June 2023
Think about it: if you only were shown the racer’s stats and times from his or her last 10 races, or were read a list of how many trophies or ribbons that swimmer won in college, or if you were only told that this gymnast’s training philosophy is to “work real hard,” you wouldn’t have the same experience. Why? All those things are similar for most athletes. What makes them different aren’t race results, winning times, past medals and trophies or sports cliches about being dedicated and taking it “one race at a time.” What makes them different is their story. Their unique set of life experiences that forged their character that are different from all others’ life experiences. Learning about these unique stories forms an emotional connection with us. “I am rooting for the swimmer in lane 5!” The same applies to your real estate career. As you line up at the starting gate with hundreds of agents who look and act the same, how do you stand out and get consumers to connect with you, to make them root for you — and most importantly — call you instead of all the other agents at the starting gate to come list their houses? The answer is branding. It’s personal marketing and differentiating yourself by telling your story. Your unique story. Your story cannot be copied because it is uniquely yours. It will make prospects notice you, care about you and connect with you. It will make them feel comfortable picking up the phone and dialing your number instead of one of the agents from the office across the street. 26 years ago, I hit the road to preach this message. Now, probably more than ever, it’s a timely message. Buyers and sellers are gun shy. They are unsure of this market and what it holds for them. They don’t know if it’s a good time to buy. They are unsure if the latest promising news on the economy will last. Many sellers are still in denial holding on to prices that are not reflective of the current market. How do you not only stand out from the pack, but also gain their confidence and trust so that they will pick you and trust your advice? You do it by branding yourself with a unique story presented in a quality format. That’s how you stand out, get noticed and get called. It’s how you get consumers to connect with you and WANT to do business with you. So if you’re pondering what you should write in your bio, make sure you tell your unique emotional story, don’t copy anyone, and even better — consider giving Hobbs/Herder a call. We are the original Storytellers and we’ll find your story and get it communicated. We’ll help you Go for the Gold! It was more than 26 years ago that I embarked on my long journey of teaching agents all about the power of Personal Marketing. Over those two and a half decades, I’ve logged frequent flyer miles in the millions and spent countless hours in airports across North America. In the beginning, the Hobbs/Herder message was pure heresy and one angry broker literally chased me out of his office. But an early strategic component of our message was how important it is for agents to differentiate themselves, to brand themselves, and to do it Now, reflecting back two plus decades later and reading the comments in ActiveRain, I had mixed emotions. The fact that agents are talking about writing “bios” and “differentiating” themselves warms my heart and makes me feel good about my contributions to spreading this message for over 26 years. It feels like we’ve come a long way and we made an impact.
