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E A
By Dirk Zeller
W
hen we
listen to
professional
athletes they often
talk about “the
zone.” The zone is
the place where they
can’t miss the basket
or all the putts just
fall. I was reminded
of this performance
zone watching David
Duvall shoot a 59
in the last round to
win the Bob Hope
tournament. He truly
was in the zone. His
longest putt that day was about 10 feet. His mind and
body were working together in a masterful performance.
Since there is a zone in basketball and golf, why
not in real estate What are the steps to enable us to
enter the zone We have all been in it at one time or
another, such as the day you have a few appointments
booked and they all sign the contract smoothly at your
price and terms with little effort or the day you are
prospecting and every call seems to end in a AAA lead
or an appointment. We have all had days like this. The
question is how do we get more of them
The first step is to develop a pre-activity routine. If
you watch professional golfers hit a shot or make a
putt, they will do the same things in sequence through
the completion of their shot or putt. If something
breaks their concentration during the pre-shot routine,
they start all over again. Basketball players at the free
throw line do the same thing. They bounce the ball so
many times or flex their knees the same way every time
they shoot a free throw.
If you developed a pre-activity routine before you
went on a listing appointment our results would
increase. You could create a checklist to make sure
you are following it. Here is an example of pre-activity
routine for a listing appointment.
• Review the CMA for 30 minutes before you
leave the office.
• Determine the price you want the listing at
(exact price).
• Practice the objections you expect to come up
from the responses they gave to you after you qualified
and confirmed the appointment earlier today.
THE ZONE
• Give your presentation before you leave the
office.
• Select music to listen to in the car that relaxes
and focuses you on your task or review the presentation
again.
• Take control before you knock on the door.
If you develop a solid pre-activity routine you will
find you will enter “the zone” more frequently and
with more intensity. You could develop a pre-activity
routine before prospecting, lead follow up, negotiating
of contracts, etc.
To enter the zone you must be relaxed. We are all at
peak-performance in our relaxed state. Often people
think that if we are under pressure, we perform best.
Many studies have shown that not to be the case. When
you are relaxed, your body works in unison with your
mind. You will be able to evaluate situations more
clearly and make better decisions. Haven’t we all left
late for an appointment, had the death grip on the wheel
the whole way, and then not performed well on the
appointment. We need to relax to get in “the zone”.
You might try counting backwards from 100 or taking
a few deep breaths to slow down your breathing. Find
what works for you and use it.
Develop the skill to be an effective self-coach.
That does not mean you should be the Lone Ranger.
We all need mentors, coaches and supporters. To be
an effective self-coach you must believe in yourself
that no matter how the appointment, negotiation or
prospecting session goes or regardless of what happens,
you accept that you did your best at that moment and
move on. You are moving on to do the best you can next
time. You are the only one in charge of how you feel at
the end of the day.
To be a true champion you have to be willing to take
the risks and be able to recover from the setbacks. True
champions are not always right. True champions accept
that they will make bad presentations and bad decisions,
learn from them and say next!
Michael Jordan was one of the best self-coaches ever.
In 1993 when he walked away from basketball with a
world championship and the MVP to play baseball the
world was stunned. All the reporters wanted to know
what would happen if he failed at baseball. Michael
was always on his own side self-coaching his belief
that he could make it. When he didn’t, it did not crush
him. He went back to the NBA and won a few more
championships. Develop a strong self-coach and self-
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ExecutiveAgent Magazine