Practice: The Foundation to Success

“Don’t practice until you get it right.  Practice until you can’t get it wrong.”

Author unknown

Our success as listing agents is highly dependent upon the strength of our skills.  Sellers want a confident, highly knowledgeable agent. How do you become knowledgeable and confident? With practice!

Experts recommend scheduling 60 minutes daily, 5 days weekly for skill development. How is this daily practice time best spent?

• Practice your phone real estate scripts: Question-based prospecting scripts make perfect sense to motivated sellers. These scripts are designed to get the appointment! Know your scripts inside and out, and continue practicing to become more fluid and conversational. Master and internalize scripts to the point of “unconscious competence”. Then you can truly LISTEN to learn the homeowner’s needs and how you can help rather than thinking about what you should say next.
• Perfect your scripts through role play practice: Work with different role play partners with different personality types (driver, analytical, expressive, amiable) to become more adaptable. Consider working with a different role play partner each day of the week. Role play practice scheduled in the 15-30 minutes prior to prospecting can serve as a warm up before calling homeowners. Role play with the same 100% energy and enthusiasm you bring to your prospecting calls. Stand to project your voice and exude more energy and confidence. Record and listen to your role play calls to learn what you can improve upon.
• Practice handling rejection: You’ve worked hard to get this homeowner on the phone. Don’t stop at the first “no” — ask one more question and close one more time than you are comfortable with. Don’t be surprised when the additional question and additional close gets your foot in the door. Homeowners want an assertive agent — you will be negotiating their contract!  Also, always keep in mind that prospecting calls are business calls. There is no reason to take rejection personally. Move onto the next homeowner – there are plenty out there who need your help.
• Practice your listing presentation: Write out your listing presentation, in full, as many times as necessary to internalize it. Role play practice for your listing presentation, too.  Practice handling common objections. Record your presentation and study it carefully. Does the seller have every reason to believe you will get top dollar for their home?

In this one-minute video, agent Chris Hauck, who has sold more than 400 homes, shares his insight on the value of practice:

Practice is critical to success in almost every endeavor. As you practice and perfect your prospecting and presentation skills, you will gain knowledge and confidence, receive fewer questions and objections, and ultimately help more home sellers.

Doug Spak

Doug Spak has over four decades of experience as an advertising copywriter, agency creative director, blogger, and content creator. He joined Vulcan7 as a Content Specialist in 2016. In addition to ongoing website copy refreshes, Doug has produced over 300 blog posts while developing content for Vulcan7’s social media platforms.