Real estate agents striving for success need to make sure they are mentally tough. I explain some ways to make sure your head is always in the game. We've all seen mentally inferior tennis players double fault to lose a tiebreak and everyday real estate agents face just as much pressure. So how can you ensure you play like Roger Federer rather than ‘Nigel Nobody’?

Just as tennis players need to remain mentally tough, real estate agents must ensure their head is in the game and they’re mentally ready, focused and stable in order to achieve success. Resilience is the key. It’s vitally important that agents never take anything too personally.

Like water off a duck’s back, agents should let negative customer comments rest in the first instance rather than instantly reacting in a potential upset manner. The comments can be filed away to use later as fuel for future success. Agents must also understand the sales process inside out. Customers will say no, they’re designed to.

The secret is to become good at asking the right questions so you find out exactly what they’re objecting to and why.

Once you know this you can realign your strategy and, hopefully, still achieve a successful outcome. Successful agents also see every setback as a chance to make an almighty comeback. But how do you obtain this positive mindset I hear you asking.

The secret is to nominate three people, other than your life partner, to play a major role in helping keep you focused and on track.

The positive person. Every time something goes wrong, ring them and they’ll pick you back up. Similar to having your own little fan club, this person can turn every negative into a positive, be it an opportunity for you to improve in some manner or a chance for you to refocus and expand your business operation.

The negative person. Over time you may develop a feeling of invincibility, but if you call this person they’ll bring you back to earth. This is important as feelings of invincibility can lead to a decline in the effort and once that happens it can be hard to turn things around. Keeping your feet planted firmly on the ground ensures you’re always approaching every sale with the right attitude and level of diligence.

The Negotiator. Every time you need to make a tough decision in your life ring this person. Their superior negotiating skills will help you make that choice. Them being a distant third party also means they can look at each situation with a better perspective and without bias.

Once you’re off and running it’s important to avoid peaks and troughs in your mental stability as those ups and downs could lead to similar highs and lows in your sales performance. One of the best ways to do this is to focus on the number of appointments you book each week. Only ever judge your success by the number of listings you gain each month. I suggest that my clients track their results on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of each month.

Focusing on the here and now helps you focus your attention and energy on what’s currently important and prevents you from becoming overwhelmed by looking at too much of the pie at once. If you focus on just a few tasks at a time you ensure procrastination is kept to a minimum and your energy and dedication levels are at optimum rates. Employing a real estate coach is also an excellent way of making sure your mental stability avoids peaks and troughs. They are able to analyse your situation objectively and devise opportunities to keep you on track. If things do run off the rails it’s important to remember why you started in real estate, what you love about it and how you can turn things around.

One solid tactic is to look for opportunities to book appointments with potential vendors.

I suggest my agents call all of the people who bought from them in 2012 and 2013 as they’ve most likely had a 20 percent increase in their property value and now is the ideal time to capitalise on positive market conditions. Maintaining a regular, healthy diet, exercise and sleep routine will also help you avoid mental burnout as will controlling your stress levels. Controlled and self-induced stress is better than imposed stress so it’s important that agents learn to manage their anxiety and to channel it towards tasks and outcomes that really matter.

Another good idea is to keep a list of your goals, achievements and lesson learnt on your phone. It’s the easiest, quickest way to pick you up and help get your focus back on track.

This article first appeared on Elite Agent:https://eliteagent.com/is-your-head-in-the-game/