When you have self-confidence you approach your career with positivity. It affects your language, your posture, and your actions. It affects your marketing activities. It affects the way prospects and clients respond to you.
When all is said and done, your level of self-confidence affects your level of success.
Armed with self-confidence, you approach a prospect with the knowledge that what you can do for them will help 
them achieve their goals. When you mail a prospecting letter, place an ad, or make a phone call, you know that the information you’re providing is correct and that you can and will fulfill any promises you make.
Prospects know you’re going to be a reliable guide through the maze of buying or selling real estate, because you know you’re a reliable guide. Your aura of self-confidence gives them confidence in you.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about presenting yourself as a know-it-all. Acting with self-confidence is far different from pretentiousness. We all know some of those people – and try to avoid them.
How do you develop self-confidence?
- By being good at your job.
- By being prepared for every meeting.
- By always showing up on time.
- By always acting in your client’s best interests.
- By having the courage to tell people what they need to know, rather than what they want to hear.
Being unquestionably good at your job is the first and most important component of self-confidence.
Unfortunately, it’s a step that too many agents try to skip over on their quest to get rich selling real estate. (Yes, I’m sure you do know some of those agents.)
One of the agents who answered my recent survey said:
“Marte – It is the same since you were in the business. Agents not trained, don’t know the contracts, and the most important? Agents do not know their demographics or anything about their listings. I think agents should be an apprentice for at least a year before they are allowed to sell.”
She pretty much summed up what an agent needs to know before they can say they are good at their jobs.
Since you’re reading this, I know you strive to be good at your job.
If you still lack self-confidence because you feel you don’t know enough, take time to study. Learn what every word in your contracts means – and learn how to convey the meaning to your clients. Take some extra classes in areas where you feel uncertain.
Then think about narrowing the scope of what you need to know in order to serve your buyers and sellers well.
How? Develop a geographic territory and/or niche. Focusing on one area will allow you to dig in and learn the answers to every question a buyer might have and every detail they might need to know about a neighborhood and the surrounding area. Then remember to stay abreast of the changes.
If you really want to serve “everyone” and still be regarded as a professional, get ready to spend more time in preparation for every appointment. Create a checklist of things to know before taking a listing – and before showing a house in an unfamiliar neighborhood or niche. In other words, do the research so you’ll always “know your stuff.”
What does being on time have to do with self-confidence?
When you’re always on time you don’t show up flustered or apologetic. Instead, you’re calm, relaxed, and in control.
Some people use making people wait as a power play, because it says “My time is important and yours is not.” That’s not the way to build a good working relationship.
Your speech habits can undermine your self-confidence.
It’s hard to maintain self-confidence if other people are looking at you like you might not really know what you’re doing – and the words you choose can lead to that. It’s also difficult if the words you use make YOU feel like you’re not quite sure.
Some of the most common words in our vocabulary are the culprits:
- Think
- Need
- Want
- Hope
The words look innocent, but what they convey is “I’m not sure of myself or of what I’m telling you.”
Consider the statement “I think.”
If you say you “think” a homeowner should list at a certain price, it says you’re not sure. Switch to “I believe,” or 
“Based on my market analysis, the correct price is ____”
How about “I think you should _____” That could be anything from “have the house staged,” to “have the carpets shampooed,” or “keep the cat’s litter box clean.” If you just “think” so, maybe they don’t really need to do it. Switch it to “Before we go live with the listing, have the carpets shampooed.”
This comes under having the courage to tell people what they need to know – a tough one, but necessary.
“I need” and “I want” both convey neediness and lack of authority.
Drop the need and want and just state your request. Think about giving your assistant an assignment. Instead of saying “I need you to have this information uploaded by noon” switch to “Please have this information uploaded by noon.” The same would apply to a homeowner whose task is to fill out a property condition report. Instead of telling them you need or want them to get it done, switch to “Please have this finished and sent to me by tomorrow morning.”
“I hope” means just that.
You don’t know, but you hope. Consider speaking with a client about their listing going live the next day. Instead of “hoping” that you’ll get showing appointments the same day, replace it with “I’m looking forward to…” or “I expect…”
Self-confident, successful agents market consistently…
They’re willing to spend the time and money because they have confidence in their own commitment to follow up on 
leads, to convert leads to clients, and to serve them so well that they each become a source of referrals.
As part of their marketing, they maintain contact with past clients and people in their sphere – because they are confident that their messages will be welcomed.
Self-confident agents know their own strengths and weaknesses…
If they don’t write well, they take advantage of pre-written prospecting letters, such as those I offer here at Copy by Marte. If they aren’t wonderful at organization, they hire an assistant or virtual assistant to keep their transactions on track. If they aren’t expert photographers, they hire experts to photograph their listings.
They know that spending a few dollars to make sure things are done correctly will come back to them in repeat business, referrals, and reputation.
Mailboxes Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Confident agent Image courtesy of coward_lion at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
belief & dictionary key courtesy of stuart miles @ free digitalphotos.net
