Marketing - reflecting your authentic nature

One thing that I've realised is that marketing and advertising DO work. The very first thing I did when I got into real estate was to take a chunk of my hard-earned cash and spend it on marketing. I figured I was investing in my financial future.

I chose my own demographic to advertise to... after all, who would I know better than my own self? So, I advertised in two main plances: One is a parents website and the other was a locally owned magazine that catered to professionals.

In developing my marketing campaign, I thought... I am just focussing on people who have similar interests. So it was "here I am, how can I help you? sort of approach". As a result, I get lots of positive comments on my ads about how effective they are... And, funnily enough, some friends of mine who just became parents have just started to notice my advertising.  As for the second group, I've received many calls from professionals who have graduate degrees, are decisive and have high expectations; and they want a detailed approach and informative answers. We fit well together.

How does this apply to the new REALTOR® getting into the business? When working with new REALTORS® who are trying to get into the profession who are wondering how they are going to get ahead, I try to get them to focus on their own interests, define who they are as people and what kind of service they will provide. I deliver class to new REALTORS® on working with new buyers and often they want a copy of my presentation so that they can use it with their clients - missing the point, I think, as I am trying to encourage them to spell out their own practices and how they approach real estate so that its authentic to them. So, I give them a template with guiding questions so that they can define their own values and standards for their work ethic.

 So, why are ethics so important in real estate marketing and advertising? The cornerstone of this industry is trust. You are helping someone make a very important financial decision and you have to help them make an informed choice. If they don't have trust in you and listen to you, then you cannot help them. You can't be someone you aren't and neither can they. Your marketing has to reflect your authentic nature. Thus if you start the relationship saying that you are something are not, then they will lose faith in you.

So, let me restate my first sentence.... advertising and marketing do work effectively when they reflect the true you.