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You can’t build an attraction based business WITHOUT having a brand. I don’t think you can have any long lasting business without a brand The most important thing you can do is learn how to stand out in the marketplace.People don’t remember what you do, they remember how you do it.
The hardest part most service based businesses or individuals have is seeing themselves as a brand.
NOTE: Listen to the latest podcast with College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving Founder Nick Friedman.
Here’s a sneak peak….
“I work for a broker and they are my brand…”
NO, The you are the brand. The broker is not. Helping build your broker’s brand does you NO BUENO. As a matter of fact less than 4% of consumers actually chose their agent because of the brand they were affiliated with.
What does this mean?
It means that buyers and sellers don’t give a shit what company you work for. People aren’t hiring your broker, they hire you. Company brand used to matter as the public perception used to think they needed to work with an agent at a big brand name. In today’s brokerage world, that is no longer true for the most part because 96% of consumers reported they hired the agent vs the brokerage they affiliated with.
How To Standout In The Marketplace Step 1- Determine Your Symbol
Over 60% of all agent business is derived from referrals and repeat business because people seek out agents they know, like, trust, or are referred to. You don’t get referrals and repeat business from strangers, you get them from the relationships you have in life, but only when you are remembered. You need a logo that tells a story.
Which is more memorable?
NIKE
OR
I think we know the obvious answer here, but the question is why? Over time we’ve been trained to associated Nike with their logo. When I see it, I don’t just think of the company, but I think of what the company stands for. Instantly I get images in my head of:
Michael Jordan
Basketball
Sports
Just Do IT
Adrenaline
Competition and so on….
That logo has the power to trigger all those thoughts and emotions in my brain. That’s the power of branding. Over time I have been exposed to a consistent combination of marketing campaigns where Nike associated their branding with the stories of well known athletes.
You cannot learn how to stand out in the marketplace without first defining your own story.
They didn’t need to put their shoes or apparel in the ads, they just placed their logo next to the athletes stories. Therefore, over time, my brain was programmed to associate that swoosh with athleticism. It was the consistency and branding of the Nike’s logo that created that association in my brain.
I understand Nike is a billion dollar company and we are talking about real estate branding here so let’s go through my own branding from when I still practiced as an example.
Mike Cuevas, Realtor
OR
The logo is more memorable than saying Mike Cuevas, Realtor. Images are more power than straight text and why I use my logo in everything I do because I know my logo resonates more than my name.
My Chicago Real Estate Dude eventually turned into Real Estate Marketing dude, the name of my podcast.
I’m fighting for attention, not leads. THe “dude” is my personality summed up while my logo is my symbol.
When you have the attention of your database you’ll attract clients
My only goal in real estate branding is to be the most known Realtor amongst my network.Once that is accomplished, it’s just a numbers game because people move. The more people who know who I am, the more referrals and repeat business I get. It’s that simple.
I don’t market Mike Cuevas the Realtor, I market the Dude who’s name happens to be Mike Cuevas.
My brand also reflects my style. I’m not a luxury agent. I’m a dude. I have found that the more “real” that I am in my marketing, the more people I connect with. Connecting with people , nurturing, and building relationships is the entire goal of my marketing strategy. I don’t market my brand for leads, I market my brand to build on my relationships and stand out.
The goal of marketing your brand should be to become the most well known Realtor amongst your network possible. People hire Realtors they know, like, and trust, but they can only work with you when they remember who the hell you are.
“The Realtor who is beating you in sales is not better than you, they are just more popular”
I no longer sell real estate actively, but I didn’t change my brand. Today, I’m the Real Estate Marketing Dude.
In the last 3 years I have completely changed what I sell, but my brand remained that of a “dude” because it’s just who I am. I went from selling houses to selling video and branding services to Realtors, but my brand didn’t change, my job did. The reason for that is because your brand is not based on what you do for a living, it’s based on who you are as a person and what you stand for.
How To Stand Out In The Marketplace Step 2- Get Loud
If you really want to know how to stand out in the marketplace,use video because it’s the most impressionable way to communicate.
60% of all communication is based on your tonality.
Did you ever hear the phrase, it’s not what you say it’s how you say it? Your tone is everything. If you spoke in monotone boring voice in all your videos would it affect your messaging? Of course it will. Your tone is the most important part of how you communicate as it expresses emotion. Check out what Jerry has to say…
30% of communication is based on your body language.
When you are using video, you need to consider your body language as a form of communicating.
10% of communication is based on the actual content.
This is going to blow your mind. Only 10% of what you actually say will be retained. People don’t typically want to talk about real estate or work unless they are in the market. Quit focusing on what you are saying and put more emphasis on how you say it.
Every video you create does not need to sell real estate, it needs to remind people you are in real estate.
Do you remember ShamWow?
It’s this guys tone and body language that people remember. I didn’t recall the product because it was a good product, I recalled it because of the dude! His body language and tone are what is memorable. That’s the power of video.
Can you express your tone using email?
How about body language?
(Emojis are the exception✅✅🏠✅👍🏻😢🤣🏠💰)
How To Stand Out In The Marketplace Step 3- Be Consistent
The final step in the puzzle is to be consistent. For someone who is consistently communicating with their database, local community, and anyone else willing to listen, you become unforgettable.
In real estate specifically, people move every 6-9 years so do the math, it’s never whether they will need you but more of a matter of when they will need your services.
As you communicate consistently with the people you already know, you’ll learn that how to stand out in the marketplace really doesn’t involve you coming up with some clever idea or ground breaking technology. It involves good old relationship building communication, and authenticity.