Personal Branding to Grow Your Real Estate Client Portfolio

Female real estate agent of Black ethnicity, discuss the contract with her clients a young Caucasian couple

Click this link to return to The W Disclosure newsletter.

Real estate agents must grasp the opportunities in personal branding strategies to stand out in their competitive market. There are over 3 million licensed real estate agents in the United States, according to the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO). Without a personal branding strategy, a hard-working real estate agent will blend into the crowd. Personal branding allows you to stand out.

An Overview of Personal Branding in Real Estate

Personal branding is the image you want to present to your clients. This could be a no-nonsense, professional image of a person who closes deals and is a tough negotiator on behalf of their clients. It could also be a more casual, collaborative image of a person in a niche market who helps people find their dream homes. Who you are in the real estate world is a combination of what you project and what your clients want. It is where those two ideas meet.

Your strategy is how you present yourself to your target market. According to an article in Forbes, matching your authentic vision to your client’s needs builds trust and lasting relationships. These relationships make for successful careers in real estate.

Personal Branding Toolkit for Real Estate Agents

Many agents don’t know where to start when it comes to building a personal brand, as successful real estate marketing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. However, there are some overarching themes that are applicable to all real estate agents. These are the items you’ll want in your real estate personal branding toolkit.

• Target market: If you don’t know your target market, then you won’t be able to develop a personal branding strategy. Look at your last 10 sales. What do these clients have in common? Does this represent the clients you will have in the future? Find out what these people have in common and why you ended up closing the deal.
• Value statement: Once you know your target market, evaluate why you ended up with the deal. Were you in the right place at the right time, or did they choose you for a specific trait? Use these details to develop an authentic value statement that represents you and your target market.
• Engagement strategy: Personal branding is only as effective as its reach, and knowing which marketing channels reach your target market is essential to increase your visibility. Identify the marketing mediums that reach your potential clients, and focus your efforts here.
• Networking: Digital marketing has opened up networking opportunities, and every real estate agent should have a strong digital presence. Make sure your digital marketing campaign aligns with your personal brand.
• Measurements: You won’t know if your personal branding is successful if you aren’t monitoring your efforts. Prioritize goals and create key performance indicators (KPIs), so you can measure successes and failures and make evidence-based changes to your branding strategy.
• Comparisons: Finally, compare your work to others. If everyone in town is presenting a starkly different personal brand, there might be a reason. Uniqueness can be an advantage, or it can be unpopular. Make sure that your branding strategy is in line with your community’s wants and needs. It’s important to be authentic, but make sure that authenticity is based on shared values and not a need to be original.

Tips for Successful Real Estate Marketing with Personal Branding

Each real estate agent will have a different execution of their personal branding toolkit. Here are some tips for successful personal branding implementation.

• Remain authentic. Highlight your strengths and values and how they will help your target market.
• Use technology. A social media presence is one of the biggest ways to spread your personal branding message.
• Network. Collaborate with agents across the nation who share their personal branding strategies.
• Be consistent. Don’t change your branding strategy without very good reasons, or you’ll lose authenticity.
• Maintain a presence. Don’t overwhelm your target audience with engagement, but don’t let them forget you either.

With a successful personal branding strategy, real estate agents can build a strong client portfolio that grows due to retention and referrals. Your clients will know who they are working with and what assets you bring to the table in a real estate transaction. This builds everything you want in a marketing strategy: consistency, trust, and satisfaction.

Click the link here to return to The W Disclosure Newsletter.