By Kim Knapp, CRS
As we all know, RRC courses are designed to help you be a top performer. And one class, Top of Mind Techniques to Boost Your Brand, can be foundational to your success. The class has been available for a few years and has recently been refreshed with new and relevant tips from CRSs around the country. Whether it’s your first time or you’re looking for an update, this is a perfect time to take this course.
The class will offer simple things like the necessity of having a digital/mobile business card in addition to a standard one and more complex tactics like knowing how often, when and what to post on social media to maximize your brand presence.
Start with systems
Be consistent: One of the hallmarks of building a successful brand is being consistent—and having reliable systems can help with that. When you want to be better than your competition, don’t rely on doing one extraordinary thing better than any other agent can—that might not be the “one thing” that most of your market needs. Instead, do a lot of smaller things consistently better. If you were to improve by 1% every week, it would make an incredible difference as it compounds over the course of a year and into the future.
Top of mind: Focus on systems that keep you in front of your customers and sphere of influence, so you are top of mind. Your goal is to have your identity as an agent—your brand—be so ingrained in everyone’s mind that whenever the topic of real estate comes up, they say, “You need to talk to my agent.” To follow that, you’ll need an effective system to acknowledge those referrals because we want to recognize the action, not the result. The most important thing is not whether that referral closed but that the person who referred you repeats the action again and again.
Guidance may be necessary
Be crystal clear: Another critical aspect of getting a referral is letting people know what you would like them to do with your information. Sometimes, we’re not good at telling people what we need, so be crystal clear with family, friends and contacts.
I have a funny story about how that communication broke down: My husband and I had been living in our neighborhood for about three years when I overheard him out in the driveway speaking to a couple in a car driving through. They were looking for a model home in the area, and my husband told them how to find it, what the area schools were like and so forth. He did not, however, mention that his wife was a REALTOR® who would be more than happy to help them! If someone who had a personal and material interest in my acquiring more customers didn’t know what he should have done in that situation, it’s possible that your last client, neighbor or contractor may also be unsure.
Attend a class in person: Lastly, I highly encourage you to attend a class in person if you can. There is so much synergy when people interact with one another—you never know where the next great idea will come from. I love CRS referrals.
Boost your brand with one of Kim Knapp’s courses at CRS.com/catalogsearch.
Photo: iStock.com/mathisworks
