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"Where's Your Anchor?"
(Part 1 of a 2 Part Series)
by Bernice Ross, Ph.D. MCC
Owner, Teleclass4U.com, LLC and RealEstateCoach.com
Copyright © 2002
RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com
All rights in all media reserved.
Want to increase your productivity? If so, understanding your personal "anchors" can help
you leverage your strengths as well as providing you with a strategy for overcoming your
weaknesses.
Tony Robbins has popularized the notion of having internal and external anchors. In
actuality, the psychological research dates back to the 1960's and is known as locus of
control. For real estate sales people, understanding how "anchors" work can unlock your
personal potential as well as helping you to better serve your clientele.
People who have "external anchors" or what is known as an "external locus of control"
usually believe in luck, do best in structured environments, and are often sensitive
to rejection because their self image is strongly influenced by what others think about
them. In contrast, people who have an internal locus of control, believe they create
their own luck, are responsible for what happens to them, and aren't usually concerned
about the opinions of others.
While it may be tempting to suggest one style is to be preferred over the other, in
actuality, both styles have their strengths and weaknesses. Also, you may be
internally anchored in some situations while being externally anchored in others.
The key to success is to find out what your style is and then leverage the strengths
of your style while compensating for the weaknesses.
To determine your style, examine how you would respond in each of the following situations.
- You are on a diet and there's a birthday party at the office for your manager.
Do you have some cake and ice cream? Sticking to your diet is internally anchored.
Going along with the crowd and getting ice cream is externally anchored.
- You are in an office meeting and asked your opinion about having all floor calls
go directly to the listing agent. Do you go along with the group opinion (externally
anchored) or do you state your opinion (internally anchored)?
- You commit to calling on 10 expired listings per week. Do you need someone else to
keep you moving along (externally motivated) or are you a self-starter (internally motivated)?
- You have to complete the ad copy on three new listings. The deadline is five days
from now. Do you wait until the last minute to complete the job (externally anchored)
or did you complete the task 3 days earlier just to get it off your plate (internally motivated)?
Internally anchored people rely on their internal compass when making a decision and then pursue
it. Outside influences often have little impact. Externally anchored people carefully utilize
outside influences before making a decision. The challenge is to determine your natural style
for a specific situation. Then build on the strengths of your style.
For Strategies on how to best work with your personal style, see Part 2 in next week's RealClues:
Where's Your Anchor? (Part 2 of a 2 Part Series)
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