A strong personal brand will position you as a front-runner in your area for your services. It doesn’t matter what part of the property sector you work in.
If you don’t have a personal brand and you’re not putting your message out for every one of your potential prospects to find, you are holding yourself back from huge success. Even if you work for the most prominent company with the most recognisable brand, but, 👉 YOU are not findable online, you’re not a go-to expert in your area.
I’m sorry, but if you think the company brand makes you an expert, you might not want to read any further—just being real with you.
Even if you are the most highly qualified, highly trained, most experienced and likeable agent in the country, YOU are not the person I want to speak to. I want to talk to the person who keeps showing up online with all the answers. That’s who I want to talk to.
Oh! And so do 90% of other people using Google every day.
Please think about that for a minute.
A goal of every property professional should be to become the best-known and most trusted in their area. If you are known for being somebody who has answers and can educate people without expecting a return, your status as the person who delivers [your service] will skyrocket. Only then will you have people queuing up to work with you.
It’s your personal brand that will help you achieve this. Nobody cares about a faceless minion. I mean that in the nicest possible way. But you know I’m right. 😉
Where Do You Start?
Depending on your career goals, how you get started will vary.
If you currently work in a large, well-known, recognisable business and plan on staying, you should look at the options available to build your personal brand within the business structure.
- Contribute articles, infographics, or presentations to internal newsletters, magazines, or intranet sites. This showcases your expertise to colleagues and can be repurposed for external platforms.
- Could you get your own section on the company website?
- Could you create content for the website’s blog and be credited as the author?
- Is there a company podcast you could co-host or guest on?
- Are there parts of the website that need downloadable content you could author?
- If your company has active social media accounts, offer to create content or manage a specific section aligned with your interests.
- Attend industry events and conferences to network with other professionals, speak on panels, or volunteer for organising committees.
There are many opportunities for employees to add value to a business. Just don’t expect them to come knocking on your door. You need to put yourself out there and let the powers that be know your intentions.
If you’re working as an independent contractor, your options are endless. I assume you already have a website and social channels set up; that’s where you’ll start.
Should you be somewhere in between working for yourself and a well-known business, you can speak with your employer and tell them about your plans to establish your credibility in the industry by building your brand.
Setting your intentions and following through will set the stage for your success.
Defining a Personal Brand in the Property Sector
I realise that some people are not going to be able to get a section on the corporate website, be a guest on the podcast or YouTube channel or even have the opportunity to create content for public consumption.
This is only a small hurdle. The great thing about a personal brand is that it’s all about you. If you don’t have permission to release content for or on behalf of the company you work for, that’s OK; you don’t need to.
Instead, talk about your views, training, beliefs, and passion for your work on your platforms.
At the very least, you can start talking about your job, career, and industry on your social media. It doesn’t mean you’ll put any less effort or attention to detail into that content. I would recommend that it is better than anything that comes out of the business you work for. You are, after all, a property expert, and your brand will need to reflect that.
Of course, you’ll need to be careful not to release anything that goes against “the company line”, and you’ll certainly never air any grievances about the company or its personnel online. In some cases, it may be better to avoid talking about your company and keep your content about the industry, current affairs, and best practices. This is something you’ll need to look into for yourself.
A Compelling Personal Brand
What will make you stand out from the crowd is showing up consistently with your unique message.
Before you go and set up YourName.com, which is probably a good idea regardless of whether you plan to use it right away or not, you’ll need to have a plan for creating your brand.
Here are a few things you might want to consider before creating content.
- What drives you?
- What are you genuinely interested in?
- What are you good at?
- What makes you unique in your field?
- Who are you trying to reach with your brand?
- What are their needs and interests?
Your brand should authentically reflect your core values and passions. Knowing your strengths lets you position yourself strategically and build a brand that leverages them effectively. Tailoring your content and message to resonate with your target audience is crucial for engagement.
Once you can answer these questions and are confident you clearly understand your brand, you’re ready to take the first step on the exciting journey of establishing a distinctive online presence that resonates with you and your audience.
