Building a better attitude in your real estate career

In any career, you have your good days and your not-so-good days.

But in real estate, it’s important to still be “on,” even if you aren’t quite feeling that way. Author Dr. Alan Zimmerman stresses the importance of your attitude to your career.

“Some use their difficulties as an excuse for their lack of achievement, while others use their difficulties as the motivation for their success,” he said.

Developing a “killer” attitude requires four steps, according to Zimmerman.

1. Stop catastrophizing.

The more you fret, the less energy you’ll have to work your way out of the slump. You’ll even lose your ability to think clearly and strategically.

So catch yourself thinking or uttering negative self-judgments. They’ll destroy your confidence, and left unchecked, they’ll destroy your career. So, catch yourself when you begin to think such things as “I’ll never get ahead… I wasn’t cut out for this kind of job… I’m no good at prospecting… or I don’t know how to close a sale.” They will never serve you well.

And then stop yourself from the continued use of negative thoughts. Take control of your mind rather than have it control you. You’ve taken the first step in building a killer sales attitude.

2. Stay calm.

When you encounter some sales problems, do you panic? Do you talk incessantly about how bad things are? Or do you stay calm?

You’ve got to stay calm because your mind cannot function at its peak when it’s all agitated. Your mind can’t think of new and better ways of selling if it’s tied up in knots. So stay calm.

Of course that may sound easier said than done. But there’s a trick to it. Attitudes and feelings always follow behavior. So if you act calm, even if you don’t feel calm, you will eventually be calm, with a stronger and more positive attitude.

3. Keep on practicing your real estate skills.

Competence and confidence go hand in hand. If you’re really good at what you do, you’re bound to feel more confident. So simply put, if you keep on practicing your real estate skills, you’re going to be more competent and you’re going to get a killer attitude.

Unfortunately, there are two times when a Realtor® stops practicing the basics – when things are going poorly and when things are going well.

When things are going poorly, when a person gets knocked down and feels like quitting, chances are he has stopped practicing the basics in real estate. He’s taken some shortcuts that are hurting him.

Just as commonly, a person might reach a new high in real estate, and she does the same stupid thing. She thinks she’s so good that she can stop practicing the basics. And then she hits bottom, gets a negative attitude, and wonders what happened.

You’ve got to keep on practicing real estate to maintain a killer attitude and move toward higher levels of success. There are few shortcuts on the road to real estate success. We all have to practice first and then keep on practicing.

So let’s get personal for a moment. What are you doing on a regular basis to keep on practicing and refining your real estate skills? If the answer is “not much,” then don’t expect too much in the way of real estate results.

4. Hang in there.

It’s natural to feel disappointed and discouraged when things aren’t going well in real estate. It’s natural to get a bit negative during those times. But it’s not helpful, because if you lose your positive attitude, you will lose everything, including the chance to turn things around.

You’ve got to keep on keeping on. You can’t quit just because it’s too hard to keep going. And you shouldn’t quit just because you don’t feel like keeping on.

Be careful of putting too much stock in your feelings. Feelings are a useful piece of data in any decision you make, but they should not have the final say in doing what you know you should be doing. Your feelings get a voice, but they don’t get a veto.

That’s how Muhammad Ali became great. He even said, “I hated every minute of the training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”