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 Advertising
Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy. Your advertising budget is like the country’s defenses budget. Those massive advertising dollars don’t buy you anything; they just keep you from losing your market share to your competition. Think 10% of your CGI to dedicate to your overall marketing budget to spend annually with ½ of that going to advertising.

Also, start thinking in terms of advertising as maintenance and marketing as taking new ground. Your individual campaigns will ebb and flow over the years, but your brand will provide the anchor that holds it all together.

Without proper branding, you will be re-creating from scratch every time you launch a new marketing idea. With this in mind, think about how much of a waste picking postcards out of a catalog every month is. No cohesiveness, no building effect, only the hope and prayer that your card will arrive just after the sellers have decided to look into moving (and they don’t have loyalty to another agent or a referral).

Carpe diem,

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The difference between those that achieve the average and those that achieve the exceptional many times comes down to the small differences in their daily activity.  It’s going the extra mile when everyone else stops to rest.  It’s going above and beyond when others decide they’ve done enough. 

The average agent mentally checks out from Thanksgiving to New Years, the exceptional have their best month working with those that are serious about getting into a home (after all, how many people are really out looking at houses or selling during the holiday season if they really don’t have to?)  To be exceptional, we need to finish strong, to go the extra mile and be willing to do what others won’t.  It’s in the last final details that the extraordinary shines through.

Carpe diem,

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Competition (the fear of losing something, the threat of being penniless or the fear of being left out) gets a lot of people out of bed in the morning.

Carpe diem,

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Networking is a great way to get your business and your name known, find new potential strategic partners, and to surface some prospects. But networking isn’t just about finding prospects. You know that, and I know that. Pretty much everyone in business knows that, right?

Wrong.

I was at a business networking event a few weeks ago, ready to meet lots of new people to add to my ever-growing network of colleagues, clients, alliance partners, prospects, and contacts.

I spoke to another marketing professional, and we chatted about getting together so that we could refer to each other. (Hey, not every person who wants marketing help wants to work with ME, so I like to have a few good marketing experts in my network to whom I can refer with confidence.)

I traded jokes and business cards with a charming husband-and-wife life insurance sales team. I have a great relationship with my own insurance lady, but she isn’t right for everyone, so I was happy to spend a few minutes getting to know these two nice people. I will definitely send business their way.

And then I was approached by one of the smiling hosts of the networking event. She asked me what I do (although I got the feeling that she didn’t listen to my response), and asked me for my card.

Then she asked me if I had heard of a certain type of make-up and skin care line that is sold exclusively through personal sales reps. I said yes, and mentioned that I my wife was wearing a lipstick from that line at that very moment.

Her smile turned into pursed lips, and a crease appeared between her eyebrows as she looked at me for a moment. Then she (rather abruptly) asked the name of my sales rep.

You probably won’t believe this, but she returned my business card to me, because (and I’m just paraphrasing here) she had no reason to keep it if I was already working with a competitor.

No interest in finding out whether I might have anything to offer HER.

No interest in asking if I knew anyone who meets her ideal client profile (and who may not want to work with my sales rep, because of location, age, personality, or whatever reason).

No interest in getting to know me, period, because she saw no immediate sales potential in me.

I don’t think I need a crystal ball to predict that this woman is not going to win the “Networker of the Year” award. And she isn’t doing her business any favors, either.

Because networking isn’t about making sales or setting up sales appointments on the spot — it’s about developing relationships. It’s about becoming known, liked, and trusted.

It is not about what I will buy from you right now, or what you will buy from me tomorrow, it is about adding resources to our business tool boxes. And those resources are so much more than just one-time sales (and they certainly contribute to sales); they are intangibles like support, referrals, suggestions, introductions, tips, information, mentoring, advice, and alliances.

The bottom line is this: The value of networking isn’t in the potential of an on-the-spot sale — it’s the relationship.

The woman who returned my card saw no value in knowing me. She had no idea how very many people I know, how open I was to referring to her, and how access to my network could help her build her business. And now, she will never find out.