Unveiling Your Unique Identity
How you tell your story is, of course, up to you. To ensure you keep it exciting and relevant, I suggest you consider using one of the tried and tested frameworks.
Here are a few you might like to try:
The Hero’s Journey
You may be familiar with The Hero’s Journey since it features prominently in many marketing books. It’s also pretty popular in Hollywood. It is ideal for conveying a transformative journey with clear challenges and triumphs. Suitable for showcasing resilience, personal growth, and overcoming obstacles.
Problem-Solution-Outcome
Effective for highlighting specific skills, achievements, and problem-solving abilities. This framework is very relevant in professional contexts or showcasing technical expertise.
STAR Method
Concise and structured, perfect for highlighting specific accomplishments and their impact. Great for resumes, cover letters, or professional pitches.
The Butterfly Effect
Excellent for weaving seemingly disparate experiences into a meaningful narrative. Helpful for demonstrating the interconnectedness of your life and the unexpected influences that shaped you.
Values-Driven Storytelling
Powerful for conveying authenticity and personal principles. It builds trust and connections with your audience based on shared values.
You could try all of them, or if one stands out as particularly suitable for your story, go with that. Once you’ve created something you’re happy to share, start with your friends and family and see if it comes across as authentically, well, you.
Crafting Your Authentic Story
Writing your story doesn’t need to be a biography or your life’s work. It’s mainly about the events that led to where you are now and your plans for the future.
You’ll need to consider how you work and try to match your thought processes to the framework you use. For example, are you comfortable with chronological narratives, thematic explorations, or problem-solving frameworks? Choose a structure that allows you to leverage your storytelling skills.
Identifying key experiences, turning points, and values that define your brand will help you build rapport with your audience. See which framework naturally aligns with the story you want to tell.
If you’re uncertain, you can try different approaches and see what resonates with you and your audience. You can continually refine your story as you learn more about expressing your brand.
This is not a one-and-done exercise. How you represent your story can evolve and change over time.
Differentiating Yourself in a Crowded Market
This is where so many get their marketing so wrong.
Okay, so how do you choose? What do you want to be known for?
It’s all very well saying you want to establish yourself as your area’s best-known, most trusted [Insert Your Title Here]. However, you are most likely knowledgeable about several areas of your service.
Which service do you want to be known for?
What do you want people to trust about you?
I’m not saying you can’t be known for more than one thing. You can definitely do that. But not all at once. You need to focus on a particular service and be the trusted expert for that one thing.
Once you have created every piece of content you can possibly think of for that thing, you can move on to something related.
You want to reach a point where your perfect prospect cannot ask a question on Google without your brand showing up with an answer. Once you get there, service No #2 is go for launch.
Building Credibility and Expertise
To be a credible source for anything, you must show up when people search for answers. What do you want to show up for?
Please forgive the indulgence, but I’ll use this blog as an example.
Why? It’s pretty new, and I’m not spending any money to promote it. Even though some of my content goes back years (on social media), none of it points to this website.
All I have done so far (at the time of creating this post) is to complete 20 pieces of expert content and apply on-page SEO. Sure, I also made updates for Google My Business and did a few posts on Social Media. That’s all.
And yet, even though this blog is only a couple of months old, and I do not focus on local SEO – a massive advantage for property professionals, I am still showing up for some relevant keywords on Google.
If you search
- Automated Property Leads
- Property Leads Accelerator
- What is a content goldmine
- Simon Lown Property
there I am.
I’m not in the top spot for everything (at the time of publishing this post), and I do show up for several other related searches, albeit a bit farther down the list. Now, would you think that after two months of posting content, I’d be anywhere near the first page of Google, for anything? Okay, my name is fairly unique, and it’s mainly other websites that I appear on, but my website is still there.
Look, it is not hard to rank on Google if you create excellent content. My task is a little more challenging since I want to show up for the whole UK. It will be much easier if you have a defined area that you service. Local SEO is really powerful.
