Can yous imagine making $1 meg in sales?

How about $5 1000000?

When Dakota Riley began her career as a realtor in 2008, these sales goals seemed unattainable.

The housing market had taken a major hitting, subprime loans turned out to exist made of Monopoly coin, and the thought of finding pre-approved home buyers was likened to spotting Bigfoot or swimming with the Loch Ness Monster.

Needless to say, the professional person outlook was bleak at best for Dakota, and her monthly commission checks reflected information technology.

Beingness a determined, dedicated, and driven individual, Dakota refused to allow the recession affect her business or bank account.

She knew that word-of-oral fissure marketing was primal to her success in real estate, and she was certain to introduce herself and her services to anyone and everyone she met.

Equally a consummate salesperson, Dakota presently saw an increment in business (both interested home buyers and sellers wanting to listing their houses with her.)

Over the next few years, she would broker enough sales to make a pretty good living, but "pretty skilful" wasn't practiced plenty for Dakota. She knew she could do more!

Dakota Riley real estate

Information technology's equally though the stars aligned at that point in time. Right as Dakota was realizing that she needed to catalyze her growth in the existent estate game, nosotros had a fateful coming together in our condo complex.

While we barbecued with family and friends, Dakota and I discussed her business goals, her obstacles, and what she was doing to overcome them. We pulled out our phones and explored her online marketing strategy, identifying substantial opportunities for improvement.

Subsequently a great afternoon of burgers and brainstorming, nosotros decided to work together to develop a brand for Dakota.

In this post, we'll tell the story of the nascence of Dakota's make.

What is a brand?

Co-ordinate to the American Marketing Association, a brand is divers every bit:

"A proper name, term, design, symbol, or any other characteristic that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify i particular, a family of items, or all items of that seller. If used for the firm as a whole, the preferred term is merchandise name."

Marketing Expert, Jay Baer, explains branding as:

"The fine art of aligning what yous want people to think nigh your company with what people actually exercise think well-nigh your company. And vice-versa."

To put information technology plainly — a make is the telling of a business concern owner's unique story. The key to the story is to present an accurate and unique "identity" with which people Want to practice business concern. Your brand's story is supported past your make'due south strategy, which in plough is made up of elements or campaigns such as logos, taglines, websites, email newsletters, social media, and more than.

In the modern world, almost everything is branded. Even the "generic" groceries you purchase at your local marketplace have a brand.

So if "Fruity-Flavored Rice Puff Circles" can have a brand and some sort of smiling tropical bird mascot, why can't a realtor?

Before we congenital Dakota'southward brand

At BJC Branding, before we have on a branding project, we start take a 365-degree, thirty,000 human foot view of our client's business. We need to see the business from every possible aspect:

  • What products or services does the business organization offering?
  • What is the value or cost of the products/services?
  • Where is the concern located?
  • Who is the business organisation targeting: other businesses, end-user consumers, both?
  • What other competitors exist in the area? How saturated is the local market?

Let'southward briefly break down Dakota'southward business organization at a high level:

  • Services: Dakota sells homes on behalf of her clients and helps buyers find homes
  • Value: Dakota sells backdrop valued over $200,000 and shows homes to buyers valued between $150,000 and $1,000,000
  • Location: Dakota focuses on the Greater Boston existent estate market with a strong foothold in Braintree, Weymouth, and Quincy, MA
  • Target Market place: Dakota primarily targets renters, homeowners, and those relocating to the Greater Boston area
    • Her secondary target market focuses on referral sources such equally mortgage brokers, insurance agents, and even divorce attorneys
  • Competition: Dakota is up against fierce competition in Greater Boston. The expanse is saturated with thousands of qualified, licensed realtors.

These were the primal details in developing Dakota'southward real estate email marketing programme. From this do, we adamant that Dakota had to earn the trust of her prospects and clients. After all, she was making huge deals with their small fortunes. Moreover, she had to stand out from the throngs of competing realtors in the Greater Boston area.

Our work was definitely cut out for us…

The birth of the "Depend On Dakota" brand

Nosotros decided that what Dakota needed most was to build trust with her clients.

Her audience had to believe they could rely on her with their investments. They needed to empathise that she was on the straight and narrow and would only show them the best homes in the area.

They had to realize that they could Depend on Dakota!

Nosotros'd finally adamant the brand name. Dakota's story was in the brand proper noun, and the brand proper noun was Dakota's story:

"Need a realtor? Depend on Dakota!"

"Selling your home in Quincy? Depend on Dakota!"

"Looking for an area expert? Depend on Dakota!"

Dakota Riley updated website

So how did nosotros build a multi-1000000 dollar brand?

Three piddling words changed the trajectory of Dakota'southward career forever.

Looking to boost your real estate business? Visit our Real Manor Marketing Ideas page for more email marketing tips and ideas on what to send.

Near the writer:Bryan Caplan of BJC Branding is a Master Certified Authorized Local Practiced for Constant Contact. BJC Branding, based out of the Greater Boston area, provides educational workshops and marketing consulting services to a wide range of businesses. Learn more than.