What's In A Name - And So The Story Began.
Personal Brand.
For estate agents and realtors. Nobody else. It's always been you!
Not my personal brand.
If it were that, the domain name would have been www.chrisarnold.co.uk
I'm not trying to develop my personal brand - I don't need the attention. I don't need the business.
In fact, I turn away more agents than I accept as clients.
Many that imagine a personal brand simply brings more visibility on social media. More 'likes', more followers. Better reputation. More leads. And, of course, more sales.
One of my very first posts was under the heading: My Role Isn't To Help You Sell More, It's To Get People To Like You More.
That's more pertinent now than ever.
In an age of instant gratification, of shorter attention spans and of hustling for your worth, getting people to really like you, above superficial, is becoming ever more difficult.
So it's with personal brand where my focus lies.
Why then story?
Easy.
Stories are memorable. Data & information - not so much.
I want people to remember your stories.
The infrequent post about a successful sale. Or, basking in the glow of yet another award. Perhaps your new career move. The dreaded Rightmove charts attached to a beaming smile that implies simply "we are #1"?
Social media posts that ramble from one topic to another. Without ever one having so much as a message worth sharing. Same old News, Commentary & Opinion.
If you imagine that any vendor remotely cares about what it is that you do for a living - think again.
My good friend, Christopher Watkin, espouses that vendors don't care about you as a person. Swayed perhaps by that incorrigible Aussie Trainer who thinks -
"Vendors Don't Want The Estate Agent to be their Mate - They've already got mates."
I have, of course, a different point of view.
Vendors want to find out as much as they can about you as a person. They seek transparency. It makes life easier for them in their choice of agent. If that develops into a friendship, so much the better. If you become a friend before you even meet, better still.
No, vendors don't care what it is that you do for a living - they do care who you are, what you value and what you believe.
And the only way they're going to find that information is if you tell them.
Otherwise, they will have to guess and that's never a good option.
So tell them.
It's not hard.
It's your story.
The story that only you can tell.
If you're not confident telling it, that's where I can help.
Your thoughts and ideas. My words.
Stories are how we think. They are how we make meaning of life - stories are how we explain how things work; how we justify our decisions, how we persuade others, how we understand our place in the world.
Your story is no different.
Don't think, however, that it's chronological.
The important events of your life are shared in story to illustrate your values and beliefs.
It could have been something that happened yesterday. Or just as easily thirty years ago.
What matters is that there was emotion within. Enough to have made it memorable for you.
Now you have to make it memorable to someone else.
It's a bit like painting a picture. Step-by-step. Revealing just a bit more. Making a point.
Adding some colour and style.
Making the vendor intrigued to learn more.
That's the power of story.
That's why it's called And So The Story Began.
Combine story with personal brand and, I believe, you have one of the most magnetic forces in marketing.
Attracting like-minded people that share your values, beliefs and convictions.
Turning them from strangers into friends. Friends into fans. Fans into disciples who will spread the word.
Getting people to like you - that's the first step.
There's a call-to-action button that will provide more information. You won't get spammed - that's not my style.
You won't get a phone call. Unless you first make contact, you won't hear from me.
I have far better things to do than try to persuade an agent that she needs to tell her story.
If I can't convince with the power of my words on a page, interrupting your day to hustle isn't going to make it better.
"The truth about strategy in a competitive environment: If you are doing what everyone else is doing, if you are inside the band of common, then its not an approach that will move you forward." - Seth Godin.
There's a backstory to every story I tell. The words aren't there to simply provide information, or a message - they are there to prove a subtle point. That your character is hiding in plain sight.
I don't simply describe your character - it's oh so evident from the story that we tell.
Here's the hard part.
People might not like you for it.
You just aren't a good fit for them.
If you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing none.
So, as Seth Godin says, "shun the non-believers."
But for those that are a good fit, there's a mountain of stories that only we can tell.
And So The Story Began.
Thanks, as always, for reading this far. I appreciate all the comments, critical or not.
If you have any questions on the power of story or personal brand, get in touch, anyway you like.
I'm happy to hear from you.
'Til next time.
Chris.
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