When you consider that I haven’t yet focused on reviews, creating videos, or off-page SEO, and I have no paid advertising running (though that may change for the book very soon), it shows you how important Google considers expert content. Now, when I do start focussing on these other areas, I am 100% certain that I will show up for many more direct and related keywords on Google.
There is just no way that does not happen. Believe me when I say content is the cornerstone of ranking on Google. Look at the four searches I listed above. Check the dates on the blogs. There is no “secret” here I’m not telling you about. The secret is the content and showing up consistently.
All I am doing right now is focusing on creating the blogs for my content goldmine. This is the foundation for everything else I will do. When I start making videos and probably a podcast, I will use VAs to manage my social media (my Achilles’ heel; I know I need to do it, but I don’t enjoy it, so it’s tough to keep it going).
At that point, probably not very far into 2024, if you are a UK property professional looking for more leads online, you might start to find me a bit annoying since I will also begin to utilise all the other stuff I talk about in my book and in my various blogs to show up everywhere.
This is something you can do. But you will need a plan. Oh! In case you haven’t heard, my book, Automated Property Leads Forever, is a blueprint for creating a content goldmine. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Though, I may be a little biased. 😁 There will be a link at the end of this post.
Showcasing your Industry Knowledge
Where you are in your career will determine your outlook on the industry and may give you some unique insights and understanding.
However, just because you might not have years of experience, or it could be you’re in the first year of your new career, it doesn’t mean you cannot provide value to your audience.
Learning something new and exciting that affects your understanding of your role will interest people who need your services. While they may not need that information for the same reason you do, they will still appreciate your understanding and that you took the time to share your knowledge.
If you are an “industry newbie”, sharing your knowledge will, in fact, make you a better expert, faster, and in the long run, make you more relatable to your audience.
Making You More Memorable
When you learn something new, what’s the best way to ensure you don’t forget it?
Well, writing it down might be one way. There is a caveat to that, though. You must review your notes regularly, or you will still forget them.
What about re-writing it in your own words? This works quite well. Writing notes in parrot fashion has never been a reliable way of learning. Taking the information, adding to it, making it relevant to past experiences or relating it to other knowledge makes the new information much more memorable.
Okay, that’s not the kind of memorable you were thinking about. I get it. But it’s all related to your content goldmine.
Let’s Pretend for a minute…
Imagine you’re a young, enthusiastic agent who throws themselves into online marketing and open houses, only to see limited results.
You might be discouraged and start to question your abilities.
But then, you learn about the power of referrals and start focusing on building relationships with your clients. You become a trusted advisor, always available to answer questions and offer guidance. Soon, your clients will sing your praises to friends and family, and your business will thrive.
Of course, you write about this powerful change in your business and describe how you’re different from other agents because you know the only way you’ll get referrals and recommendations is if your clients have the best possible experience with you. Listing the things you’ve learned that clients want as a minimum level of service and what they should expect is a surefire way of attracting the people you want to serve.
Now, you learn about the power of reviews, testimonials, and case studies. Knowing that they are just as powerful as referrals, you discover how to get them, show them, and their impact on you as a trusted service provider.
Of course, you also write about how you’re focusing even more on customer service and providing fantastic value since you want your reviews and testimonials to reflect your highest levels of service.
Your Audience and Your Content Goldmine Will Grow
You can apply this method to anything and everything you learn.
By taking the time to read, understand and process the knowledge, you make yourself a better agent. Then, you rewrite what you’ve learned for your perfect prospects and account for how it is relevant to them, simplify the language and put it into a concept they can relate to. Next, you add context and research the upsides and downsides of various methods they might use to achieve their desired outcome.
You are essentially fixing that knowledge in your brain by exploring it from multiple viewpoints and different contexts.
Anyone can do this, especially with the help of AI. It’s so easy. Check out my AI Assisted Content post for more info about this.