That’s a networking lesson worth learning.

Carpe diem,

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We are constantly limiting ourselves to what we think can be done. Ask anyone who has served our county in the Special Forces, or someone who just finished their first marathon, or the rookie salesperson who just landed the “whopper.” We are capable of far more than we think we are.

Let’s use some of the following questions to unlock one or two possibilities that will force us to peel back a layer of potential that is yearning to get out and be exploited.

· If you had all the money you needed, where and how would you live?
· If you had the answers to your problems, how long would it take to solve them?
· Do you have a personal or professional vision?
· If so, what is it?
· What do you think is not possible for you to achieve in this lifetime that you wish you could?
· On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate the quality of your life today?
· Using the same scale, how high will that number likely rise during your lifetime?
· What is a dream or goal that you’ve given up on?
· What part of you have you given up on?
· What goal or part of your life have you put on the back burner because the time isn’t right? What part of you is just waiting for the right person or opportunity to catalyze it?

If we can just reawaken a small part of our potential through inspiration, dedication and a little disciplined sweat equity, imagine what the next 12 months could hold..

Carpe diem,

So you emailed me, and waited patiently for me to reply, but I didn’t.  Hours went by, then days, and finally more than a week (or a month) had passed, and you were still waiting for some sign that I had received, read, or at least noticed your message.

But, no such luck.  No response, no reaction, no nothing.  And perhaps you felt mad, disgusted, offended, hurt, or just plain disappointed that I ignored you.

Bummer.  I feel your pain, because I’ve been there, too.  But if I didn’t respond to your message, you deserve to know why, and here’s the deal.

Basically, I did not recognize your email as “real” email.  For some reason, it looked like spam or junk.  My filter may have helped me come to that conclusion, but a variety of other reasons could have contributed to my decision to hit the Delete key before opening and reading your message.

After having worked with many clients, as you can imagine, I get a lot of email.  Despite a great filter, I still get a lot of spam, so I have to exercise my best judgment when choosing which emails to open, and which to delete.

Here’s what I consider spam:  Unsolicited sales information (no, I do not need Viagra or super vitamins), pleas for help from complete strangers (sorry, sire, but I can’t provide you with my bank account number so you can move your fortune out of the country before the natives get really restless), and viruses (yes, I understand that you are a complete but unrecognized genius but I don’t care, you pimply-faced snot-nosed hacker rat; get a life!).

Good friends can send me information that I might find amusing, helpful, or just something I need to know, but so far nobody I know, like, and trust, has tried to sell me Viagra, get my bank account number, or give me a computer virus.  Complete strangers have written to me and become clients, friends, and valued colleagues, but we connected because I could tell at a glance that their email messages were legit.

So it’s not all email, just certain stuff that throws up the red flags in my inbox.

Here are my criteria for automatic deletion, and if you recognize yourself, my apologies for nuking your message:

No sender name or identification.  If you haven’t bothered to set up your email properly so that your name appears as the sender, it is dangerous for me to open your emails.  Either you are a spammer, or you are so techno-phobic that you might make bad decisions regarding your own computer hygiene, so my computer is at risk when accepting messages from you. Uh huh.

Unfamiliar (and weird) sender name.  Would you open an email message from Misalliance M. Checkbook?  I wouldn’t, and you shouldn’t either, unless you want a virus.

No subject line.  Again, a potential problem, unless I know you personally and know you to be so quick on the draw that you consistently send out messages before writing the subject line.  Otherwise, no dice.

First name only in subject line.  If I don’t already know you, I will assume that your message is spam unless the subject line tells me otherwise.  If I am undecided, I will check the properties of your sender name just to see who you are, and if I don’t know you, I hit the Delete key without another thought.

Obvious misspellings in the subject line.  Again, if I already know you, chances are I will open this email if the misspellings make sense, but if I don’t know you (or at least recognize your email address), that message with the weird spellings and punctuation goes right into the Deleted Items folder.

