Last year, I decided that I wanted to learn to play guitar. Following my characteristic modus operandi, I bought the best guitar I could find, read how-to books, took lessons and …. here’s the key … practiced.
The hardest thing for me was learning to play without continually glancing at the fingers on my fret hand to make sure they were properly placed.
For those of you who might not know, the ridges on the neck of the guitar where you position your fingers in order to play specific notes are called “frets.” I find this ironic because the word also means to be anxious — which I was.
I thought about quitting, but it’s not in my nature. So I persevered and I practiced … a lot. As a result, my confidence increased and I can now play guitar without fretting about my fret hand.
In one of the books I bought was the story about a music teacher whose aspiring student complained that she didn’t have the gift of music. The teacher told her, “You do not have to have the gift. You just have to have the patience to learn music without giving up. That’s the secret of great musicians.”
The same principle applies in new home sales. You’re not born with the gift of salesmanship or a natural talent to sell igloos to Eskimos. To succeed, you must have a desire to learn and the commitment to practice … faithfully and regularly … whether you feel like it or not.
Practice your closing scripts. Practice overcoming objections. Practice meeting and greeting buyers. Practice role-playing with other salespeople. Practice better sales techniques and new marketing strategies.
Basketball player Abe Lemons was one of the most successful coaches in Oklahoma history. He believed himself to be a “teacher of men” on and off the court. He used to tell his players, “One day of practice is like one day of clean living. It doesn’t do you any good.”
