05 Jan Hiding In Plain Sight – Again.
Hiding in Plain Sight - Again.
It's never previously happened with any post in the past five years. I completed a 700+ word post this morning which included all the images, hashtags and keywords. Saved as a draft multiple times. Then it was gone! Never to return.
I've no idea what happened. Whether I inadvertently pressed Trash or whether a glitch in the software. Or maybe there was something more interesting waiting to be come out?
A year or so ago, I would have considered throwing my laptop into the bin but there's a certain calmness within me now . An acceptance that whatever life throws at me is meant to be.
Hiding in plain sight (2.0). Fingers crossed.
Estate agency has always been about Brand, Brand, Brand.
A chunk of change has been spent on making it so. Resulting in a cost of customer acquisition often several times that of the fee earned.
Social media changed all of that - reaching millions is now easy and for the most part, free.
What's always been important, though, is the message. A message that grabs and holds attention. Message that fosters engagement.
Message that, over the past decade, has been dumbed down in a puerile purple haze. Lost in the 'noise' of a billion soundbites.
The message is important. Without one, it's simply brand awareness.
We pay attention to those of interest. Whether that's a fascinating story, or that they might fulfil a need.
We deliberately and wilfully ignore those for whom we have no interest.
In the context of real estate, a microcosm of the global social media 'noise', we ignore most of what we see.
The message doesn't resonate - often because the messenger does not. So it is ignored.
Why might that be? Why do some agents resonate and some not?
In part, it's because we don't know Who they are.
Hiding in plain sight.
The discrepancy between all that we could see versus what we actually notice underscores the importance of being different.
Of standing out from the common.
Therein lies the dilemma for estate agents - they choose to blend in; to camouflage themselves. with a 'mask' of expertise.
Just like every other agent.
They wear this 'mask' perhaps to overcome the concern that they are not "good enough" or "interesting enough" as themselves.
This 'mask' hides identity. It protects from close scrutiny.
It allays vulnerability.
It results in a great many capable agents being ignored. Playing straight into the hands of those less principled.
Of course, they're consoled by well-meaning but misguided influencers that suggest "It's not about you, nobody cares about you."
Except that we do.
We care a great deal.
We aren't looking for the most qualified agent. Nor the most knowledgeable. Nor the most recognised.
We are looking for a realtor that is prepared to be transparent. One that isn't shy of saying precisely what they value and believe. One that isn't pretending to have all the answers; isn't polished, professional and perfected.
A realtor that isn't hiding in plain sight. One that we can trust.
What's so hard about being Who you are?
I get that it makes you vulnerable - that it might dissuade some potential clients. On the flip side, it will attract those clients that do find affinity and who would have otherwise ignored you.
Leading a life as an agent that plays small does not serve your community.
Who are you not to be remarkably different?
There's a full spectrum of adjectives that describe precisely who you are - innovative, courageous, creative, kind, disciplined, ambitious, bold, curious, happy, loyal, optimistic - here's the best part, there's no right or wrong choice.
Just a definition of Who you choose to be at any given moment.
Wouldn't potential clients be more interested to discover why, for example, optimism is one of your core values? What effect that will have on the results you achieve for them? What made optimism so fundamental for you? Stories of how optimism served you and your clients.
Rather than boring with Local Property Market Updates and latest instructions?
It's widely acknowledged that people are interested in property. Don't assume they are less interested in other people.
"Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story."
Max Ehrmann. 1927 Poem Desiderato.
The freedom and peace of mind, having nothing to hide; isn't that priceless?
Instead of hiding in plain sight?
Thanks, as always, for reading. If the need arises, here's how to reach me:
chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk
Mob: (44) 07369251435
Chris.
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