Secrets to Successful Branding – The Law of Consistency

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 Consistency

A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years, or months, or days. I get a kick out of the newbie real estate agents who send out a postcard and sit back waiting for the calls to roll in. Your message isn’t even acknowledged by the marketplace until it has been seen 10 times or more. Consistency is the trumping factor over almost anything. I have seen the preverbal turtle beat the hare more than a few times over the years.

I could tell you countless stories of the poster child real estate agent who has the looks, the car, and the high gloss brochures who gets their butt kicked by the far less talented agent who is nothing more than consistent. Consistency is the secret ingredient to any marketing program, without it even the best fail.

Pick your brand, choose wisely and stick with it.