RISMEDIA, May 13, 2011—As a business coach for real estate professionals for the last 14 plus years, I often hear the same question from my clients: “How do I stop procrastinating and do what I need to do to pick up the phone?”
This article will give you a strategy guaranteed to help you overcome the old pattern of procrastination.
Here’s the key: Pick a goal that is manageable for you.
Recently, I was working with a client named Steve who had been feeling stuck all week and unable to pick up the phone.
We identified that he clearly had an avoidance pattern going on. I asked that part of him to tell us why it had been preventing my client from making his prospecting calls.
It very clearly answered, “30 contacts today seems like too much. Steve will fail, and then he will be criticizing himself. I don’t want him to go through that pain so I’m stopping him from making the calls altogether.”
We did some negotiating with his “avoidance part” and it wasn’t long before a win-win agreement was reached.
The “avoidance part,” now called his Ally, was very agreeable to Steve making the calls as long as he would lower the number to 20 contacts a day when he sat down to prospect.
Steve knew that he could do 20 contacts today, he had done it before and he felt very confident of his ability to do that.
Furthermore, a part of him that had previously been preventing him from picking up the phone was now agreeing to be his Ally with a brand-new job description.
The deal was this: Steve’s part was to get on the phone and make 20 contacts a day. The Ally’s part was to:
1. Nudge him to get on the phone
2. Praise him for his efforts
3. Protect him from self-judgment and criticism
By the end of the session, Steve reported feeling energized and highly motivated. We worked out some action steps and accountability along with a set of empowered beliefs. With his new and more realistic goal of reaching 20 clients instead of 30, the procrastination stopped.
Here’s a Tip: Procrastination is just another word for fear.
Next time you are procrastinating ask yourself these questions:
• What am I afraid of?
• What self-limiting belief is driving me?
• What is a manageable action step?
Pick something you know you can achieve, take action, feel successful, and use that as a springboard for future action.
Dr. Maya Bailey, Multiple 6 Figure Income Business Coach for Real Estate Professionals, integrates her 20 years of experience as a psychologist with 14 years of expertise in marketing. Her powerful transformational work creates a Success Formula for Real Estate Professionals ready to create a Multiple 6 Figure Income.
For more information, visit www.90daystomoreclients.com.
