Consistently working with self-confidence can be challenging. As a real estate agent you are a sales person which means you will inevitably hear your share of rejections as well as the types of variables you will run into moving from client to client. You don’t know what kind of applicants your client’s property is going to draw in; you don’t know if they’re going to be good tenants after you’re gone. By bringing self-confidence into your work, you can thrive as you navigate the negativity, self-doubt, and mistakes and end up successfully where you want to be professionally. The question that should be on your mind now is, how?
Dr. Ivan Joseph lectured in his TedTalks about how to develop the skill of self-confidence using exercises done by professional athletes. By practicing these four exercises, you’ll be able to gain self-confidence in the workplace.
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition . . . Did I mention Repetition?
With all great athletes, practice is a necessity. Just like Dr. Joseph described, if you have a player who can’t catch the ball, what do you do? You have them practice catching the ball over and over for months until they develop the skill. Evidently, the same mentality can be applied with improving your self-confidence.
It’s no surprise that “experience” is linked to self-confidence. It’s something you often hear in the workplace. Now that you know, if there’s something work related that you’re not confident about, then work the system and practice it. Practice talking to clients and applicants, or practice handling difficult situations. Don’t let a negative response or rejection deter you from practicing. Embrace those negative experiences and appreciate the lessons they will undoubtedly teach you to better handle similar situations in the future. Persevere and soon enough you’ll be so confident you’ll be able to handle any situation.
Stop the Negative Self-Talk
We all have it. It’s that voice inside the back of our head that immediately tells us that what we just said was “stupid” or becomes overly aware of how we might have made a mistake. Our negative self-talk brings us out of the present and distracts us from the work at hand. Dr. Joseph says professional athletes combat this by saying a positive mantra in their head. For Muhammad Ali, it was “I am the greatest”. You can use mantras like “stop underestimating yourself” or “tomorrow is now today” to stop self-doubt from creeping in during important moments. By believing in yourself and reminding yourself of what makes you feel confident (whether it’s a list of what you’re proud of or a mantra) you can stay confident professionally.
Boost YOUR Confidence by Boosting Theirs First
We all make mistakes and we all have self-doubt. While you shouldn’t point out your clients or applicant’s weaknesses, make a point to complement their strengths. Build their self-confidence as well. This can be as simple as complimenting your client’s property upkeep or an applicant’s handshake. By building others you’ll not only build a better relationship with your clients, but you’ll be able to get out of your negative self-talk and focus on the present positive attributes.
Make Every Review a Positive One!
With confidence you can choose how to interpret feedback. While you shouldn’t get carried away and completely ignore feedback from someone you trust, if you get negative and malicious feedback from an online review or an applicant, you have the power to decide if it’s going to affect your self-confidence. Use negative feedback as constructive criticism (when it is valid) to grow as a professional and improve the way you interact with people.
Self-confidence is a buildable skill. At one moment it’s there and in the other it feels like it’s not. Making an active effort to practice these exercises will not only help you in your everyday life, but in your career. As everyone knows, there’s nothing more attractive then self-confidence. Use it to promote yourself professionally and succeed through all aspects of your life.
Have you ever lost self-confidence over a client or applicant? How did you regain it, and learn from the experience? Let us know in the comments section below and be sure to subscribe!