You learn at an accelerated rate, your audience gets access to expert-level content, and the search engines get to provide what people want when they search for it.
There is literally no downside. Amazing.
The Role of Trust in Client Relationships
When you show people what you know in a simple and easy way, they will be grateful. They will start to trust you as an expert. You will build rapport with ease. And you will make a reputation for being the person to talk to about [Insert your service here].
As a way of standing out, I can think of nothing better. Well, okay, you got me: your own TV show might be pretty cool too. Which do you think is more likely, though?
Here’s the problem as I see it. The lack of transparency in the UK property industry is a problem. I know some measures are being taken to address this, but I feel that the people working in the industry are better placed to effect real change than any government measures.
Personally, I think that any property professional who is not creating expert content to educate their audience is part of the problem. They are also missing out on the most significant opportunity to get low-cost leads today.
I would urge you all to start being a part of the solution.
If you’re a property expert, create fantastic content. Promote the standards that you adhere to. Educate prospects on the scams, loopholes, and cons that lesser “experts” might try to utilise to make an easy few quid.
If you want to be trusted, I can’t think of a better way to achieve it.
Is it just me who thinks this? I certainly hope not. If you want a solid foundation for a strong personal brand, what better place to start than building a content goldmine?
The Visual Impact: Crafting a Distinctive Image
The good news is that you don’t need to create a professional image to get started.
Establishing a brand style will help you stand out and ensure you’re easily recognisable to your followers. Just don’t get hung up on having everything ready and “perfect” before you start.
Designing a Memorable Professional Image
You don’t need to spend a fortune on high-quality graphics designers to build a memorable brand.
Memorable doesn’t mean futuristic, high-tech, or flashy. What’s more important is that you consistently use your branding so that it becomes associated with what you do.
Choosing the Correct Visual Elements
Possibly a misleading heading for this section. There is no such thing as the “correct elements” when it comes to visuals. There is only what’s right for you.
Yes, there are undoubtedly frameworks and templates that are proven to work, but so, too, are people who use very simple designs and still have tremendous success. Your brand design is a small part of the overall package.
Sure, if it’s flashy and jarring, you may lose respect in the eyes of a few and get people talking about you for the wrong reasons, but at least they’ll be speaking about you.
To start with a personal brand design, pick a couple of colours, use your initials in a stylish font, and choose a slogan.
That’s it. You’re done. Go and create the rest of your brand. Get your message out there. Start showing up for the people who need your services. That’s where the secret sauce is. Long-term success has little to do with “how good” your brand looks.
If you make it big, become a local household name, and need to rebrand in the future, excellent. That’s amazing, and you’ll have all the more money to spend on an expensive agency and an extensive campaign due to your success.
You don’t need all of that to get there, though.
Utilise Your Personal Branding Everywhere
Once you’ve decided on your brand design, use it wherever you appear online. If you do things offline, use it there too. Leaflets, events, and even local news are all places you should use your personal brand. Unless that is, it’s an event your employer is putting on. 😆 Don’t use it there. Not without permission, in writing, and with the understanding that you’re not competing with your bosses. 😉
But seriously. If the company you work for has concerns about you creating and using a personal brand, talk to them. Reassure them. Show them the benefits of having recognisable industry experts showing up online independently and attracting their perfect prospects. They will still get all of the business you attract.
Show them your ambition. If you want to be the most successful in your career at their company, and the opportunity to brand yourself isn’t available, demonstrate that you don’t mind doing it yourself.
If you don’t, nobody else will.
Oh! One more thing. You might not be with the right company if they’re not super impressed with your drive and willingness to put that amount of effort into being successful.
Just saying…
Navigating the Digital Landscape
When using your content goldmine to spread your message, you need to have all the foundations in place and thought through.
Creating a quick tweet or a post for your Instagram should always align with your brand. This is especially relevant if you have staff, VAs, or an agency that helps with your social content.
I won’t go into detail here since it’s all in my book, Automated Property Leads Forever. Undoubtedly, I will be creating an in-depth post on this soon, and I’ve touched on this in other posts already.
