There’s no such thing as a perfect business, especially in real estate.
Don’t be surprised to find successful real estate agents who had their share of failures or rejections at any point in their careers.
Being able to deal with rejection and failure is how successful agents have made it big because rather than consider it as a stumbling block or hurdle to their careers, they deem it as valuable learning lessons to help steer them in the right direction.
The agent’s capacity to deal with rejection is the secret to how they survive and move forward in their careers.
Don’t take it personal
Don’t be stressed or worried if a prospective client chose another agent over you or a client who switched to another agent.
Rather than stress yourself thinking of it as a personal attack, always remember that the client made a professional choice. Don’t respond with resentment or anger, rather wish the client the best with their choice of the agent.
Handle the rejection with grace and treat it as an opportunity to assess your methods. Consider the fact that nobody- no matter how good they are- can please everyone.
Consider rejection as a learning opportunity
Rather than treat the rejection with disdain, you can re-assess your interactions with clients. When possible, reach out to the client and gently solicit feedback on how you could have done it differently for them.
This is a great way to understand how you may be able to learn new methods in dealing with clients and help you better understand the different personalities of people, so you are better prepared to approach similar client personalities in the future and know how to deal with them.
Treat rejection as a learning chapter, not a loss.
Don’t play the blame game
Blaming situations, technology, competition, or other people for rejection will only be a waste of time and energy.
Instead, do a root cause analysis and find out solutions to address those issues that you identify. Don’t forget that business processes evolve continually, which is why change is the only thing that is constant regardless of what business you are in.
Always resist the urge to blame others and spend your time and energy exploring solutions, which will make you become a stronger and better real estate agent.
Always look to the long term
A sense of loss always follows rejection- both financially and personally. People who get rejected often feel bad and wallow in what they think could be their mistake as well as feel downtrodden on a missed commission.
The key to dealing with this feeling is to always focus on your long-term goals rather than obsessing over the rejection. Treat the rejection as a closed episode and look forward to working on a new one, with the knowledge and understanding of knowing how to deal with similar situations in the future.
Visualise your success
Rather than splitting your hairs on the latest rejection, visualise your plan of action and develop ways to achieve your goals by learning from your mistakes, failures or shortcomings.
Start by setting measurable goals, like aiming to make a sale each month, then create a step-by-step plan on how to achieve those goals.
Monitor your progress and be flexible to make changes, when necessary especially if you see opportunities to make your action plan better and more productive.
Avoid spending too much time on what has happened in the past, rather look forward to the future and find ways to reach, or better yet, exceed your goals.
Focus on the positive
The main problem of agents giving up after a few rejections and changing career paths is they spend way too much time feeding their guilt with their failures and negative outcomes.
The key to surviving this is to stay positive, no matter how many times you have been rejected. Negativity has a way of damaging your resolve and could show on the next client you may be dealing with and endanger your professional relationship.
Be positive and always treat your clients as if it’s the first time. People are always drawn to positivity and before you know it, you could be closing deals and winning new clients.
Always learn to listen and understand
Studies have shown that one of the biggest turn-offs by a client with an agent is the lack of understanding the needs and preferences of a client. Failure to actively listen to clients increases the risk of not being able to address the client’s problems and being unable to respond appropriately and accordingly to provide the best solutions and outcomes.
Active listening is a vital skill for real estate agents if they want to ensure the long-term growth of their real estate business.