Brandon FL Area Branding Iron
March 9, 2010 by Rick Frissell · 1 Comment
Last summer I was approached by a big box real estate company about joining their “team.” By big box, I mean, one of the major real estate brands you would recognize by national advertising and prominence.
Their selling feature was that they had 300 agents as a part of the office and as a result, there was the power of their yard signs and the national advertising everywhere.
Contrary, Florida’s Beautiful Homes™, is a small independent brokerage. We would be classified as boutique brokerage. In a word, boutique means to specialize.
After I left the big box office following my interview and offer, I became sensitive to all of that company’s signs. I heard their pitch about brand recognition. Yes, I could have my name associated with a major brand. Yes, there were benefits to me for that association. But, then I thought, “Yes, I could be one of three hundred local agents. Could I differentiate my self?”
To be fair, as boutique, what did we specialize in? What was our specialty? What did we do that uniquely proved we were boutique?
Further, I wanted to know the answer to this question. Does brand matter to the buyer or seller of a home? I concluded that brand CAN make a difference. But, I also concluded that real estate companies use their brand focused more on self promotion than on directed toward client benefits.
This is the first of a four part blog. Part Two will define what we have discovered regarding buyers and sellers of real estate. Clients today are expecting their real estate agent to service them differently from the way it has been done in the past.
There are some things that are better left undone. For example, let’s take Momma’s spaghetti recipe. There is no way I would make changes to her recipe. But, I am finding a big change in what buyers and sellers of real estate want from the local real estate agent. And it is a lot more than having a web site or even writing a blog.
Part Three will introduce my new personal brand that has been in the works since September 2009. But, we hope to introduce a brand that delivers a message to clients that the brand is not about us, but is about them.
We will conclude the series with Part Four where we introduce why we believe we will truly become boutique and we will reveal what is in it for our clients.
Rick Frissell- Florida’s Beautiful Homes™
813-340-6828
Very interesting and thought provoking. When is the second part coming out. You got me hooked.
Darnel