When planning out this blog, I had thoughts of writing on something completely different but wasn’t feeling that topic at all and felt the need to think of something else.  I am instead going to write about how I am now super focused on building my brand.  Yes, I am a brand.  You are a brand, more so if you are self-employed and rely on selling yourself to make a living.  Think about it, for my situation, would you rather deal with a REALTOR® who showed up to appointments in a t-shirt and shorts or one who was wearing a suit and tie?  I wouldn’t mind running into the REALTOR® outside of the business circumstance where they were in shorts and a t-shirt, but not when they were supposed to be representing me.  It just came to me, this is probably why lawyers and politicians wear suits and ties because they are attempting to demonstrate high class for those they are representing.  There are many other instances where you can improve ‘your brand’ and I am working hard to improve mine.  One thing that I will work on will be to continue to improve my blog so it’ll be the best that it can.  I recently ordered some suits so I can improve my appearance to the public; also, that allows me to feel as if I can approach the luxury properties and not internally feel below them.  It will give me a self-confidence boost.  If you are on a tight budget there are simple ways to improve your brand for free.  I will continue to break down various things one can do to make their brand better.

Since I first mentioned the clothing debate, I’ll start there.  I remember that when I was taking the classes for the test to complete my real estate license.   I wore a t-shirt and gym shorts most days.  There was no protocol for what to wear.  When I started going to actual training at my brokerage, I started to wear jeans and a polo.  I slowly have been improving my attire.  I now wear nice slacks, a polo or button up, and nice shoes.  I found a website that had a promo code allowing me to get three suits for an amazing price that I couldn’t resist.  Hopefully they will be of high quality.  I am going to start dressing better more often so I give off confidence and the appearance that I have success in what I do.  I mean, why else would someone wear a suit all the time.  Yes, there will be days where I don’t wear a suit, but I am going to make a conscience effort to dress more professionally when the situation calls for it.  I already have a lot of ties and dress shirts so there will be no excuse not to look my best. 

Another easy way to improve your brand is to have a high-quality business card.  I was given free ones from my brokerage, but I didn’t feel they stood out enough.  I paid to have new ones made which have my picture on them, have my slogan, and have a more unique appearance.  I feel that they stand out more than the ones I was given.  There are so many different styles of business cards.  In the future I might invest into metal ones.  That would nearly guarantee that I’d win any raffle that I enter.  My theory with business cards, is that they are the first impression to the individual you give or send them to.  It sets the tone for who you are and what you represent.  Set the bar high and let the world know that you believe that you are important and worthy of attention.

Developing a great website is also very important to building a good brand.  I was lucky enough that the brokerage that I work for has it set up where we get our website and we just need to personalize it.  I am working to add to it still, so it stands out and is truly effective for anyone going to the site needing my services. Make sure that the website is to the point and conveys the message that you intend.  There is nothing worse than going to a website that is not at all what you expected.  Think about researching a restaurant and going to their website to find political rants.  I don’t think I’d want to go there regardless of the opinion.  So, make sure you are representing the brand correctly. 

Along the same lines as having a great website, is to have great social media accounts.  They all are different on how you can organize and customize the layout.  Instagram and Twitter rely on what you post to convey the best message that you can.  I tend to focus on the interesting things that are going on in my life or good food that I’m eating.  I do make sure to include Real Estate related posts, but I make sure not to overload my pages with listing after listing.  I want to make sure that they are entertaining and engaging.  I view these as a look behind the curtain into my normal everyday life.  Facebook, I find is easier to customize.  I make it a point to update my cover picture on my business page at least once a month, more often if there is a holiday.  I need to do that for this week.  Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.  I have gone through and chosen what tabs and pages will be on my page, and I also decided how it was going to be laid out.  I am still working to ensure that it is the best that it can be.  Regarding the content I post on Facebook, I rely on a few programs that post some things for me.  I use them to post various articles a few days a week and to post a listing of a house every day.  That allows me to post more personal things on my page and not have to worry about overloading the viewers about a certain area; I used to post a lot about houses in Kirkwood, MO.  I was struggling to post content that was not related to Kirkwood.   I couldn’t help it, I was born and raised there.  The point still is to make sure the brand accurately represents the message you want wherever you are present.

Probably the easiest way to ensure that the brand is at its best is to hold yourself accountable.  If you say you’re going to do something, do it.  It can be a challenge at first, but if you make a point to hold yourself accountable, you’re more likely to succeed, and your brand will benefit.  My writing this blog every week is 100% due to me holding myself accountable.  Most weeks, I really don’t want to do it and try to push it off until the last minute; which I nearly did this time.  For me, there are days where my alarm goes off and I really don’t want to get up and go into the office.  I like to think that I would be just as productive if I just stayed home and worked there.  I know for a fact that I would not be anywhere close to being as productive.  I make it a point to go to the office for a few hours every day and go to the gym when I leave.  Just going to the office puts my brain into work mode.  I have fewer distractions and am able to focus.  I have my daily checklist that I must get done before I allow myself to leave.  There are always exceptions, such as I’m not going to put out Open House signs on Wednesday, the day I have it scheduled, if I’m not holding an Open House the following weekend.  I honestly treat my daily checklist as a minimum of things that I will do that day.

Improving your brand is not as hard as you might think.  It just takes planning and determination to achieving the plan that you set for yourself.  I am available to hold you accountable if you’d like, and I hope you all will hold me accountable as well.  If we all succeed, then the world will become a better place, full of great people doing great things.  I look forward to discussing this further and even individually with any of you.  What are your goals?  I wish you all a great day and week and let’s go see some houses.