3 skills you need to have a successful meeting with your lead

You might think you know how to have successful conversation… and if you’re already nailing it, then great! But there are always ways for you to improve, so don’t close this tab quite yet.

For a lot of people, having initial in person conversations with leads is a little intimidating. If that first listing appointment with a prospect makes you a little nervous, don’t worry… you aren’t the only one.

You may be thinking “will the conversation go as well as it was over text?” Or “will they still like me and continue working with me once they meet me?”

These are totally normal feelings and often stem from a lack of self confidence, which is a thing most adults lack… self confidence. While some conversations may go off without a hitch, there are always meetings where you may have missed the mark, or said something that wasn’t so appealing to your leads. Because in most cases this is unavoidable, we’re here to offer you a few skills that will at least prepare you for the harder conversations, and help nail all your meetings moving forward.

Here are 3 skills you’ll need to have successful in person conversations with your leads:

1. Self Reflection

This step begins before you actually meet your prospects in person. I’ve mentioned that confidence is a key factor to having successful meetings, but I haven’t gone into a lot of detail with this.

Confidence literally has a physical and chemical component to it that shouldn’t be ignored. When we look good, chemicals are released in our brains that give us a little confidence boost. The same goes with being active.

With that in mind (no pun intended), it may be beneficial to start your day with a workout to get some endorphins pumping. Not only will this help you feel good about yourself throughout the day, it’ll also mentally put you in a good head space.

Feeling good is a huge part of having confident conversations, so starting your day with something that makes you feel good, confident and strong will help you move through your day with an empowered presence that will help you with any conversation you have throughout the day.

2. Adaptability

I’ve know this about myself for a long time. My ability to be adaptable gives me a bit of a bonus in a lot of situations. Adaptability is the trait that determines how you react and respond to change in social, and personal situations.

You’ve probably heard these people be described as someone who “goes with the flow” or a team player that may be a little more “flexible.”

Being adaptable is important because it allows you to be more flexible towards your leads, and bend to help them when the plan may not be going in the direction either of you hoped… or planned.

On the other side of the spectrum, however, are people who are a little more hard headed, or creatures of habit. I’m not by any means saying that being a creature of habit is a bad thing… because in some situations, this does go a long way. What I am saying is that it's worth your wild to practice being a little more adaptable, because it may benefit you in the initial meeting with your prospective lead.

Being adaptable also makes you a better leader… one that people will be more inclined to follow. Accepting change is an attractive quality to have in a leader, especially if you’re leading people towards one of the biggest purchases of their lives. Your leads will want to know you’re able to adapt to their needs (which may be ever changing) and be on the ball for any changes that may happen in the market while you’re working with them on buying or selling their home.

Trust me when I say that adaptability is a valuable skill to have, and one you should work on before that initial meeting with your prospects.

3. Small Talk

Everyone knows that when you get to a meeting, you don’t just dive right into shop talk. There is a period of time where you’ll need to introduce yourself, ask your leads some questions about themselves… and maybe even chat about the weather.

A lot of people say that small talk comes off as being a little disingenuous but to be honest, It’s important to be good at small talk because it acts as an ice breaker in a lot of cases.

I’m not asking your to solely chat about the rain you’ve been having… or making odd jokes that come across as disingenuine. It’s important to find a balance! When you initially meet with your prospects, spend some time asking them a series of questions that allows you to get to know them a little better, and acts as an icebreaker. The University of Michigan recently did a study, and concluded that friendly and quick social interactions such as small talk can actually boost your ability to problem solve, and allow you to better read people around you.

Not only will this help you vision their lifestyle a little more… but it’ll also help you get to know them, and be a little better at providing them exactly what they’re looking for in a home. Small talk has also shown to make you a tad more likable (more than you already are…) Before meeting your next lead, consider brushing up on your small talk. It’ll go a long way!

At the end of the day, your initial meetings will go however they will… but the good news is that by enhancing these skills, you’ll be a little more prepared for whatever the situation has to offer you.

You’re only as prepared as the work and effort you put into things. If you put little to not effort into your meeting prep, then its likely they won't go quite as planned or expected. It will take a little time for you to master, but if you put a little bit of work into enhancing these skills, you’ll be off to the races with each and every one of your initial listing meetings.

Good luck down the road… and remember “Success is not an accident.”