Writing out a mission statement, adding your beliefs and values, and outlining your standards and what you stand for and against will ensure you know precisely what your brand represents. It will also be much easier to get others on board with your brand ethics when you can provide it clearly written as a series of statements.
This is essential to creating a coherent message for your audience when others are assisting you.
Leveraging Social Media Platforms Effectively
Weaving your values and beliefs about how you see the property industry and your role in it into your social content will be much easier for you or anyone helping you when everyone is clear about what they are.
It also enables you to be more subtle about specific topics without being unintentionally confrontational or opinionated. Though, if you go for the in-your-face angle, it will often be much more viral than an infomercial-style post. People do love a rant.
That aside, though, being consistent in your message and choosing what you stand up for and rant about is much easier when you have a clear message with clear goals.
Creating Engaging and Shareable Content
I added this section to make it clear for every property professional looking to be the best-known and most trusted in their area.
Engaging and Sharable does not need to be viral.
Going Viral
You do not need any of your content to “go viral” to be successful online.
Will it help?
Maybe.
If your content gets millions of likes and shares for the right reasons, of course, you’ll likely get a little bit of a boost. But what if one of your rants goes viral? Will that help you sell more of your services?
What if a silly meme you made that makes fun of a new property law goes viral? Will that have investors flooding through your doors?
It’s unlikely.
What about going viral for the wrong reasons? I hope I don’t need to explain why this is your worst nightmare…
Okay, maybe a little explanation. First, it may not be your original content that goes viral. Editing content, making memes, and taking a message out of context is incredibly easy. This will rarely happen for no reason, but this could occur if you have a controversial view or rant online.
If an edited version of your content goes viral for the wrong reasons, you do not have the reach or likely the money to get in front of it before severe harm is done to your reputation and the trust in your brand. So, be careful.
Sidenote: This is why I am against AI creating all your content and fact-checking everything before publishing. Your words, stories, beliefs and values will not shine through content written by an AI That, and AI still makes up stuff that sounds plausible but is untrue. It’s so easy to miss.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Building up a local community of fans based on years of hard work, educating your prospects, and setting the standards for other property professionals isn’t fast, easy or sexy. But IT WORKS.
If you think you need to go viral to be successful, you’re being sold a lie. When millions of people comment, like, and share a post, 99.99% will not be prospects. The smaller the area you work in, the fewer people who saw your viral post will be eligible to work with you.
So, honestly, forget about creating the next big thing in viral content and work on knowing who your audience is, what they want, and engaging with them.
Building a local online community of followers is far more important than “going viral” for most property professionals.
If you happen to be one of the property professionals who services the whole of the UK, you’ll have to work harder to build your content goldmine. While you can’t expect to dominate your market, which is much easier for a business that operates in a small locality, you can still have a significant impact using social media, videos, podcasts, and influencer marketing.
Staying Relevant in a Dynamic Market
While you do not need viral content, you do need relevant content. If you know anything about creating a content goldmine, you’ll understand that most of what you produce will solve problems people face regularly.
This is the easiest way to attract your perfect prospects. But it doesn’t mean you can’t jump on the trend’s bandwagon.
Is something happening in the news? You can post about that.
Maybe that whitepaper about conveyancing being made quicker and actually using technology to get us out of the 19th-century property trading standards is finally going through.
Whatever is relevant to your sector, talk about it.
- State your opinion.
- Do you think it will help?
- What are the downsides?
- What does your audience think?
You can literally ask them.
It’s not that difficult to stay relevant. Oh! As long as you’re consistent about it.
Post once every three months about the latest craze on Facebook, and nobody will see it.
Post every day about the fantastic content you’re consistently creating… Now you’ll be heard when you talk about that news item everyone has an opinion about.
Staying relevant about current affairs and having your views listened to can only happen if you already have an audience. You won’t have an audience if you’re not consistently showing up online. Posting about your valuable content on social media 80% of the time has got to be the easiest way for any business to show up every day without being all sleazy, pitchy, and salesy.
