Most people are far more effective working with people they enjoy, trust and with whom they have a real interdevelopmental relationship. Interdevelopmental means that both parties are growing together, instead of being interdependent, which means that both parties rely and lean on each other. While I’m pretty effective and self-motivated (thanks to my vision), I find that being with like-minded people (my colleagues, friends, and others) pulls me forward naturally, and I like that! I used to try hard and I did it all myself. While this worked pretty well, it was a bit lonely, and I didn’t grow as well or as quickly, personally or professionally. Let a team pull you forward instead of trying to “make it happen” alone.

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 that 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 the Law of the Generic

One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name. The generic is forgettable and will be attributed to something or someone else. You are much better off creating a word for a brand than using the generic – think Google.com vs. SearchEngine.com or Amazon.com vs. Books.com or Redfin.com vs. WebsiteBasedRealEstateCompany.com

In the world of real estate, our default brand of old is our high school headshot picture. We slap it on everything we do because someone back in 1985 told us that was the ultimate expression of personal promotion. Although, your picture does allow you to be unique (and unique used in this way is better for some vs. others) it also is inherently problematic as a brand.

I live in an area that has a predominate luxury agent. She has a large team and she has used her picture in almost every conceivable place over the years. I remember distinctly the day I got to meet her at one of her palace listings almost 15 years ago. As she greeted the agents who graced her broker open and introduced herself, I did not recognize her. In fact, I thought that she was in distinct danger of failing prey to a lawsuit over false advertising. All these years later, she still uses the same picture (that was heavily re-touched 20 years ago – and the years between now and then have been less than kind). She is handcuffed to that picture; if she changes it her brand will de-stabilize her brand and if she doesn’t she will be increasingly held as dishonest. Either way she loses. Establish your brand and logo with longevity in mind. 

Some things are just too good not to share, just click on the icon – I hope you enjoy!

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 that 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 is the Law of Publicity
Most of us have been taught that we need to advertise ourselves to become successful. In a counter intuitive twist, the birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising. Most marketersconfuse brand building with brand maintenance. Not only is PR more effective, it is far cheaper than running the advertising machine. When launching a brand we want to focus on creating buzz. Be audacious, be out there, be true to your core message but swing for the fence. They don’t build statues to those that sat on the bench and played it safe. Likewise, I have yet to meet a mega agent who has gotten there by playing it safe and trying to appeal to everyone.

I know of an agent who spent most of his waking hours pounding the living heck out of a geographical farm area. He had built a fairly large awareness of who he was and that he wasn’t going to go away. At Halloween he had his printer take his picture and make life sized paper cutout of his face and make masks out them. He then passed them the day before just in case people hadn’t landed on a costume yet. Dozens of kids used the masks and the neighborhood still talks about it years later. Did he alienate some? Absolutely, it by even the most liberal standards is audacious. Did it work? Yes, his market share went from 24% to 78% that year.

Leverage the power of Buzz and PR to launch your brand.

“The only way to know the limits of the possible is to venture into the impossible”

Let’s talk for a second about the glass ceilings we all reside with to some degree or another.  Those expectations that we set for ourselves and willingly live under.   

Have you ever seen one of those agents who run their business in a way that is obvious to everyone around them that they just don’t know better?  I got into the real estate game during the depths of the last cycle.  Real Estate was on it’s head and the country was suffering from a recession.  My area in particular was very hard hit with the liquidation of the defense industry and the demise of the Savings and Loans.  There were tens of thousands of white collar – high income folks that were out of work and the banks taking back properties in spades.  I jumped into residential re-sale at 22 years old with a wife at home, 2 kids – 2 and under and another on the way. 

After my two week obligatory – “everything you need to know about how to be successful in real estate school” – I went to work.  Fortunately, I didn’t know then what I know now.  It was September and I had mouths to feed, I didn’t know that it was the slow time of the year.  I don’t believe there is much special about me or my ability.  I am just willing to learn and work.  I didn’t have a glass ceiling; I just had kids who were hungry and a beautiful, loving wife that was getting frustrated.  While everyone else operated from what they had seen and experienced as possible, I operated from what I needed to be possible.  Within 3 months I was the #1 producer in the office and #2, #3 and #4 combined were trailing my monthly totals.  I’m not saying that to brag, far from it.  I stumbled across most my brilliant ideas through trial and error. 

I’d like to challenge you to suspend your disbelief for the next 90 days.  Hold your judgment about what is possible and go to work like your life depended on it.  Forget the news, the bad reports and the forecasts by the experts.  If the nation and your area want to have a recession, let them.  You can choose to not participate.

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 that 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 the Law of Fellowship

In recent years there has been a trend in real estate to become more and more competitive within the ranks. Yes, the general agent population as independent contractors find themselves competing against even those that they sit next to in the office. But to those that have nailed their brand, and realize that no one else can compete with them in that space, sharing and collaboration are positive attributes. In order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands. Competition between two leaders raises awareness and allows for emergence and increase in market share for both. Competition between two mega agents is a great thing. One, it keeps them doing what they must to stay ahead (market, advertise and be leaders) and two, it creates a very visible ad war that creates buzz that helps both of them. No one cares when someone is out in front by themselves, it’s not newsworthy, but if you have a competition everyone wants to watch.

Think about the TV ratings for the midweek practices of one sports team. They do drills, practice game play and it is often more technically interesting than the game, however, you have to get a TV that has reception into the thousands of channels before you can even find a way to watch. Now consider the Superbowl, World Series or NBA Championships. Two teams that when playing against each other gain far more support, recognition and fan base than when they play alone.

Some things are just too good not to share, just click on the icon – I hope you enjoy!