Stop being a secret agency. Expand your brand.
Even if you’re an office in a large company, you have to differentiate yourself more than ever now. But how? The Beatles showed us the path.
The Beatles Were Not Destined for Glory–for Awhile
You may think the Beatles were destined for glory. They were entertaining, they had great tunes. YOu would think they would just become famous. Not so fast. Even though they were known in Liverpool, and had been performing a lot, they weren’t going anywhere. Then, Brian Epstein came along and started managing their careers. He was fanatically committed to them. The Beatles also had friends in the music publishing business who promoted them to a recording contract. Their early fans in Liverpool carried on the cheerleading. The cumulation of these efforts catapulted the Beatles to fame.
You’re the Brian Epstein of your Company.
Have you created differentiations? Themes? Have you taught these to your leadership and staff? It starts with you, the leader. You create the ‘music’ to be communicated wider and wider.
It’s Not Just You. Create Cheerleaders
It’s not enough to create the themes, the differentiations, and the mission. It’s not enough enough for you to communicate it. You need cheerleaders.
Who will help you expand your business to the next level? How?
A study by Matthew Salganik shows that cheerleaders multiply those positive success messages. Songs that were chosen as ‘good’ caused other listeners to come to the same conclusions. And, those same songs, when discounted, influenced others to discount them. In other words, ‘likes attract likes’.
Who Believes in You and Motivates You?
Your cheerleader lets you know he believes in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself. As a new agent, I had no training, a part-time manager, and no background in sales. All I did was get myself into sticky situations and make mistakes. At one point, I was ready to give up. Then, Betty Huegli, a very successful agent in my office, told me, “Don’t worry about your mistakes. You are going to be very successful.” Well, I didn’t know any better, so I believed her. I sold 50 homes that year (still making lots of mistakes!).
As one of my mentors says, “No one succeeds alone.” Oh, sure. We say we are ‘stand-alone’ successes. We brag that we don’t need anyone. But, success story after success story tells us there is a ‘cheerleader’ somewhere and some type of partner to take up the slack.
Cheerleaders Help You Keep Going
Real estate can be a tough business on us emotionally. Your agents need you to be their cheerleader, especially when times get tough for them. Sometimes we leaders feel we’re all alone. We’re not. At any point in your career, find someone who believes in you. They will help you over those rough spots. Conversely, work your kabunsos off so your cheerleader has some material to work with!
Model the Behavior You Want
We don’t believe what we hear. We believe what we see. Model the behavior you want, and you’ll find people will follow. They will grasp what you’re trying to communicate, and they will grasp it much more strongly than just your words.
Questions: What are your compelling, differentiating themes? How are you communicating them?
Who is your cheerleader? Who do YOU cheerlead?
Save time. Give would-be agents the information they need. With this book, you can do a real interview, to find out of they are a match with your team. Self-analysis tools help them make the best decision for them. See Launching Right here.
Be sure to grab my action plan to give your agents a head start: 30 Things to Do While in Pre-License to Hit the Ground Running.
