14 Oct My Estate Agency is Better.
My estate agency is better than your estate agency.
And bigger.
We sell more homes. At a better price.
And we're cheaper.
But above all, different. From your estate agency.
Not just a different logo.
Not just a catchier strapline.
A more responsive website. With more information for the vendors.
More passionate. More dedicated. More willing to 'go the extra mile'.
More 5 star reviews. (We delete the 1 star reviews).
More willing to brag, of course.
That's what we do.
It's in our D.N.A.
We're estate agents, after all.
Here's the problem.
You're simply defining your agency against the very thing you're trying to differentiate from.
You do want to differentiate, don't you?
After all, estate agency has a pretty poor reputation. Most times, undeservedly so.
But if your agency keeps comparing itself, no matter how favourably, to the competition?
Your agency is still.
Just another estate agency.
To the public.
Instead of what it could be.
Imagine a business that is an integral part of the community. A business that knows everyone and everyone knows it.
A business the community would miss if it was gone.
A business that has permission to keep in touch. That doesn't have to pretend it's welcome.
It's more than welcome.
A business that is authentic. Instead of yet another me-too.
A business that doesn't hide away the real version of itself.
Doesn't indulge in the race to make itself ever more visible.
A business that has the courage to be imperfect.
And the foresight to appreciate that it will take something other than current 'best-practice' to make that happen.
" Being compliant with best-practice is being complicit with creating commodity work." -Jay Acunzo.
That something?
Isn't, what every other business is currently doing. Social media till it hurts.
How's that working out for them?
Great they will tell you.
More likes, more followers, more 'friends'. More leads. More everything.
Seth Godin calls it "the social media merry-go-round that goes faster & faster, without actually getting anywhere."
A place which, as Andy Maslen says, " has given the illiterate and the idiotic equal billing with your carefully crafted marketing campaign."
That something, then?
Story.
The story that none of your competitors can tell.
The story that inspires and resonates with the people that are looking for you.
Carefully crafted words that keep your community engaged.
Not the dumbed-down offering that is so rampant on social media.
No wonder the average attention span, according to Microsoft, is now 8 seconds.
The illiterate and the idiotic could well inherit this world.
But it shouldn't be you. Or, your agency.
The market responds well to something that is out of the ordinary.
It notices when things are not done as they've always been done.
Social media has brought us average stuff. Instant gratification. Shortcuts. Tips.
All manner of work that exists on purely a surface level.
Dig a little deeper beneath that surface and often you find it's entirely manipulative.
How much faster can they fill their sales pipeline. How quickly can they drag the unsuspecting lead to a close?
What's in it for them?
As opposed to what's in it for someone else.
The more they do this, the lower the regard anyone has for them.
Which is when the issue of price rears its ugly head.
When you can't justify why your agency should be charging what's it worth.
Because there's someone that will do it for less.
And the plaintive cry of "we're different" doesn't ring true.
So, it's time to stop feeling bad about your fees.
Time to replace short-form content with long-form.
Time to substitute the glib posts with something interesting.
Something that captivates and inspires those you want to reach.
Whether about you. Or your agency.
It's time.
To "write something worth reading, or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin.
I know many agents do that something. I've seen it.
Extraordinary acts of kindness.
Thankless moments when they do what they do because it's in their nature.
But it's only when sharing these moments that personal brand shines through.
Providing the community with that needed insight into the face behind the brand.
Until then, estate agents and estate agencies are, by association, defining themselves by the very thing they seek to differentiate from.
Good, Better, Best.
Nobody cares.
Neither should you.
Thanks, as always, for reading. If you'd like to chat about story, or about personal brand, get in touch. Happy to help.
chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk
Mob: 07875 141436
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