Sender name as subject line.  OK, I know that some of you sent me messages with your name as the subject line, but so does every rich widow, deposed prince, and exiled sheik in the world who wants my bank account number, and I am not willing to read one more of those messages.  Not that I ever fell for the I-need-you-to-hold-my-50-billion-dollar-fortune-while-I-fight-the-forces-of-evil story, but I am offended by the very nature of these messages, and refuse to open them.  If your message got nuked with that trash, now you know why.

My name or web address as subject line.  Oh please!  Could it BE any more obvious that’s it’s a solicitation?

Nonsensical subject line (usually in all lower case).  Bottom line, I’m not so curious that I am willing to be inconvenienced, bored, or annoyed, so this ploy doesn’t work for me.

Lewd or objectionable subject line.  I don’t like to think of myself as a prude, but I do not appreciate lewdness, bigotry, racism, or intolerance from anyone.  Bye bye!

A RE: or FWD: in subject line from a sender I don’t recognize.  If I haven’t already been in touch, why would there be a RE: in the subject line?  Clever monkeys, these spammers.  Same with forwards; why would a complete stranger forward a message about some great deal to me?

It goes right to my Junk Mail folder.  Yes, once in a while I catch a “real” email in my Junk Mail folder, but often I just nuke ‘em all after a quick scan.  Hey, I’m busy!

OK, not all ignored email is spam, and here a couple of special cases with explanations:

I didn’t get it.  It could happen, and it does.  Even mail I have sent myself from home doesn’t always make it here, so please give me the benefit of the doubt on this.

Unsolicited newsletter.  Here’s the deal: I get a lot of newsletters.  A LOT.  And I have the majority of them sent to my newsletter email address, so that I can read them at my leisure, and so my inbox does not overflow with email.  But for some reason, some people who get my business card at a networking event or whatever feels justified in adding me to their mailing lists without my permission.  I find this…fatiguing.  So fatiguing that I will unsubscribe or just hit Delete. 

My email bounced back because your mailbox was full or your ISP doesn’t like my ISP.  Why can’t they all just get along?

You wrote just to tell me how much I stink.  Well, you’re entitled to your opinion, just as I am entitled to mine, and my opinion is that flaming emails (and the like) are simply not worth acknowledging. 

So there you have it (or not).  Every once in a while an email gets lost in my inbox (sorry about that), or I think I’ve responded when I haven’t (hey, human here), because for the most part, my intentions are good. 

Are we good now?

Carpe diem,

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Building a PIPELINE of potential clients these days requires more than just post card that says “I’m Number One!” - you need to establish a personal brand to set yourself apart from the crowded marketplace of other REALTORS® who have the same or similar qualifications.

What is personal branding?  Personal branding is the way you clarify and communicate what is special about you, so that you don’t have to talk so hard (or hope for the right question) to explain exactly why you’re the best choice a buyer or seller could make in choosing a REALTOR®. With branding, you are communicating more information on more than simply a verbal level.

“A BRAND takes the place of an actual personal relationship by making it seem that there is a relationship when in fact, there is none!”  The BRAND is ‘what’ we are remembered for.

Your personal brand is communicated through all visual and verbal communication, voice mail greeting, letters, listing presentations, personal web site, wardrobe choices used in meetings, handshake, contact card, and even your personal interests and behavior.  If any of these are inconsistent with the image you wish to project, your brand is compromised or at least weakened.

When developing your personal brand, ask yourself these questions:

• What do you want people to understand, think, and know when they see you/your marketing/your email?
• What is the essence of your value to an organization?  
• What makes you stand out? Your accomplishments, strengths, personal qualities, or just your hair color, the hat you wear ‘glamour shot’?

There is the story of the character actor who was wrestling with his personal brand because his primary value to directors was that he had a forgettable face.  He is neither handsome nor ugly, tall nor short, and even his hair was a nondescript color.  Although his credits are impressive, new casting directors never remembered him enough to call him back, even when they have been very enthusiastic about his auditions. 

