Have you committed one of the seven deadly sins of building a real estate brand? For your sake, I hope not.
Tonya Eberhart and Michael Carr
These branding mistakes can wreak havoc on more than just your marketing budget. Some of them can ruin your professional image and possibly even your career.
Real estate branding experts Tonya Eberhart and Michael Carr of BrandFace recently appeared on my podcast to discuss these sins so that listeners can avoid committing them while building their brand.
They also shared several other marketing tips and examples, which you can hear in the podcast below. For a quick overview of the seven deadly sins, read on.
1. Not setting yourself apart
One thing your brand absolutely needs in order to be effective is differentiation. If there’s nothing that sets you apart from other agents in your market, most people simply aren’t going to notice you.
Instead of building a brand based on common real estate cliches, make the cornerstone of your marketing efforts something unique.
2. Lacking focus
Even if you can work with everyone, it doesn’t mean that you should. By focusing your branding efforts, you’re much more likely to attract potential clients, especially those who want someone with your specific skills and experience.
Niching will bring you more business, not less.
3. Not being authentic
Your real estate brand should represent you on both a personal and a professional level. If it doesn’t, you’ll have a really hard time sticking with it, and potential clients are going to be able to see right through it.
4. Being inconsistent
When building a brand, you must be consistent. It sounds simple enough, but it’s difficult for many agents, especially when the benefits of branding aren’t immediately obvious.
Even if you haven’t picked up new clients as a result of your brand at two, three or four months, you need to stick with it. Building a brand isn’t a fast, easy process. It requires dedication and time.
5. Not creating content
To build a name for yourself in your niche and market, you need content. The content you push out serves as an example of your expertise — something proving that you know your stuff.
Unless you’re consistently sharing your unique knowledge with potential clients in the form of blogs, real estate videos or other content types, you’ll never establish yourself as an authority.
6. Forgetting a call to action
It’s important for people to know why they should use you, but they also need to know how to use you. A good call to action makes this crystal clear.
To be effective, your call to action should contain a strong, concise message explaining both the why and the how. You could, for instance, offer a coupon for a certain percentage off your commission to sellers who call and mention it.
7. Failing to follow through
Failing to follow through is a mistake that can ruin your brand, especially now that online reviews can make or break your ability to attract new clients. Fortunately, it’s a mistake that you can easily avoid if you do one simple thing: deliver.
If you promise unequaled availability in your branding, you’d better be answering clients’ calls and responding to emails like your career depends on it — because it does.
Want more tips on building a real estate brand from two of the industry’s leading experts? Be sure to listen to the complete podcast interview with Tonya Eberhart and Michael Carr.
Pat Hiban sold more than 7,000 homes over the course of his 25-year career in real estate. Now, he dedicates his time to helping others succeed as agents and investors. As host of the Real Estate Rockstars Podcast, Pat interviews real estate experts to explore what works in today’s markets. He also founded Rebus University, an online training platform for real estate agents and sales professionals.
