Hey folks, I came across a fascinating study—it revealed that a whopping 74% of consumers base their business decisions solely on the brand!

Now, let's shift the focus to your personal brand:

Imagine stacking it against the top 10 agents in your community—just you, not who you're working for. How do you measure up? Does your brand stand out, exuding a modern and sharp vibe, or does it seem dated, like a relic from the '90s or early 2000s?

To make a mark, focus on clean, sharp lines. Forget flashy taglines and funky logos. Your brand revolves around a clean picture and a stylized version of your name.

Remember, you're a personal brand in the real estate space, akin to the likes of Michael Jordan or LeBron James. With countless agents in the field, the key is to separate yourself by having a consistent and clean brand integrated throughout your marketing plan.

Everywhere people look—your website, digital footprint, social...

Hey guys, some new interesting information from NAR regarding how far people move when they buy a new home.

For decades, the number was about 10 to 15 miles from where they were moving to where they were going to.

Now that shot up dramatically last year to 50 miles—an unheard of number. And where are people heading?

1. Small towns: up 9% from last year.

2. Rural areas: up 7% from last year.

So people are wanting to exit urban areas, kind of that urban exodus we've talked about for a long time. And why are they doing it? Well, they have remote working, they have a remote school, and they want to get out of the urban jungle. And affordability is a big issue. They can buy a much bigger house, much nicer house by going out to these rural and small town areas.

So what about your market? Are you starting to see this in your market?

Maybe you're on the flip side where you live in a rural market like I do and you're benefiting from people coming to you. And on the other side, maybe...

How are you positioning yourself on social media to have impact?

A lot of us are doing a lot of social media, but is it having impact? Are people remembering you or are they just scrolling past your posts because they're filled with meaningless fluff?

If you want to have impact, here's one technique that'll really help you shine in your marketplace:

Storytelling.

Telling a story about your client's experience and what your clients are going through will help you build a relationship with people that are in your audience. It positions you as the expert, as the authority, as a trusted figure, as an advisor, as a counselor. But it will also help people remember you as a REALTOR.

Why?

Because stories are remembered. Stories create resonance and connections with other people. People love reading about people.

So I'm gonna give you a couple of examples of that:

I've got a couple of my great coaching students that I work with in my company....

What are the digital tools that buyers and sellers want us to deliver to them?

There is a new study that's recently come out that shares exactly what buyers and sellers would like us to use when we're working with them.

1. 3D Virtual Tour

Kind of like a Matterport tour. Another one that goes along with this is a digital floor plan. Now that might be a Matterport situation again where people can see the entire floor plan of the house. Sometimes we have that for new construction. Other times we might have to build that.

2. Email Notifications

Most of us have email available through our franchise groups or even through our offices where we can send automated emails to clients based on their needs that match the MLS database.

3. Video tours

Video tours with their agent (aka you!) offering to walk somebody through a house, maybe on FaceTime while they're not even physically present.

4. The ability to unlock a home and not even have the agent (aka...

Do you feel confident when you talk to a buyer or seller for the first time? Do you feel like you own the conversation? If you don't feel that way, then the reason might be that you don't have competence.

When you come into a room, you want to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to your profession. Unless you've hit that standard you are never going to be at your highest level. Here is one easy way to gain competence that will help you feel more confident when you're having conversations with buyers and sellers.

Know your numbers. Every MLS has a monthly report which will give you the monthly stats to compare each month and year over year statistics. Look at the numbers for pending sales. Where are they in your market? How many properties sold last month in your market? How about new listings? How long does it take the average home to sell? What is the months of supply in your market? How do these numbers compare to the previous month and the previous year?

Write the...

While many real estate professionals volunteer their time, energy, and dollars to a wide spectrum of charitable causes many have not considers employing cause based marketing as a part of their marketing strategy. 

Cause based marketing can do many things for both you and your charity of choice. First it can help define you to consumers as someone who gives back and cares about the greater good, second it can inspire others to follow your lead, and third it can dramatically increase the amount of of time, energy, and dollars being donated to the cause. 

Watch this quick video to learn why cause based marketing should become an important part of your overall brand strategy and 5 Ways to Start Today! 

Are you ready for a real estate coach? Explore Mastery Classes that can help design the career and the life you deserve including:

• Sphere of Influence
• For Sale by Owner 
• Open Houses
• Expired Listings
• Business Planning

About Jim Remley:

Jim Remley is a...

Congratulations you have just been nominated for your first Oscar! I guess all those acting classes in college finally paid off.  Unfortunately the ceremony is tonight and you can’t make it because you’re on location with Vin Diesel in Bangladesh. (Blast!) On such short notice your agent has informed you that you only have six choices to act as your stand in to accept the award on your behalf. Your choices are: Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lawrence, Tom Cruise, Melissa McCarthy , Tom Hanks, or Susan Sarandon.

So who would you choose to represent you on Oscar night?

In a classroom setting the overwhelming majority of my students choose either Tom Hanks or Jennifer Lawrence. Why? They are well respected, like-able, and credible actors. They won’t embarrass you, make a fool of themselves, or run off with your statue.  In other words they represent you well. Our clients go through a similar process. This is sometimes known as the ego driven decision.

This ego...