What is a brand?
Is it a logo?
Is it a slogan?
Is it a promise?
Is it a feeling?

In short, a brand is probably a mix of all of those elements, and defining what your brand is going to be is very important in today’s noisy marketplace.

After all, your brand is what distinguishes you from your competition. It is your chance to announce who you are, what you do, how you do it, and what you believe.

In his book Start with Why, author Simon Sinek says that, “people don’t do business with you because of what you do. They do business with you because of why you do it.” Think about it. You didn’t only purchase an Apple computer because you simply wanted a computer. You most likely purchased a product from Apple because you align with Apple’s consistent storyline of being a company that challenges the status quo, thinks differently and loves beautiful design. You purchased the product because you needed it, yes. But you probably also align with the narrative of Apple. Just like Apple, you believe in challenging the status quo, you think differently, and you probably love beautiful design as well.

So how do you build a promise, a vibe, a story?

The first rule to building any brand is consistency. You cannot show up in the marketplace every so often in hopes that maybe one of your points of connection or marketing will secure you in the mindshare of your local population. You must consistently weave your story in and out of other people’s stories. For example, when you see something good happen for one of your clients — past or present, reach out and congratulate them. If they have taken a new job, drop a note in the mail and let them know you saw their good news. People love to be seen, and when you take the extra effort to acknowledge the new happenings in someone else’s story, beautiful things can happen.

I often teach that people would rather have a friend than a REALTOR^®. Really, I can’t think of anything more true for the modern agent to understand. Year after year, the data shows that 70 percent to 80 percent of your business comes from people you know or from people who have recommended you. This should teach us the significance of word-of-mouth branding. And if it’s true that people choose dear friends more often than a REALTOR^® they do not know, it’s time to consider building routine into your days that facilitates personal and meaningful connections with people.

Persistence pays off

The next rule is persistence. It shouldn’t be unexpected or random that someone is hearing from you or seeing your branding in the marketplace. When I teach and conduct workshops for REALTORS^® across the country, I encourage students to set up systems so that they schedule reminders for making connections. For me, I have a top 100 list for connections. Every year, these top 100 individuals receive information, data, notes, updates and many other forms of communication from me. I’ve done this for so long that those on my top 100 list now expect to see communications from me. Everyone on this list gets a comparative market analysis (CMA) twice a year. Yes, you read that correctly. Twice a year, I run the information and educate them on what’s happening in their neck of the woods. I do this because I know that if I don’t, someone else will. Someone else will do the hidden work of educating the marketplace, and I can assure you that someone else will eventually get the business.

Branding and relevance go hand in hand

The final rule is relevance. You cannot spam your way into people’s minds. When you show up and spend the time necessary to connect with someone, it’s vital that you speak their language. And in our industry, what is “their language”? Their language is what’s happening on their block and in their local area. National data has little relevance at the local level. The same can be said for regional, most of the city and even zip codes. We are an industry that is powered and moved by the data that is happening within neighborhoods, blocks and developments. So when you take the time to connect with someone, make sure your connection and your language carries the relevance that will make them take notice.

Get personal

Have you noticed how much of this discussion is personal? This isn’t a call for you to bump up your budget for online advertising or to lease a billboard or to increase your direct marketing. This is the hidden, and often unseen, work of the connection economy.
Are you grateful for the work of someone in your local market? Let them know it.

Is there information you would want to know if you were a homeowner in a certain area? Drop that homeowner a note or make a phone call with this relevant information.

Many people often get caught up in what to say and how to say it. Don’t overthink this. You’re simply looking to connect with anyone you can. If someone is a stranger, tastefully abuse them with relevant information so that eventually you will become the friend instead of being the stranger. Here’s a great script and dialogue for a phone call: “Hi.” You’d be surprised how much people will be grateful that you simply called to check in and just say hello. No agenda, no strings attached, just hello. It can mean more than you know for them and also for your business.

Seth Godin is Yahoo’s former VP of direct marketing, who is now a speaker, writer and blogger. I think Seth said it best: “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.”

Are people sharing you? If the answer is no, then you have no brand to speak of.

If the answer is yes, then you have yourself a brand, and it will do all the work you need to get done.

Ashton Gustafson is a highly sought-after public speaker, nationally recognized REALTOR^®, artist, musician, poet, amateur cosmologist, and currently in pursuit of more things to become. In 2010, REALTOR^® Magazine named Ashton one of the top 30 REALTORS^® in the United States under the age of 30. Ashton conducted various workshops on branding and social media at the 2017 WRA Annual Convention held in September. He has keynoted from Los Angeles, CA, to Burlington, VT, in the United States as well as internationally in Canada and Spain.