We have a special place in our hearts for new agents, and one philosophy we subscribe to is, “You learn best by doing.” A part of that learning for those just starting out can be setting up dates to roleplay with other agents in order to practice prospecting and listing-appointment conversations. This way, agents can feel more confident and competent when face-to-face with real prospects.
Developing Conversational Muscle Memory
Let’s dive into a little discussion about “muscle memory,” which is when you do something so often that your body gets accustomed to the movement and begins to do it automatically. Conversational muscle memory works the same way.
Roleplay isn’t as dramatic as it might sound. It’s simply two agents getting together to practice the conversations they wish to master. In doing so, they develop that conversational muscle memory they need to feel more present and less anxious. It’s a safe place where tripping over words and making mistakes is a positive thing. It’s also a chance to learn, allowing agents to feel more natural, authentic and present when having conversations with real clients—with the confidence of someone who has had this conversation a thousand times.
How to Prepare for Roleplay
To prepare for roleplaying with another agent, bring together all the dialogs and analogies you can think of for communicating the tools and strategies you’ll use to market a home and handle any objections that might arise. Analogies and metaphors make conversation more relatable, so your communication is more successful.
When you’re about to begin, you may feel insecure and uncomfortable, but by making mistakes and practicing these scenarios through roleplay, you’ll realize that the only way out of this discomfort is to go through it. This will help your insecurity fade and confidence grow.
The Parenting Analogy
If you have children, you know that when they try doing something for the first time, they aren’t very good at it. Whether it’s playing an instrument, learning how to write or even walking, you keep encouraging them to practice—and eventually they get better.
Getting better at having these conversations takes practice, so find another agent or two and spend the time learning and mastering these conversations so you have confidence when talking to a client.
Darryl Davis has trained and coached more than 100,000 agents globally. He is the best-selling author of “How to Become a Power® Agent in Real Estate,” which tops Amazon’s charts for most-sold book to real estate agents. Davis hosts a weekly webinar to help agents succeed in changing times. Visit www.DarrylSpeaks.com/Online-Training.
