Dear Ari,

As you know, before I got into real estate, I had no background in sales. The idea of making cold calls was something I deeply feared, but the office I was going to join promised me a full sales training program that would teach me to sell by following "proven" scripts. 

So I decided, "Why not? I'll give it a try."

The first few weeks went well -- lots of going out with other brokers, lots of coaching from my manager, and lots of training about contracts, rules, and regulations.

But the first day I had to get on the phones myself, I began wondering if I'd made the right decision. I used all the sales methods I had learned. I was 100 percent "by the book." I overcame objections. I pulled prospects along a linear sales process. I tried to close every time I could.

All I got was continued rejection.

It was almost as if "real estate agent" was as negative a stereotype as "salesperson." It didn't take me long to realize that if I kept approaching prospects the way every other agent was, I was asking for rejection.

I started having major issues making any phone calls, let alone cold calls, and I felt terrified when a prospect would ask me, "Why I should go with you?" and I had to defend myself.

The whole selling thing just felt so awkward and unnatural. All I wanted to do was help people with their real estate needs, and I kept wondering, "Why does 'selling' have to get in the way of helping people?"

That was the point when I found your Mastery program on your website. I read a couple of your articles, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks:

If I was going to succeed in real estate sales, I had to avoid every behavior that would associate me with a stereotypical real estate agent.

I ordered your  Mastery Program  that very day -- and I haven't looked back since. It turned my thinking upside-down in a positive way that made it possible for me to go back to being myself and yet be extremely effective when prospecting for new business.

The Mindset made complete sense to me. My goal is no longer to "get the listing." Instead, I focus on getting knowledge from prospects as to whether I can help them or not.

Here are some specifics about what happened once I made that shift in my thinking and sales efforts -- which have brought me more and more listings and made me the envy of my office.

Example One: Open Houses

You know how these go. Open houses are when a seller's broker sets certain times to show the home to anyone who comes by. Last week, one particular woman seemed very interested in a home. She even gave me her card so I could follow up with her.

So I called her twice and got her answering machine both times, but I didn't leave a message. Instead, I did exactly what you suggested about following up without putting pressure on people. I called back a third time and left this message: "Hi, it's Gavin from the open house, and I just wanted to see if you might have any feedback about the home you walked through. Just feedback is fine, no pressure at all.just wanted to learn what your thoughts were."

She called back seven minutes later! Even more amazing, she started to tell me her "truth," as you describe in your program. I learned exactly where she stood, and that was a huge relief because I learned that there wasn't a fit, so I didn't have to keep chasing her. Ending the chasing game is a key strategy that I learned from you, and it has saved me untold hours of time and energy.

Example Two: Free Market Evaluations

One major marketing strategy that real estate agents use with prospects is to offer a free market evaluation of how their home compares to others that have recently sold in their neighborhood. A lot of sellers actually interview several agents and get these evaluations from them before deciding who they'll list with.

The problem is, if you use any of the typical scripts, prospects shut down right away because they know that these "free" evaluations give agents a chance to apply subtle pressure to get the listing.

I decided to call a prospect who I thought would be good for one of these evaluations, but to do it based on your Mastery program, in a way that took the pressure off the call.

What I said to him was, "I'm happy to do an evaluation of your home to give you an approximate price that I think it can sell for, but under no circumstances do I want you to feel at any time that I'm using this as a way to get your business. I don't want to make any assumptions here. I simply want to help you -- no strings attached -- and if you need my help afterwards, you can reach out to me at your convenience." And this wasn't just a "line", this was the truth, based on your Mindset.

All I can say is, I could hear him melt on the phone. He invited me over, we had a great talk, I now have a solid relationship with him, and he knows that when he is ready to sell his home, he can call me knowing I'll be 100% focused on his interests and not mine.

I did what you said. I focused on helping him rather than on trying to "make the sale." This approach just feels so right.

My results and how I feel are how I measure your program. My sales are up 50 percent. I feel centered and relaxed, and I don't feel affected by the negative real estate stereotype that everyone else in the business I know carries.

Thanks to your coaching, I've released my mind from thinking about where my next paycheck is coming from, and it's bringing me more business that I can handle.

If I had to summarize what I learned from you, it would be:

It's not about what  you're selling, it's about how you're selling.

Thank you Ari,

Gavin