COACHES CALL: (full story)
Who are you branding? ...
Recently I was able to conduct an impromptu
workshop after a presentation in a large busy
firm. Our focus? Personal branding – or better
yet, who are you branding? Keeping the industry
tradition of including an agent’s photo, slogan
and, of course, home phone number on nearly every
item that leaves the office, we began to dissect
the importance and how the focus of personal
branding has changed. The focus of more
streamlined information is key – where and how to
reach you, the agent.
When I began in real estate,
more often than not, agents stayed with the same
broker and firm for the majority of their career.
In today’s market, many of the firms have
consolidated or merged, thus a new company name is
associated with the agent. Let’s also keep in mind
that today, agents will change their association
of firm for various reasons – commission,
opportunity, ownership, etc. Herein lies the
issue. If the marketing materials have focused on
the firm more than the agent, what happens to the
name recognition of the agent? Drilling down a bit
further, how does the agent market himself or
herself as a real estate agent?
It is important to remember
that your association with your firm is paramount
as well. In many instances, the firm’s reputation
dovetails with the agents in the consumer’s
perspective. While maintaining a marketing level
of your firm, you now must market your name – in
everything you do.
Our contact methods have
changed with the infusion of technology in the
real estate industry. E-mail and virtual tours
have entered the arena, and clients today expect a
real estate agent to embrace technology and
utilize it in their individual business. Take a
look at your email address. For some it will
reflect their name and the firm they work for,
i.e.: KCLambeth@VirtualRescue.com.
For others, it may be a free e-mail account, such
as ISellRealEstate@Yahoo.com.
In most cases, it is a name along with an ISP,
(Internet Service Provider), i.e.:
ILovetoScubaDive@AOL.com
or HomesforSale@Earthlink.net.
In looking at all of these addresses with an
influence of professional marketing techniques,
which is better for your business? Granted, the
names appearing before the “@” are relative to
what you do, but they do not market who you are.
If you concentrate on the information that appears
after the “@”, the only marketing being done is
for your firm and the internet providers.
So what is the answer? What if
your e-mail address read:
Mary@MaryRAgent.com or
Homes@MaryRAgent.com?
Having a personally branded e-mail address says a
number of things, most importantly, who you are,
and what you do. The level of professionalism that
is rendered is far and away better in appearance
than a screen name with your ISP for an address.
Two additional advantages are when you change your
Internet provider, your e-mail address does not
change and if you accept an invitation to join
another firm, you won’t lose client correspondence
because of an e-mail address change.
If you remember in any
marketing method to promote your individual
business while adding a convenience for your
clients, you will have success in your marketing.
Don’t you find it easier to remember someone’s
name and their e-mail address when they are one in
the same? A tidbit of help is to look at every
marketing and branding opportunity with this in
mind: "profession" is the beginning of
professional.
Returning to the original
concept of your photo, your slogan and your home
phone number on all items going out of your
office, let’s retool that a bit. Personal choice
of your photo, but remember to use a recent one.
Slogan is excellent if you are consistent and
realistic (i.e.: Your 24-hour REALTOR® is probably
not the best choice). Instead of your home phone
number, why not rename that “Direct Line”, or
delete entirely and use your Voice Mail instead.
E-Mail address, particularly personally branded
ones, should be on EVERYTHING!
If you have branding and
marketing questions, let us know, we would be
delighted to help. If you are unsure how your
marketing methods fit your business plan, send it
to us, and we will review and send it back to you
with some new ideas!
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