Strong competition already exists in the world of real estate sales. What we do not need is more it, especially the kind we create ourselves... within ourselves. Learn how to overcome "creative avoidance."

There is a powerful force that can hamper the achievement of our goals, fulfillment in life and earning potential. That force is called "creative avoidance."

Creative avoidance is letting our self doubts, second guessing and organizing of information get in the way of going out there and getting business. We can come up with numerous reasons as to why we didn`t go out and prospect, network or ask for referrals today. When it comes right down to the bottom line, taking all emotions out of it, you will find that creative avoidance is thriving in our chosen career. It will deter us from accomplishing our goals in business, and life, if we let it.

Creative avoidance introduces itself to us in that first year of business and sticks with us until the end. Initially, most of us are just plain "scared" of what this business entails and have no idea where to start. Our fear of rejection shows up and we avoid prospecting. We can find all sorts of busy work to occupy our time.

TIME TO CREATE BUSINESS

Time goes by and we realize we need to do something to create some business. We decide to go out and knock on some neighborhood doors. As we leave the office we are trying to decide where to begin with this new adventure. After all, we can`t just stop the car anywhere and begin. We need to find that neighborhood that looks just right, where the people appear to be friendly and where there will be nobody home. What would we do if someone was home and actually said, "Yes, I would like a market analysis"?

We couldn`t find a place to begin door knocking so, we decide to cold call. The dilemma is we don`t know where to begin. We want some insight first. We decide to go and ask some people in our office what they think. Oh, and we`d better go get that can of soda. We might get thirsty. We look at the phone and say well, there are some personal calls we would like to make first. Hopefully, that will help motivate us. I would like to know how my friend`s date went last night. I will get that off my mind and then I will start in.

That may sound comical, and yet, these are thoughts that I had in the initial phases of my career. I could come up with all sorts of necessary activities to avoid doing what I needed to do, to make money. It doesn`t end there.

A few years go by. We are finally starting to reap what we have sown. The benefits, from being independent and working hard, are beginning to appear. Our business has grown and we tell ourselves we are beyond certain prospecting avenues. We tell ourselves that we are too busy trying to keep our current clients satisfied so that we have no time to find additional ones. We are confident we will receive rave reviews and we start to depend on gaining referrals. By having this mind-set we are 62 creating the proverbial "ups and downs" of this business by not keeping that steady stream of prospects coming in.

Some of us look for ways to increase our income. We could, possibly work on a higher average sales price. However many of us tell ourselves we are not capable. Where we live, and our experiences in life, will determine how we feel about going after upper bracket homes. I know many people who even after 10 years in the business will avoid that market out of intimidation or feelings of inferiority. We are missing out on an incredible opportunity increasing our volume by cutting ourselves short.

FEAR OF SUCCESS

Another obstacle is the fear of success. There is quite a bit of responsibility that goes with being successful. Maybe, it is time that we hire an assistant and yet, we are completely avoiding it. You see, then we will be responsible to, and for, someone. That can be a scary thing.

However, an assistant could very well be the thing we need to take our business to the next level. We could delegate those tasks that we are not going to produce income. Larry Wilson founder of Wilson Learning Centers, states that, "Personal growth is more of letting go than adding on." Instead of adding activities to your daily planner that will take you away from prospecting, try delegating to competent people. If nothing else, find someone who could come and help you process paperwork.

When you are on the verge of updating your technology system, hire someone qualified to help you with this. Bring in a computer guru to download, organize and create your needed systems. Hire someone to input your information. Technology is a wonderful tool for all of us. However, many of us are using it as a crutch and, therefore, creatively avoid doing the things we need to do.

TEAMWORK WITH A TWIST

One of those things that we need to do is to expand our sphere of influence. Interdependence is a current buzz word. It simply means teamwork, with an added twist. It means a group of people working together to accomplish a common goal without becoming dependent on each other. Benjamin Franklin struggled for many years to discover his path to success. He decided that it was crucial to create a positive network of supporters. The way he did this is explained in one of his famous quotes: "I will speak ill of no man and speak of all the good I know of everybody."

Those are words that I greatly respect. That wisdom will help us increase our network of supporters of people who will refer business to us. It is not going to happen automatically. It must be created, nurtured and developed through consistent effort. The first step is to make a list of everyone you know. Evaluate how often they hear from you, how many referrals they have sent your way and what value you can bring to them and the people they know.

PREVENT BURN-OUT

We are now an eight-year veteran of real estate. Our business has exploded because we made the needed adjustments described above. Now, some of us creatively avoid something that we need for ourselves to prevent burnout: a day of rest - time away from the demands of our business. We have been working non-stop, would like to take a day off and yet, there are too many things to do. Our attitude starts to sink. We are not as effective at listening to clients` needs and therefore "lose" a couple of prospects. Our personal life is not doing so great. There were a couple of seminars in town, recently, that probably could have helped motivate us a little bit. But, there is nothing new under the sun. They can`t teach us anything we don`t already know. Why waste our time?

When we begin feeling that way we need to make some minor modifications. It is crucial to our ongoing achievements that we spend one day per week away from business, so that we can come back at it fresher than ever before. It is imperative that we are constantly enriching our minds with positive support, reminders of what works in our career and tools to help keep us motivated. Schedule time enrich yourself. Your prospect to client ratio will grow due to your increased enthusiasm and energy.

RECOGNITION COMES FIRST

It is relatively easy to let creative avoidance take over our daily schedules. I could go on and on with examples, yet, that is not the point. Recognition is the first step to overcoming creative avoidance. Analyze how you spend your time in some type of journal or daily book. You will begin to see your patterns. It will become clear as to where you are avoiding the needed tasks to accomplish your objectives.

Focus on your goal of getting to Hawaii for two weeks, or paying off certain debt, or investing 10% of your gross income this year. Use the old visualization process and experience your success. That will help you enhance your motivation to use your time wisely.

Increase your prospect list by a simple 5 contacts each day. As you begin to look for prospects, just jump in and do it. Ask yourself, "What is the worse thing that could happen out of this?" You realize that, in most cases the worst thing is a "no" from a prospect. You are more than likely not going to die, lose your family or friends. The worst thing that could happen, most of the time, is that we simply have to move onto the next person.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

I could boil the solution down to two words: personal responsibility. We have the power to choose how we spend our time, who we spend it with, and where we spend it. There are numerous distractions in this business and we need to take responsibility to deal with them in an effective manner.

It is difficult to face the challenge of no more excuses. It is easier to creatively avoid things than take the plunge and do it. I have learned that the activity I resist the most is usually the best thing for me - in the long run.

This is a good time of the year to evaluate how things are going for you in `99, Are you doing something, every day, to move you closer to accomplishing your goals? Don`t let creative avoidance get in the way. Overcome it and you will be amazed at the results.