Preparing for the Blindside

I recently came across the following blog post headline on the ActiveRain blog roll (and you'll want to go read it because it's just so good): "I Never Met a Real Estate Agent I Liked." What a fantastic title (caught my eye) and opening to a post (HERE: "How's that for an opening statement from the seller at a listing presentation? Talk about an objection to overcome. Considering the seller's statement and the 7:30 AM appointment time I wondered whether this one was lost before I opened my mouth." ~Norma Toering). Perfect. Loved it, Norma.

And I was trying to picture Norma just a couple of seconds on the other side of the door prior to her listing appointment. And as it is with many of us, we've got a number of thoughts going through our minds about what we're gonna say, what personality the potential seller has (if we've never met), how the meeting will go, etc. And then the door opens and ~ whammo! It's nothing like we thought.

So how do you prepare yourself for the blindside? Of course, experience is the best teacher. (Goes without saying.) But along with experience, it doesn't hurt to rehearse different scenarios. "If so-and-so says this, I will say that. If so-and-so says that, I will say this." It's just a good thing to do as regards any of life's situations that may or may not arise. Do you have a game plan? Do you ever rehearse ahead of time? We can't be ready for everything. But we can be ready for some/many things. Being ready helps boost confidence. And confidence is such a huge factor no matter what it is you're doing. (Don't forget to read Norma's article.)