The other 20%, news, views, and the odd pitch for your latest instruction, sure – go for it. After providing so much value, you’ve earned the right to talk about what makes you money.
Continuous Learning and Skill Development
I’ve already touched on this, but whatever you’re working on that increased your skill, knowledge, experience, or relevance to the industry is worth talking about.
Even if, for example, you’ve only just learned that 70 square feet (6.51 Sqm) is the minimum size for an HMO room in England, you can write about it.
You can also research why that size was chosen if it’s the same for all councils (it’s not), if there are other requirements (there are), and you could even speak to people who have lived in a small HMO room to get a first-person perspective about what it’s like.
Whatever you’re learning about, you can write about it. Do more research. You can look at it from different perspectives and look at people’s various opinions. Determine all the positives and negatives that might impact people.
If you want to show up as an expert, what better way than to learn about something new and then analyse it from a dozen angles before writing it down for your perfect prospects in an easy-to-consume format?
Maximising Exposure: Networking and Collaborations
Building brand awareness on your own will be a lengthy and time-consuming endeavour. You need help. It could be paid help in various forms of advertising, but I’d recommend going old school.
The Power of Professional Networks
As somebody who works in property, you likely regularly meet, interact, or operate with other property professionals. While I don’t recommend that you pitch your new blog, YouTube channel, and social channels in the hope of a backlink or referral to everyone you work with, I do suggest you talk about it.
Once you’ve been consistently producing high-quality content for a while, I’d suggest a couple of months at least, you can start mentioning it to others you know in the industry.
No pitching is required. Just tell them what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, what you expect will happen, and that you’d be interested in their thoughts on your content.
Assuming you’ve followed my framework and your content is everything it should be, I’d be surprised if you didn’t get many more enquiries about what you’re doing, which will naturally lead to various opportunities for collaboration and, hopefully, promotion of your content.
Collaborating with Industry Influencers
Now, if you’re a content-creating machine producing high volumes of expert content and want to speed up the rate at which your content is found, you can work with industry influencers.
As long as an influencer is known for something related to the services you provide, many are happy to promote your brand for a small fee. This is much better than paid Facebook or Property Portals ads since you’re not trying to sell anything.
What you want from an influencer is for them to sell their audience on the value of your content goldmine. This is so much more valuable than an ad promoting your “latest deal” one time.
If people like what you do, they’ll keep coming back for more. They’ll download your free stuff and get onto your email nurturing sequences. They will likely comment on your posts, even if it’s just a thank you, and share the things they found really valuable with their friends, most likely through their personal social channels.
Not every collaboration will need to be paid. As you build your own brand channels and influence, you’ll be able to guest on podcasts, stage online events with other influencers, and guest them on your channels in exchange for a reciprocal spot on theirs. Your content goldmine will open many doors for you that currently aren’t available.
If you’re not a superstar content-making machine right out of the gates and are creating content at the pace I imagine most property experts will be comfortable with, that would be 1 or 2 posts per week; you have another option. Building your collaborations steadily using your local network will have more authenticity and a natural growth feel.
Regardless of your route, your content will help you stand out from the hoards of average experts who haven’t committed to demonstrating their value.
You’re welcome.
Transforming Inquiries into Bookings
One of the great things about a solid online brand backed up by a considerable amount of valuable content is that you become a trusted source of information.
Once that happens, you’ll notice that selling your service is no longer necessary. Instead, you’ll discuss what services are suitable for your prospects and the best time for them to get started.
This differs significantly from most property professionals’ discussions with their leads since they do not know where the next lead will come from. A sense of desperation often means they’re offering deals and incentives without understanding if a prospect is ready to move forward.
When you build a fully functioning content goldmine capable of capturing leads and nurturing them with high-value email sequences, you become more than just another service provider. You become a go-to source of information and, effectively, a household name.
