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. 

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.

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 Credentials

We as an industry make claims to different things all the time. It seems everywhere I look there is another #1 or area expert. So many, in fact, that the whole notion has been diluted to the common denominator of average. The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity. Consumers are inherently suspicious and look for holes in our claims. We want to distinguish ourselves and become the expert in our primary claim and be able to support it.

One of the fallacies in real estate is that we sell houses. You don’t sell houses. Let me say it again, you don’t sell houses; especially if you want a successful marketing campaign. Yes, you may have made over $500,000 in GCI this last year, even closed 38 transactions, but you don’t sell houses.

You sell your USP or Unique Selling Proposition. There are hundreds of thousands of agents in world today. If all you do is sell houses, then there are at least a few others that are willing to do the same thing. They may even deliver it with the same level of service and for a lower commission. What makes you better than any other? Why should a client hire you and pay you the commission that you are asking?

As an industry, we have been caught without enough distinction from one another which is why we face an ongoing war with “Commission Compression” – and before you get cocky on me and say “I’m not struggling with commissions” wait until the market swings back. If you thought it was bad before…

What is your USP? Is it that you return phone calls (which is become rare these days), or do you specialize in cash-flow oriented investors, or are you pet-friendly?

What are your strengths? What can and do you do better than anyone else? What are your values and if the truth be known, does your ideal client even know? What do you care about and hold most dear? What can you truly be an expert in?

Market around those things and you will find yourself in the rare air of those agents who make the rules about how the real estate game is played and who hold the top %1 who dominate the marketplace. And remember, the real power of credentials is not only self-proclaimed but acknowledged by others.