Being an exceptional agent isn’t easy. A lot of hard work and education goes into being successful. And though you always hear the saying “work smarter, not harder,” it isn’t totally true. In my 25 years of experience in real estate, I’ve learned you need to work smarter and harder. The key is to work hard at the most profitable things.
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of an agent’s business is their reputation, or “personal brand”. Work hard at this, and it will pay dividends for the rest of your career.
What is an agent’s personal brand?
Your personal brand is simply who your audience thinks you are. Are you reliable? Often, agents who get numerous referrals are known for their ability to get the job done. Are you extraordinary? Many agents are successful because they’re known to produce results better than anyone else in their area.
A personal brand is established by your consistency over time. If you are reliable once, that doesn’t make you known to be reliable. To have that reputation, you must be reliable all the time. On the other hand, if you are always reliable but drop the ball once, your reputation for being reliable will probably remain intact.
Everything you do affects your brand. The way you conduct yourself with clients and colleagues, the promises you make, the ones you follow through on, your marketing, and so on. Consistency in both the quality and style of these things will position you in a particular way. You’ll want to be consistently great and consistently unique in a way that’s authentic to who you are as a person. Be yourself and be great!
How does your personal brand affect your future business?
It is my estimation that about 75% of business in real estate comes by referrals. Referrals are directly related to your personal brand because people refer brands they respect and have had a good experience with. Or sometimes they will refer based on the experience and perception of someone they trust. In any case, your personal brand goes before you to determine the kind and amount of business that will come your way. Generally, the better your reputation, the more business you’ll get. Conversely, a bad reputation leads to fewer referrals and lower-caliber work in our field.
Your personal brand directly affects how much business you get.
“Obvious,” you say? In a way, it is. Yet, so many agents go about their business without investing in or thinking about their personal brand and have to pay for it later.
My goal in this series of blogs is to show you strategies to improve your brand. We’ll cover aspects of professionalism, presentation, and marketing, as well as best practices to implement and pitfalls to avoid. This post lays the groundwork for some important topics to come, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Lucy
As the nation’s leading provider of real estate photography and visual marketing services, VHT Studios® equips clients with the best tools for selling listings in today’s market. Since its founding, VHT Studios has photographed more than 13,000,000 rooms in over 1,200,000 properties and helped more than 470,000 real estate and business professionals sell and rent more than $300 billion in properties. Visit VHT.com to order and learn more about the latest in real estate marketing.
