14 March 2022

HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF REJECTION IN REAL ESTATE

Introduction:

If you are a real estate agent who is experiencing a fear of rejection, pat yourself on the back. This is a very good sign. 

The fear of rejection arises when we move out of our comfort zone in a quest to take our career to the next level. 

Without placing yourself in a situation where rejection is possible, you’ll never know what level of success you are capable of. 

Starting out in real estate, the fear of rejection can be daunting. But nothing is more rewarding than facing it and channeling it. 

These five hacks might help you channel your fears into triumph. 

1) Nothing Conquers Fear Like Confidence

Confidence based on nothing is arrogance. But when know that you will do all that you can to offer your clients the best, that confidence is the sort that can move mountains.

If you are an agent who battles the fear of rejection, a great way to overcome it is to ensure that every client who lists their home with you will receive the best possible marketing.
 

Even though property buyers and sellers rank the Virtual Tour as the third most important element of a real estate listing. Our 2021 Real Estate Analysis found that only 6% of listings contained one. Including a Virtual Tour for every property, you list will set you apart from the competition and give you the confidence that your marketing is the best in the industry today.

If you are making a pitch to a developer or trying to convince an individual seller to list with you. You will feel much better about yourself if you can guarantee them your marketing will be the best in the industry. 

Right now, in the United States, this is a rare occurrence. 

Every year, National Association of Realtors completes their Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report. 

This report consistently finds that the top three marketing features property buyers and sellers want to see in a real estate listing are professional quality images, a Virtual Tour, and a Floor Plan. 

In July 2021, we completed the most comprehensive real estate listing analysis in the history of US property marketing, primarily to determine if these needs were being met. 

In a nutshell, they are not. 

Though 76% of listings did adhere to the Best Practices of Real Estate Photography,  only 17% included a Floor Plan, and an astonishingly low number (6%) of listings included a Virtual Tour.

Any agent who fears rejection when pitching for a listing can give themselves a huge advantage by featuring these items in all of their marketing.

Nothing eliminates the fear of rejection like going into a meeting with a potential client knowing your marketing is the finest in the industry. 

As the results of our 2021 Real Estate Listings Analysis revealed, there is a significant lack of Floor Plans and Virtual Tours in American real estate listings. Including them alongside professional images will automatically catapult you into the top percentile of real estate marketers in the USA.

2) Research Your Fear Of Rejection Away

In a previous post, we talked about the importance of copying successful people. 

Wherever you take your guidance from - politics, business, sports, or even religion - you’ll find that those we should most look up to have learned to either abandon their fear or use it to power their success. 

Consider these wise words, from the best of the best:

“You have nothing to fear but fear itself” - Franklin D Roosevelt. 

“Wake up afraid every morning. To invent you have to experiment, if you know in advance that it’s going to work, it’s not an experiment. Failure and invention are inseparable twins” - Jeff Bezos

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky

“I think I feel fear quite strongly. It's not as though I have the absence of fear, I feel it quite strongly. But there are times when something is important enough and you believe in it enough that you do it in spite of fear."

”There are times when something is important enough and you believe in it enough that you do it in spite of fear." When Brad and Mel did exactly this in 2017, the man who spoke these words (Elon Musk) ended up inviting them to tour the headquarters of his own little dream.

3) Acknowledge Your Need For Rejection

Do not be afraid to mess up. As the supreme beings cited above (and many more) have pointed out, viewing fear through the proper lens is the way to eradicate it.

When fear and rejection are channeled correctly, they can power your journey to the top. 

With this wisdom as a backdrop, it becomes possible to understand how rejection MUST occur (sometimes even daily) if you are going to taste greatness. 

As Jeff Bezos attests, when the fear of not being the best replaces the fear of rejection, you’ll suddenly be propelled, not suppressed, by what you are afraid of. 

It all begins between the ears. But, once you achieve the correct mindset, you’ll not only be able to deal with rejection, you’ll be able to use it to your advantage.

4) The Jedi Mind Trick: Set A Rejection Quota

Of course, it would be foolish to seek rejection. But setting such a quota will help you pick up the phone, which can be one of the most difficult parts of the real estate business.  

Remember, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Phone calls are often the shots that most need taking in the real estate industry. 

A rejection quota will ensure that you are carrying out the activities which are essential for growth. 

Furthermore, each rejection is a learning opportunity. 

Through rejection, you can accumulate the necessary data to understand why these supposed failures might occur.  Then you can modify your approach, and get better in the long term. 

Never forget the words of the sage of Star Wars, Yoda - a guy who knows a few things about Jedi mind tricks:

“The greatest teacher, failure is.”

There is no need to fear rejection. The wisest, wealthiest, and most sublime beings in history, including Yoda, have pointed out the value of failure in one’s quest for betterment.

5) Discover And Record The Reasons For Rejection

A great way to let rejection teach you is to keep a record of your failures and try to determine how you could have done things differently. 

Sometimes you can ask a potential client to explain why they did not choose to place their business in your hands. 

Sometimes you’ll have to decipher it on your own. This can be difficult and require rigorous honesty with yourself.

Did the agent who won the listing have better marketing than you? Is there a history between that agent and the client? Were you too persistent with your cold calling? Were you not persistent enough? Did you really do all you could to win that client’s business? 

As you assess your performance and try to improve upon your shortfalls, you will begin to understand that each rejection contains a reward.  

Record. Assess. Modify. Once this habit forms, each one of your failures will bring you closer to success. 

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