Why do you “market” yourself?

It’s to establish your BRAND.

To be clear, your brand is not your logo, or your name, or your tagline. Those things represent your brand on the surface. But your brand is something much more profound. It’s the feeling that people have about you, what you represent, and why you are different.

Your Personal Brand Statement should clearly articulate WHO you are, WHAT you stand for, and WHY you’re the reader’s best choice as a professional highly-skilled agent.

For example:

“Hi, I’m Ted. Over the past 14 years, I’ve completed over 1,000 successful Real Estate transactions, one at a time, with care and concern to create the best possible result for each individual client. That’s why I’m proud to say that almost all my business comes from repeats and referrals.”

My personal brand statement is designed to appeal to every different communication style.

Analyticals like the data about the...

We all naturally ‘click’ with some clients. It’s fun and easy to work with them.

Others? Not so much.

If you’re like most everyone, some folks just rub you the wrong way.  But, did you know that you probably drive THEM crazy, too?

Think about which of the following types drives you the craziest, and then I’ll reveal YOUR type.

1. The person who likes to control everything and has little to no patience for “chitty-chat.”
2. The loud, outgoing talker who shows little interest in your purely logical argument.
3. The quiet, reserved person who can’t seem to answer a straightforward question.
4. The engineer-type who has to analyze everything to death and can’t make a decision.

Now, before I reveal which type YOU are, understand that the above negative description is coming from the perspective of your opposite communication style, not from me!

If you chose #1 (The Driver), you’re #3 (The Amiable), and vice-versa. You drive each...

You’ve probably got different buyers at various stages of the home buying process. Some are anxious to find a home as soon as possible, while others are just beginning the exploratory phase.

So, how do you know each buyer’s motivation level?

Here’s a crazy thought. Ask them!

Just be straightforward and use this line:

“In order to provide the best possible service to you, I need to be in alignment with your motivation level. For example, if you’re a ONE right now, I’m a ONE, too, and you won’t be hearing much from me. But if you’re a TEN, I’ll drop everything right now and let’s go find your new home!”

This simple statement serves several purposes, including:

1. It demonstrates that you care about how they are feeling, instantly improving the relationship and increasing the odds of continued good future communication.
2. It shows your willingness to increase your attention to them in alignment with their increased...

Great REALTORS® are problem solvers. They tenaciously look for ways to create agreement.

That’s the very definition of a great negotiator.

The best negotiators are highly creative and determined, and they have a deep understanding of human nature and different communication styles. They know WHAT to say and HOW to say it and WHEN to say it in different situations.

Let’s be clear about something. Being a strong negotiator is not about creating a winner and a loser. You don’t win a negotiation. You create agreement.

As a professional REALTOR®, you are constantly negotiating.

We don’t say this out loud very often (or ever), but the measure of your success as a REALTOR® has way more to do with your ability to negotiate with your own clients, as opposed to the one time during a long process when you’re negotiating with the other side.

The more you create agreement with your client, the more success you have. This begins from the first moment...

Last week, in Your Brand is Your People, we talked about how every team member and service-provider you have is a direct reflection on YOU.

Now, let’s talk about how to build a list of the best service providers and why this is so important.

Being able to say, “I got a guy for that” can be an instant problem solver that keeps things moving forward.

You’re out looking at homes with your buyers, and you find a property in the exact location they want. It has an ideal floorplan, and it’s priced right. There’s only one issue: The colors are completely outdated.

Your clients see this as a big problem. The thought of moving in and then having to repaint everything seems like way too much hassle. They want to keep looking. That’s when you chime in:

“I got a guy for that. My painter can paint the entire house for less than $5,000, and he can get it done before you move in. Let’s see if we can negotiate the price down a bit more to cover...

NOBODY likes a Salesy Slickster!

But is it possible that your prospects are falsely perceiving you as one? 

This answer is YES.  No matter how much of a genuine person you are, your innocent attempts at helpfulness may be inadvertently sending the wrong message to potential clients, and costing you tens of thousands in missed opportunities.

On the other hand, if you don’t even TRY to strike up conversations about Real Estate, you should find a different occupation.

Becoming a Trusted and Authentic Advisor is a BIG and important subject that interweaves throughout every module in the Real Estate Master’s Program.  For now, and in the interest of brevity, let’s look at a single example of how to improve your interactions.

Converting Open House Prospects to Clients

First, understand the apprehension of your prospects BEFORE they walk in the house.  They’ve already been “attacked” by a few Salesy Slicksters at other Open Houses,...

This is the third in a trilogy.  Click here to see Marketing on the MLS and Marketing the Photography.

Let’s pick up where we left off last week.  You’ve captured the attention of that elusive buyer—the one with the short attention span—with your incredible images produced by your celebrity photographer.

You had to do that first because NOBODY is going to read your words if they aren’t first attracted to the images.  Great photography is step #1 in the multi-stage process of selling your listing.

Step #2 is enticing the potential buyer to view the property in person, with your words.  Now, let’s be clear about a very important point before we go any further.

The purpose of the MLS description is to generate as many quality showings as possible—NOT to sell the property.

You don’t propose marriage on the first date, and contrary to popular opinion—you’re NOT supposed to SELL the home with your...

Note from Ted: This is a savagely pared-down portion of ‘The Follow-Up’ module from the upcoming Knowledge First Real Estate Master’s Program.  It’s REALLY hard for me to take something I’ve worked so hard at perfecting and then shrink it to 10% of the size, kind of like seeing only 10% of a painting!  Not that I think I’m an artist or anything, but I’m pretty darn proud of this thing.  Anyway, hopefully, you get a few tidbits out of this portion.

Over the last three Memos, we talked about Building Relationships, The FORD Method, and How to Talk Gooder.  Assuming you’ve now got a nice pile of hot and warm prospects, what’s next?

It’s ‘The Follow-Up’!

First, purge the negative self-talk that is preventing you from following through.

“I don’t want to bother people!”

“I don’t want to come across as too salesy!”

Stop it!   If you use the method I’m...

Last week, we talked about how to initiate conversations with people using The FORD Method.

Once you’ve got a good conversation going, don’t be in a hurry to steer the topic to Real Estate.  That’s being a Salesy Slickster.

Do.  Not.  Be.  A.  Salesy.  Slickster.

Just let the conversation go where it may.  LISTEN, show interest, and enjoy the opportunity to meet a new and (hopefully) interesting person.  Maybe you’ll learn something!  Or, at the very least, maybe you’ll enjoy yourself!

Life isn’t ALL about Real Estate, you know.

If you’re enjoying the conversation, chances are the other person is, too.  You’re developing rapport! 

Remember the “O” in The FORD Method (occupation)?  If the conversation starts to lag a bit, you can always ask the other person, “What do you do?”.

Now, listen!  Show interest.  Ask follow-up questions.

Almost...

As a professional REALTOR®, you should always be ready to discuss Real Estate.  But, don’t be a boor.

“Hi there!  I’m Jack Smith with ABC Realty!  Are you folks in the market to buy or sell within the next 30-90 days?”

Ugh.  Get away from me, Jack.

Guess what?  The world is sick and tired of salesy slicksters. 

Instead, you should be working on establishing a reputation as a Trusted Real Estate Expert, and conducting yourself like a professional.

Have you ever met a family physician at a party, and all of a sudden, they’re handing over their card and inviting you to come in for a check-up?  You’re trying to get away from them, and now they’re following you around.  “You know, I really think I ought to take a look at that mole on your neck!” ‍

No?  This hasn’t happened to you?  Ya, that’s because physicians are professionals.

You should conduct yourself like...