How to Start Standing Out: Hint -It has nothing to do with the competition!

It’s no secret that the real estate market is full of every flavor of competitor that are all vying for the attention of your agents and customers alike.  From brokerages to ibuyers and even your local board office!  Just to be clear, it will not always be that way, going forward it will only get worse!  Why, because people are individuals with different strengths, interests, skills and most importantly needs.  Competition arises out of the desire to fulfill the varying needs of consumers and remember agents are the people that “consume” what you offer. As much as we sometimes think having endless competition is a negative thing, it can actually be used to our advantage if we know how to leverage it. So the question it, how do you stand out from other brokerages without coming across as fake or insincere? It goes without saying that your results are the first thing that an agent is going to really dig into.  I do not necessarily mean the number of houses sold though. What they really want to know is what kind of results do you get in the areas that they need support or guidance.  So, what do you need to do so your brokerage stands out from the rest? Read on and the helpful tips will ensure that you are on the right path.

Have a reputation to be proud of first and foremost. 

Your first impression comes from your reputation preceding you.  That is why the easiest recruits to hire are referrals from your current agents. It goes without saying that your reputation must be consistent, professional, and unique to who you are. To showcase your reputation, you need to make sure that you have an idea of what type of marketing works best for you. An example would be that if you’re young trendy, hip, and always hustling then Instagram reels may be the option to drive you brand message. If you are more intentional and corporately professional then LinkedIn long form post might be a better fit.   Remember that when showcasing your reputation, use keywords that truly display what type of company you are in your marketing and overall vocabulary.  Lastly, when displaying your reputation be sure to be clean and simple this will make your message is clear and concise.

Define yourself as a brokerage where agents want to work

You can’t just be “the same but better” especially if you want to excite people about joining and staying with your company.  You need to be strategic with who you are which makes it easier to entice people to take a closer look.  Think about it this way; what if every company in your market for the last 40 years had the same exact logo except they all picked different colors?  Then one day another company came to town and had a completely different and dynamic looking logo…would agents change?  This does not mean just look different on the surface or “be new” and agents will want to work with your company.  Quite the opposite, that is what many brokerages do already. You want to help agents understand that who you are is how you’re defined.  It’s how you acquire your customers, it’s how you market their property, it’s how you follow up throughout the transaction, it’s the personal touch, and most importantly it’s how you treat your agents.  If you can find a way to truly put on display how you treat your agents you will attract more agents that want to be treated that exact same way! 

Don’t forget the small things

Yes, we know you’re probably thinking that everything above is tough to put in place and maybe you’re even thinking “how do I do this, I am not sure exactly who I am?” If so, that is ok and this next part if for you.  YOU’RE INCREDIBLE! You do a job that even the first step of  getting the license is enough to stop many other people in their tracks.  That means what you do is so overwhelming for so many that they’re to defeated to even start.  Don’t ignore that, it may seem small, but it’s not.  The little things that you do help define what type of brokerage you run so current agents and recruits alike should be able to see the benefits offered by the little things you do.  If you lease the best copier that money can buy then have classes every other month on “how to really utilize the copier”, seriously!  You will be surprised the impact little things like that make when an agent can leverage something because they understand that you offer it to them. A great place to start is by auditing the software that you offer you offer and seeing overall what percentage of the capabilities are being utilized by the agents.  The lower the percentage the more opportunity for you and your agents.  These are the types of things that will make you stand out from the crowd. Recruits and your current agents are sometimes looking for a reason to dismiss your brokerage as a viable option to help them grow.  Make sure they know that the little things matter to you and how your company does business.  Make sure they know that you pay attention to detail when it comes to your brokerage.  Simply put you are giving them a reason to say “yes” instead of quietly allowing them to decide on a “no” because what you do is not clearly obvious to them.  You want to make sure that you are more than just different colors on a yard sign!