This week I want share with you some ideas on brand building. You may say that you’re an individual and don’t have a brand, but that is not the case. I assure you that you do.
Whether we have a company structure or work alone, each of us has our own brand, although some have more of a presence than others. Even if you don’t have a company car, company logo or a flashy website, you still have a brand, and it’s you!
When you go out to connect with the public in any capacity your persona-your brand of humor, your outfit- speaks volumes about your personal brand. You don’t need fancy business cards or an expensive watch to convey your message. Your intended audience can see you coming. When you speak they can sense your authority (or lack of it) over the topic. Your posture and body language signal how engaging you wish to be. The tone of your voice and the pace of your speech communicate your mood and intention.
I bring this up because it is important in any real estate venture to communicate well and to be aware of your position in the deal. Also, if you are representing a company, yours or someone else’s, it’s important to always be consciously aware of how you are perceived. You may have heard this before but another’s perception of you is their reality. Hopefully you have been fortunate enough to create positive realities although I know, since we are human, we make mistakes.
If you are consciously working to build your brand, great! A good brand adds value and communicates our intentions long before we have the opportunity to meet face to face. Just think of some of the best brands in the world: Tide, Coca-Cola, Apple. Obviously these are huge, but why limit your thinking when it comes to you or your company? The most important thing these companies do is not their product. What they do is raise awareness about the way you feel when you encounter their product.
Their logos, colors and other badging are all part of the marketing, so just think about your experience with each of these brands. In most cases pretty positive, right? Now that we are through that little bit of background information, here are my top three tips for building your brand:
Communicate the end goal
What is your end result? Identify that one thing that sets you apart from everyone else that only you can provide and push it out every time. Everything you do should be focused on that handful of traits you want to communicate.
Never contradict your brand message
Never contradict the traits I spoke about above with other communication. When you’re building trust, the best way to dismantle that foundation is to cast doubt. This is what happens when clients and customers become confused with contradictory messages. Ensure that all parts of the marketing and personal interaction create the same positive result.
Even in crisis, focus on opportunity
It is far too easy to find and think about all of the daily operational items that are going wrong or need some additional attention. By being positive and looking for each opportunity, truly being able to identify it and bring it forward, will propel your growth much faster than focusing on problems. Yes, it is important to solve them, but move forward in doing so and don’t dwell on any single situation for too long.
Anyone can start a company. Anyone can build a brand. We each do it, sometimes without knowing, every day.
With each email, telephone call and lunch meeting with a new client we build trust and relationships. That is what a brand is, a trusted relationship between the customer and the company or person. I speak regularly concerning this and it is in my mind the most important aspect of business. An entire company can rise or fall on public trust. Nations go to war based on a relationship.
If you can focus just one hour each day on building your brand to increase your sphere of influence and strengthen the trust and relationships you have already built, your pocketbook will never be empty.
Visit Engelo’s website here.
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