Turning Leads into Loyal Clients
If you’re trying to sell to every lead, the chances are you’re losing a lot of business. People can sense desperation a mile off. If you attempt to manipulate people in any way, you’ll instantly be on your back foot. Most people have that sixth sense. They’ll still walk away even if they don’t know why and couldn’t put it into words.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you’re not genuine or that you can’t deliver everything you say you can. The problem with projecting confidence through an abundance mindset is that it can’t be faked. A scarcity mindset is that it’s not something you can hide, either. It comes through in your demeanour, language, posture and in so many other ways.
The very best way to attract people is to demonstrate your value. Providing tremendous value upfront is a guaranteed way to turn those leads into prospects and new clients.
Think about it this way. Let’s say that you’ve been creating expert content for 12 months. With your team, you’ve produced two pieces of high-value content every week without fail.
Let’s say that you’ve spent, in total, 5 hours on each piece of content. That’s content, video, images, and social repurposing. I’ll make an educated guess that your time plus any help you need will equal about £40 per hour. That would mean you’ve put out nearly £21,000 of value over the past year with no expectation of a return.
Now, whilst you’re not going to go around advertising that you’re spending 21K every year on making free content for your perfect prospects, it will not go unnoticed by people who find you online. While most people won’t realise the monetary value involved in giving them the answer they were looking for, they will recognise the value of the information itself.
Creating a content goldmine will do much of the heavy lifting if you want to turn your leads into loyal clients. Just keep delivering value, and you’ll have more leads than you know what to do with.
The Impact of a Solid Personal Brand on Conversion Rates
As your content goldmine grows, so will your brand and online footprint. The bigger your online footprint, the more visible your brand becomes.
The point of figuring out what you want your brand to represent and weaving those values throughout your expert content is so that your brand sells your services. You should not need to be cold calling, constantly advertising your latest offer, or continually chasing every lukewarm lead.
Building a strong personal brand will effectively sell your services for you. You won’t need to push your services on anyone because they will already know your value from your content. If, by chance, you get somebody in your store who doesn’t already understand why they need to work with you over any other property professional in your area, you can gently point them in the right direction.
Find out why they’re there. What do they need? You can use your usual charm, give them a top-level overview of your services, and offer to send them all the required information. If they’d prefer, they can use the search feature on the website, which is on the business card you just handed them. There is no pressure to sell anything, no discounts if they sign up today, and no urgency to book a visit or follow-up call. Of course, you’d love to work with them, but there’s no rush for them to make a decision.
You’ve already got all the leads you can handle. You know more are constantly finding you, and you’ll never be short of business.
That kind of confidence to give people the space to find out about you and why you’re the best will do more for your conversions than any ad or sales pitch.
Drawbacks of Using a Personal Brand
While I’ve given a very upbeat view of the benefits of a personal brand, there are a couple of downsides you should be aware of. I still think that building an amazing brand is the best way for a property professional to stand out, but here are a few potential issues you should keep in mind.
First, and the most obvious, is that you are the focus of the expertise.
The Buck Stops Here
If you have a team providing your services, you depend on their excellence for your reputation. If they drop the ball, your name could be the one that suffers.
Now, this does depend on how your brand and business are set up.
If you are using your personal brand to provide content for your expertise while working in a larger company with solid branding, this is less of an issue.
If you are an owner/partner in a firm that bears your name and plan on expanding your staff base and locations in time, you’ll need to be more careful.
Limited Scalability
If you’re an expert in an area of property that is not abundantly serviced, your specialist skills may stop you from scaling your services.
Any time your service requires you to be present is a bottleneck and will determine the maximum number of clients you can take on. This is not so good if you want to scale your business.
No Work, No Money
Another issue with being a primary source of expertise in your business is that if you stop working, the money stops, too.
If people are contracting you to provide a service because you’re the best, how will they take it if you aren’t the one doing the work? This ties in with limited scalability as you need to do the work. If you’re promoting your personal brand as you being the expert, and you don’t do the work, are people going to feel like they’re getting second best? This could negatively affect your reputation. This is why, right at the top of this post, we asked, “What do you want to be known for?”.
