Developing your own real estate brand to stand out in a crowd

Realtors® are “kind of everywhere,” said Deb Gabor, author and founder of Sol Marketing.

“Realtors® need to develop a personal brand. What differentiates one from the other is a personal brand, which is the relationship someone has with their clients. Standing out for Realtors® can be everything from a unique approach to the market to specializing in particular brands of home, such as remodeled homes that were mid-century, getting even that narrow with the type of buyer,” she said.

Gabor said that your brand should be defined by the client or by the product, such as the kind of homes you list, or the neighborhoods you specialize in or the price.

“Your brand should be defined by some kind of concept that transcends the whole industry, a unique point of view,” she added.

One of the best things you can do when creating your brand is to make sure you use substantial differentiation. “The biggest mistake I see by Realtors® is that they market on bells and whistles, things others can imitate, without making themselves stand out.”

Gabor suggested asking yourself the following three questions:

1. What does it say about a person that they used me as their Realtor®?
2. What is the singular thing my clients get from me they can’t get anywhere else?
3. What is the client trying to create? How do I, as a Realtor®, help make them the hero in the story?

“Think of yourself as a brand. You are not just a person. A brand is an experience. How do you want people to experience doing business with you? The best brands in the world are the ones who become part of the person who uses them,” said Gabor.

Another thing to ask yourself is what does it say about a client that has hired you to list their home or help them find their dream home, said Gabor.

“The best brands are the ones that become a part of someone’s self-image. Create irrational loyalty, which is when your clients feel so attached to a brand that if they were to use something else, they would feel like you were cheating on them. So that when people are going up the property ladder, they wouldn’t even hesitate to think of their Realtor®. That idea of irrational loyalty when people say ‘my Realtor®.’ Referring to you as ‘my’ Realtor® is a good indicator that someone is irrationally loyal,” she said.

“Branding is strategic, but branding is not that hard,” added Gabor.