After we did some work with the questions listed above, we decided to brand him as the “red sweater guy.”  Why red?  Because red communicates passion, which is how he feels about acting, and the color stands out and is memorable, even though his face is not.

To every audition, he wore a red sweater.  On his resume attached to his black-and-white head shot, he wrote in red ink under his name, “the guy in the red sweater.”  He began introducing himself as “Chris, the guy in the red sweater,” as well as identifying himself on his phone messages and voice mail as “the guy in the red sweater.” 

The result? The guy with the forgettable face became memorable, and effectively communicated his passion for acting by building a brand around a red sweater.

Correctly branding yourself will make you easier to remember, and will communicate much more than you can ever say in a cover letter or even an interview.

If you’d like to learn more about how to effectively brand yourself in ways that the consumer will respect and celebrate that are real estate related - check out http://www.parentrelocationcouncil.org/

Carpe diem,

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How do you talk to yourself?  No really, when no one else is around how do you find yourself communicating with the person in the mirror?  Do you wake up and great yourself with a celebratory round of applause or do you stumble into the bathroom rub your eyes and bemoan how the scale is not cooperating and it “looks like it’s going to be ‘one of those’ days?”

I won’t try and impress you with my extensive knowledge of Neuro-Linguistic Programming or the importance of the root word of “Logos” in the Original Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament.   What I will say, is that despite my understanding of how it works, I know that what we say and how we say it are really important. 

I don’t pretend to understand the intricacies of the internal combustible engine of my car, but I have become fairly proficient at turning it on and getting to where I need to go.  Words and how we use them are just as important.  Now, please don’t hear me say you need to lie to yourself, that is delusional and they have medication for people who live in fantasy worlds.  But do hear me say that you need to really watch the negativity that is not constructive and productive.  Do hear me say that you need to see yourself in a better light.  Do hear me say that you, despite your faults, should be celebrated because, if nothing else, you bear the fingerprint of God. 

Tomorrow set the alarm to go off with a CD full of applause, welcome yourself in the mirror and be thankful for another day, and relish every moment that you are alive.  Walk out your front door ready to Seize the Day and watch how your world will change for the better.

Carpe diem,

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Two words: Sticky content.

Sticky content is information (web site content) that makes people stick around and return for more. Examples are how-to articles, tips and tricks, beginner’s guides, and any other free information that your clients and prospective clients would find of value.

Keep in mind that the more content you have, the stickier your site is. Sticky is good for at least three reasons: It gives your visitors a reason to come back again and again; it gives your visitors a reason to tell others about your site; and it demonstrates your expertise for people who are interested in your services.

With good content, you will be able to gather leads, acquire names for your mailing list, as well as offer good reasons for your visitors to tell their friends and colleagues about you.

Carpe diem,

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It is very important to determine this before you start your marketing campaign.   Most agents jump into the business and start pumping out whatever the office says to - usually farming clubs, teams or groups are set-up to share the idea of the week and soon you find yourself shelling out gobs of postcards and such with coloring contests, quotes, or whatever else strikes you at the moment. 

I was reminded of this as a local broker and his office was out doing a pumpkin patch this last weekend.  I thought about the money spent, the message that that gave and I thought it was fitting.  Not to be cruel, but the office, with 50+ agents, does less business as a group than many of my coaching clients do with a single agent or a husband and wife team.  Maybe they should be in the pumpkin business; after all, it doesn’t seem they are getting very far in real estate. 

The challenge with this approach is that it doesn’t work very well.  Yes, the laws of numbers will work in your favor if you do anything, however to maximize your ROI you need to define who you want to work with and craft a message that speaks to their needs.   Your marketing message needs to make sense.  If you are working with young families, coloring contests are appropriate, but contextualize them for those you market to - send out a black and white flyer that will become your next postcard design, because you are going to send postcards anyway and you value the input of the local kids and want to showcase their accomplishment in the process. 

You are your message - what your marketing material is simply a reflection of you, good or bad.  Be careful about what you are saying.

Carpe diem,

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