Who are "they"?
Why don’t "they" get it?
What’s not to get?
I’m wondering, why "they" have access to your brake pedal?
They
If "they" have not gotten it by now, "they" are not going to get it tomorrow. If your future is, in any way, tied to their past, let go. Each day, "they" don’t get it, your life spark dims.
Move on.
Find people who get it.
They’re looking for you
If you run the place and "they" are employed by you, replace them with those who get it. Or better yet, those who’ve done it.
Them
Jack Trout spoke at the Gathering of Eagles earlier this month. He offered his unbiased perception of real estate to brokers that included a very unclear sense of the differences between brands.
Jack does not get the fact that for eons, the customer was the agent. The differentiators Jack does not see were folded neatly into brochures, postcards and offered prior to a handshake.
What Jack does not get is how these differentiators were individualized based on the agent. Agent A might get a better deal than agent B which was different than agent W. When you have 1000 agents, each with different deals, there’s no way a brand can publicly disseminate their differentiator.
Jack gets that.
You
Differentiate or Die.
It’s so simple.
And yet some still don’t get it.
What’s not to get? Technology? Change? Protocol? Cohesive branding initiatives? Creating a mist of difference that is identifiably you?
Papa John’s Pizza. They entered the pizza industry wading in serious competition. They could have chosen to compete on pricing and mired themselves in the muck of Little Caesar’s. They could have branded around fast delivery and ended up being perceived as a Dominos clone. They could have gone after variety and ran out of gas chasing after Pizza Hut’s customers.
Instead they built their brand around ingredients.
And the quality of what "you" place inside your body.
"You" care about that.
You birthed that brand.
We
"They" who sit in your boardroom, need to differentiate because "we", don’t know who "you" really are, what "you" stand for or why "we" should align ourselves with "you".
"We" gravitate toward things that look different. Things that sound different. That smell different. Things with personality. Things that stand for something. An ideal. A vibe.
A hotel chain recently built their brand around a mattress? W Hotels now grace the landscape. You might think the W stands for Wonderland. I say it stands for "We". The customer. Those who now go out of their way to have that W sleep experience.
"We" have not really witnessed what could happen if a new real estate brand emerged with something truly different. Sure we’ve seen models that offer lower commissions or assisted services but these are not the differentiators "we" care about. Differentiators need to be important. Transcendental. And fill a resounding void in the marketplace.
"They" tend to argue with these concepts.
"They" think they know better.
"They" sit not far from your office.
As a result, "you" are busy explaining why "your" hands are tied. Why this year won’t be better than the last. Why "you" can’t exercise change. Why today all "your" troubles seem like they’re here to stay.
"They" believe yesterday. And "you" are careening toward tomorrow.
- Davison
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A mist of difference
Freaking...
Thanks for this post. I can see where many will struggle for the elusive differentiator though. I think Chrysler is doing exactly what you are pointing to:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/autos/chrysler_subsidy.ap/index.htm?section=money_latest
Who knows how green their products are or if this deal is truly a savings but, at least they are listening & responding to people's concerns.
I'd love to see examples from agents or brokers that exemplify this concept if you have them. I'm always looking for ways to inspire our agent clients to add "differentiators" to their sites. Thanks.
spoke too soon–i just read… Like a Trojan. It gives a great example for differentiation for the good..
http://www.1000wattblog.com/2008/05/like-trojan-its.html
excellent.
Good comment Stacey,
As it appears, most real estate companies are not creating specific differentiators. While some believe they are, most of those ideas are both conceived and hatched internally and therefore do not resonate publicly as true differentiators.
A few new entries such as:
Sawbuck Realty
Redfin
Bug Realty
Blueroof
Chasenation
EWM
exemplify that.
For the casual onlooker, these brands appear to be different and deserve respect for doing what they can to move beyond the clone.
There have been great attempts in the past that have failed such as Soma Living in San Francisco. While their demise left no one in traditional real estate in mourning, they really did present a new and different idea.
As to your point about Chrysler and their Green agenda, this is a great example of brand taking possession of something important that consumer relate to and assimilating into their brand premise.
I have to think that there are issues like this that real estate people can take ownership of and brand behind.
A simple, quick idea would be a firm like Expert Realty in Florida trading all their gas guzzling SUVs in for a Fleet of Smart Cars and taking ownership of a Green movement.
As for examples of Realtors, well, we can all point to the many examples of truly fine blog sites out there that are proving both the brands they represent and the agents who are speaking through them a chance to be seen and viewed as different.
Yes. maybe the key differential is simply the human being walking and talking their passion. maybe it's simple but discounted. don't we all tend to discount ourselves [i do and sometimes it cripples me]. maybe the process is fundamentally a very personal and dare i say- spiritual one. sounds a little nuts in the context of a post about real estate, but i've come to feel that it's the same process whether I'm raking leaves or working in customer service. what is it about the work that I can get behind-what drives me-what makes me excited about it-what do i care about-where is my heart and then how can i enACT THAT? believe me, i do not LOVE customer service. sometimes it eats me alive and i don't LOVE everything about the corporate work environment but what it puts me up against personally every day and how I've had to grow is invaluable to the service i end up giving.[and therefore i can live with myself without feeling i'm wasting my life when i'd rather be singing endless arias under the full moon!]
some will do this in a big important way that rakes in money, and some will just rake the leaves really well.
my yard is beautiful.
not that i COULD actually sing an aria.
"I'm wondering, why "they" have access to your brake pedal?"
This is the eternal question… why someone who has no authority, no reason, nothing… has the ability to tell you that your ideas are wrong, your personality unfitting, that you don't "fit" the system.
Someone told me something simple once to help figure out my life. "Control what you can control, and leave the rest alone." It's simple to say and alot harder to implement.
It reminds me of the movie SLC Punk where Steve-O, at the end of the movie, comes to the conclusion that, "I could do a hell of a lot more damage in the system than outside of it." That simple line, and this fantastic movie, help me remember that even cow-tipping, tree-farming, bartenders from Central Illinois can make a difference in the bigger picture.
For myself, as a "Punk" in this industy, I have to remember this. That… and the fact that now, at this very time, the "Punks" are the cool kids and the one's the industry is looking to save it.
Matt Dollinger