction and it's a general part of life -- if you don't experience rejection, you're probably not putting yourself out there enough!
So here’s a few ways to handle it like a pro and turn negative feelings into something positive. Empower yourself and boost your success!
You're going to be facing lots of rejections throughout your career, so now is the time to learn to cope with it. Look at it as an opportunity to better yourself and move forward.
How do you usually respond to rejection? Do you become defensive? Quiet? Angry? Recognize how you react and what goes through your head when you are rejected.
How you respond can affect your agent reputation and future referrals, so you need to project yourself in a professional manner to your clients and prospects.
Don't assume and jump to conclusions – instead, try to understand why your prospects make their decision to reject something. It might not be because of you, but something much bigger like personal matters. So leave positive impressions by keeping calm and professional.
Body language also makes a huge difference. When a client tells you they're considering not buying, do you cross your arms? Grit your teeth? Negative body language can build tension and have a negative impact on the outcome of a discussion. Maintain a relaxed posture when dealing with face-to-face rejections. Put your client at ease by staying calm and physically relaxed.
Before making a phone call or going to a meeting, visualise how you want it to go. Create positive scenarios in your head that will help you overcome a rejection if or before it even happens. This way, you'll be prepared for various situations. But don't overthink it! Visualise your goals and steer the situation to reach there.
Mental preparation is key. Do whatever it takes to create a positive energy and atmosphere within you before meeting your client or prospect. Stretch it out or do a few jumps. Reset your physical energy for every appointment or call.
Don’t be shy! Practise overcoming different rejection scenarios by role playing with your associates. You can even do it yourself! Practise real responses that enable you to keep control and overcome real life client rejections. You will develop predictable ways to handle a situation and find the best working strategies.
Aim high, set massive goals and get excited about them! Think about what you'd like to have as you become more successful in your career – an expensive car? money for travel? money to raise a family? a home upgrade? Keep your motivation by listing them out and place them somewhere you will see many times a day – on your computer monitor, the mirror, your car's dashboard, keychain etc.
You can also set big daily goals, like 50-100 lead calls in one sitting. By calling such a huge number at once, you will get into a rhythm of perfecting phone calls and handling rejection easily. Set really big goals, focus on them every day and keep pushing until you achieve them. Rejection will seem small and meaningless compared to the big goals you have.
Sometimes we get so focused on closing the sale that we forget to really listen to our clients. Build their trust in you by being patient, acknowledging their concerns and offering effective solutions. Make them open to your suggestions by repeating their concerns as you reply with a solution. They will know that they’re being heard and be less likely to reject you and your efforts.
If you can find something in common with prospects, use it to build your relationship with them! If you have the same passions or hobbies, use that topic to get conversations moving and have fun with it. It will warm up the atmosphere and melt away any distance.
Whether you're on the phone or face-to-face with a prospect, work on improving your presentation skills. The more confident you present yourself, the more likely you'll get what you want from the meeting.
Take note of any resistance or tension after a call or meeting, and see where you can improve from and which questions led to the best results. For example, if open ended questions during a call led to your prospect sharing more info, cross out or change closed-ended questions for next time.
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