Secrets to Successful Branding – The Law of Contraction

If, we, as the real estate community really understood the concept of branding and its importance, we would save a fortune by cutting the misplaced dollars we are spending in the name of “getting their name out there.”
Most of us are re-treads – people who fell into this business and came from some other background. In 15 years of asking, I’ve only found one person who grew up wanting to be a real estate agent (and she is no longer in the business). I can’t tell you how many people I’ve interviewed as a Broker that said the reason they wanted to be an agent was because they liked houses and people. If that is the sole reason they are here my advice to them has been – “Don’t get started in this business because in 6 months you will hate them both.”

Those that make it in this industry in today’s world are those that approach it with an amount of business prowess. Unfortunately, that isn’t taught in the “learn everything you need to know to become successful in real estate in two weeks” class. So, we throw the newbies to the vultures (vendors who sell BS products tat do nothing but line the pockets of the vendors and serve as filler our nation’s dumps). We let them sling mud on a wall and see what sticks and hope against hope that they will be one of the very few fortunate ones who will survive the first three years.

Over time, those that emerge as mega agents realize that to truly win in this you must realize that it is a business not a career (and there is a major difference) and start learning how to become the “RainMaker.” Although we have dozens of proprietary campaigns to generate more leads, from time to time, we need to strip back to the basics and dive into the philosophy to align ourselves with the right thinking to launch our business to the next level. This week, it’s all about how to brand effectively so that you may maximize your ROI in any marketing or advertising program your engage in. From Al Ries, a master of marketing and branding in the retail sector, we take the lessons and apply the fundamentals to our real estate businesses.

One Secret In Branding is a Law of Contraction

The power of the brand is inversely proportional to its scope. Think for a second about what agents put as the intro to their website and we will see how as an industry we violate this rule to its very core. As we take a virtual stroll through cyber land we see on the front page of our web sites that almost universally we represent buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords, residential, some commercial, land hunters, first time buyers, investors, and well, as long as we are honest about it, anyone who can fog a mirror and pay a commission.

When we put your brand on everything, the name loses power. We must become very particular on how we use your logo, where it is placed, on what it is placed and what you are using it for.

Remember this important truth, unless you alienate a part of the crowd, you will never attract the portion you want to work with and vice versa. When you allow yourself to focus, you can become the expert and develop an expertise not available from anyone else and thus stand out from the sea of faces that crowd our industry. The programs, tools and services you develop as an expert can become unique and boost value (and hard earned commissions). Good things happen when you narrow your focus.

Remember, a brand only becomes stronger when you narrow its scope.  

Carpe diem,

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