An important read for all real estate agents.
This is an excerpt from one of our trainings recently on the rise of brands in our industry and how we need to embrace and change now to continue staying relevant and competitive for the next 10-15 years.
Dear fellow elites,
the next 3 years are crucial years for you to build a brand of your own that will help you overcome the constant grind of prospecting & inject longevity into your business.
What I have observed is the rise of Brands in the real estate industry.
Some, growing even bigger than the names of their agencies in a short span of 2 years.
"What is happening cannot be prevented."
Anyone today has access to the means of creating their own broadcast channel with unlimited reach to eyeballs globally.
Gone are the days where we rely on the branding of agencies to help consumers familiarise with us and build trust.
It is crucial today that you and I begin building our own brands that will provide us with an automatic lead generation funnel and give us a strategic moat in the long term.
To be honest, it will not be easy.
Many of us have the ability to sell & have real estate domain knowledge. Not many though have the required skill sets to build brands and businesses.
The leaders of NAVIS know this and we will be taking active steps to empower you each step of the way.
The faster ones among you will have to lead the way for the rest and inspire them with your successes to be modelled after.
Now you may be asking how does a brand help me?
- Isn’t OrangeTee and NAVIS already brands that I can rely on?
- Why should I take steps to do this now?
Here's why:
1. If you’ve been in this industry for awhile now, think back on some of the famous and successful agents you know when you first started out.
Are they still around? Chances are many are not; or are no longer already known or doing well.
Those who are still doing well today, typically have 1 trait apart from being hardworking.
And that is - A Strong Brand.
2. Our industry is fast-paced and rapidly changing. Someday 10 years from now, you will be competing with the “you” of today.
Let me ask you, will you have more energy than the future you?
Chances are no as age and family priorities come up.
Will you and can you still be actively prospecting as you do today?
You know the answer.
3. Will you continue to enjoy referrals that will help you do CONSISTENTLY well in your later years?
What if that doesn’t happen? Referrals are not always within our control.
Will you be “out of job” in your golden years?
Hopefully by that time, you will have lots of investments that generate you sufficient
income to thrive.
If not, that will be a great tragedy as your income will begin to decline when you start to need funds for retirement, kids education, holidays, dowry, medical bills and such.
4. Will you be technologically as savvy as the “you” of 10 years time?
The answer once again is, no. It is likely that social media platforms would have changed drastically by then and we won’t be as savvy as we are today.
So how do you plan to compete by then as your cheese is slowly but steadily being moved.
The solution is simple.
START BUILDING YOUR BRAND
Brands are the reason why we pay more for things without arguing on the price or questioning the value we get.
Think about this:
We happily pay $6 for a Starbucks compared to $1.20 at a Coffeeshop. Why? We trust the quality.
We pay more for a car when it carries a continental badge. Why? We are willing to pay more for status!
We pay more when we speak to a renown medical specialist. Why? We trust their expertise.
All these are the result of PURPOSEFUL BRANDING built over time.
Brands help you NOT become a commodity and start becoming an Authority in your space and commanding your price.
We all have a branding; by design or by default.
If you do not give others something to think about who you are; they will make up their own meaning of who you are.
If the Chua family didn’t build a brand out of Paradise Group, they would still be competing with hundreds of other Zichar stores till today.
They wouldn’t have been able to get out of repetitive never-ending doing (Like us).
Similarly, if James Dyson didn’t build a strong brand, he would have been ripped to pieces now by more advanced Chinese tech companies building the same stuff!
Unless you have a better long term plan, it is CRITICAL that you start somewhere on building your personal brand or niche GTA brand first.
There’s no such thing as a perfect idea. Just get started and pivot along the way.
Momentum creates more ideas and opportunities and it will be easier to change lanes when you’re moving than when stationary.
Action Point:
Start engaging your District Directors and team leaders in conversations about what you can do next for your brand. Which angles are authentic for you & makes sense for your direction.
Some great examples of our teammates who are building up awesome brands for their future are Selling Singapore (Find them all over on YouTube/IG/FB), www.YouHome,sg, www.DarrenOng.sg, www.PrivatePropertySingapore.com, www.HollandProperty.com.sg, www.MrBukitTimah.sg and www.PropertyInvestorInsights.com.
Go and check them out for inspiration.
They have created Digital Assets ranging from Listing Videos, Fun Videos, GTA/Recruitment based articles with search engine optimised websites to knowledge based articles that talk about important and trending property investment topics of the day.
USE MONEY TO BUY TIME & ACCELERATE SUCCESS
Yes, these digital assets cost money. However, remember it's a one-time investment cost which in the years to come, will continue to be shared, viewed and generate leads for you.
In fact, many of us are already generating countless listings & leads and continue to do so even when we are sleeping!
Yes, passive automated lead generation funnels they have become!
There are over thousands of views and reach every month which humanely isn't possible to replicate through our sheer physical presence alone. That's why we call digital assets a force multiplier.
IT IS CRITICAL TO INVEST IN DIGITAL ASSETS THAT REACH OUT FOR YOU 24/7
This allows you to BUY TIME, leverage and reach more people at any given moment.
Imagine in the years to come, when you have to slow down, your brands and digital assets will continue to work for you to generate leads through the branding and reputation you would have achieved by then.
Isn’t that beautiful?
If at that point, you decide to take a backseat, you still have the option to assign your leads out and continue owning the platform and having an income!
At the end of the day, these efforts today will reap a long term harvest and attract consistent business for us.
It is like a moat against our future selves who will then find it much harder to supplant us.
Call it #FutureProofingOurselves.
I hope this call to action reaches you and you can visualise into the future and safeguard yourself.
#LeadersofNAVIS are working on some cutting edge media solutions to pool together group resources and spearhead the way into this area so all of you can get to grow together and enjoy greater benefits of synergy, commitment & inspiration.
I hope you come on this ride with us and build something of your own using our #BrandsOfNAVIS Universe that your future self will thank you for. Lots more platforms are in the pipeline to ensure that you will thrive in the coming dawn.
Catch you all soon,
Stuart Chng
Looking for great real estate career mentorship to shorten your learning curve?
Get a 1-time free 30 min career consultation with Stuart and his team leaders. Schedule one right now.
Or drop me a WhatsApp if you would like to start your career with our team or attend our next Career Seminar!
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Stuart Chng, Executive Group District Director of Huttons Group, is a renowned leader and personality in the real estate industry.
He adores music and can play a few instruments decently without upsetting his neighbours. When not doing so, he enjoys pillow fighting with his son and coming up with silly puns which barely amuses his wife.
Professionally, he is a licensed real estate agent, an avid stocks, options and real estate investor, multiple businesses owner, team leader, speaker and columnist for several property newsletters and blogs and is often quoted in media interviews on 938FM, Channel 8, PropertyReport, PropertyGuru and other publications.
Throughout his career, he has helped many clients grow their wealth through selecting great property investments and managing their portfolios actively. Read his clients' reviews here.
Stuart has also coached many top million dollar producing agents from top real estate agencies in Singapore. Read his agents' reviews here.
Relevant Readings:
- Find out more about the Huttons and NAVIS platforms and opportunities in our projects, training and technology tabs.
- Find out more about a Property Agent's Career Path with Huttons.