Who Are You? Someone With Low Self-Esteem?

Who are you? Someone with low self-esteem?

"Nobody cares about you, or your #estateagency." is perhaps the biggest limiting belief in this sector.

A limiting belief that is going to condemn you and your agency to a purgatory of competition and comparison.

Why are those that preach this gospel so enthusiastic for you to believe it?

Because their business is fundamentally built around any agent being "broken", not being good-enough.

Their 'job' is to fix you. To have you compete with every other agency. To demonstrate 'better than.'

For this, your agency will have to be considered "the expert". The most knowledgeable. The most experienced.

What we end up with is an industry so consumed with sharing data, information and with greater visibility that it verges on winning the coveted award, Boring for Britain.

What the market is doing. How many homes sold this quarter compared to last year. Percentage of fall-throughs. Best streets to live in your town.

All very simple stuff that can easily be replicated by ANY agency, if they are so inclined. Stuff that fails to address the ONE concern every homeowner has when choosing an agency - can they be trusted?

Not are they competent, are they experienced, do they offer great value - but can they be trusted?

If you're an agent that believes trust emanates from competence, there are hundreds of examples of competent people/professions that aren't trusted. Politicians and journalists immediately spring to mind. Similarly with qualifications and mandatory licencing, plenty of consumers still live to regret their decision on instructing a "professional".

Statistics prove very little, especially when taken out of context. They stimulate left-brain activity that uses logic.

People, though, first decide emotionally with right-brain activity and then justify that decision internally, even against all the evidence provided by the 'expert'.

Information is appropriate - later on. When the potential client knows WHO you are.

That unique individual. Unlike any other agent. Someone, not simply confident in themselves, but certain of their core values, beliefs and convictions. Someone that is worth knowing for WHO they are, rather than what they do and how well.

Nobody Care About You, Or Your Agency? My response has always been to make them care.

Everybody, everybody, even estate agents have their story. The story that only they can tell.

That's why biographies outsell every other category of book. People are interested in other people. Particularly other people that are different.

I've worked with enough #realtors and agents to know that no two are alike. Even for those with nearly identical values, the story is never the same.

The majority of agents choose NOT to embrace Personal Brand.

Whether that is for reasons of fearing transparency, or preferring to associate themselves with corporate branding to establish credibility, is unclear. I can only hazard a guess.

My guess is that, despite the show of bravado, they have low self-esteem.

They perhaps believe their life is not interesting enough to be put under the spotlight. Many people will agree because it is far, far easier to remain in the chorus line than to be centre-stage. Being worthy of all that attention.

But, if #realestate is the people business that everyone claims, there needs to be a degree of transparency. We don't make friends until we at least know something of the other person.

It's far easier to connect if they aren't hiding behind a 'mask' of polished and perfected.

Low self-esteem is the result of constantly being told by others that you're not good enough.