Before building a strong personal brand, be sure you have all the pieces in place for a strong foundation. When you think about where you want to be in five years, are there any obvious issues you’ll need to address?
Brand Dilution
Now, should you clear all the bottlenecks in your business and you can effectively scale, you’ll run into another potential issue: new level, new devil.
As you start to scale, you will need to ensure you have an excellent onboarding process for new staff and work to build a culture around your business’s values.
You do not want to lose the values that made you stand out as something special in the first place.
Privacy
Being authentic and passionate about your work may mean sharing more about your personal life than you bargained for.
Before sharing details about your personal life, wonderful partner, amazing kids, and cutest pets, you should seriously consider this. There is no right or wrong, just what’s best for you.
Beware the Trolls
You’ll get some haters if you build a big enough brand and spread your online footprint far enough. It’s all but unavoidable.
Keyboard warriors can be a big problem if you don’t handle them properly. My book, Automated Property Leads Forever, has a big section on this. I mean, it’s worth the £6.95 for that bit alone. Think of all the other amazing chapters around making incredible content as icing on the cake. 😊
How you handle the trolls can have a significant impact on your business. Also, don’t forget that this will not necessarily be hate levelled at your company; it will feel personal. However, you cannot react as you would as though the comments were spoken to you face to face. You also cannot drop to their level. You must utilise nothing other than the most professional response.
This is a potential minefield, and you’re on their turf. They want a fight, even though they don’t know you, have never used your service, and likely never will.
Don’t Do It!
Making the Time
Time will be one of your biggest problems. The lack of it, that is.
Creating expert content and building a brand are not things you can do in a weekend. Well, you can do it at the weekend if you’re not otherwise engaged, but it will take more than one.
You will have to get very good at planning your time, delegating your low-value tasks, or, preferably, both.
My last post was all about managing your time better, so I recommend you check it out if you struggle with getting everything done.
Nothing I teach is complicated. However, there are many steps from where you are to being the owner of a content goldmine that generates high-quality organic leads on autopilot.
Each step takes a little time, and when you add them all up, you get a fantastic marketing machine for your business, but it will cost you. Time, that is. Or, at the very least, a little money to leverage somebody else’s time.
What Are You Waiting For?
There’s no time like the present. You really ought to be planning your strategy for local domination.
It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. That is unless you’re going to leave it another year…
If you don’t know where to start, I have loads of content in my blogs to help you. My book, Automated Property Leads Forever, is the blueprint for creating a content goldmine. Excellent value, even though I say so myself. Or, if you want the personal touch, I also coach.
There really is no excuse.
Invest In Yourself
If you think that building your brand and making time to create content is a risk that might not pay off in the long run, I would urge you to have a little faith in yourself.
There is no better return on your time or money than investing in yourself. The knowledge you need costs nothing; it’s all right here. You only need to make the time to learn and implement it. Simple? Yes. Easy? No. That’s what will differentiate you from the masses.
The Journey Ahead
Building a distinctive personal brand takes time, effort, and commitment. Be patient and persistent – your hard work will pay off.
Stay adaptable. As your brand grows, you may need to refine your messaging or pivot to new opportunities. Listen to feedback and keep evolving.
Surround yourself with a supportive community. Connect with others who uplift you personally and professionally. Their insights will help strengthen your brand.
Keep your values at the core. Let your beliefs guide your actions and content. Authenticity resonates more than anything.
Have fun! Approaching this process with genuine excitement and passion will come through in your brand. Let your enthusiasm energise you.
The possibilities are endless when you dedicate yourself to building a brand authentically reflecting your identity. I hope the insights shared here give you clarity and confidence to create your distinctive personal brand in the property industry.
I wish you tremendous success on the journey ahead and look forward to seeing your content online.
If you’re looking for my content blueprint, here it is:
If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please drop them in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.
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