Brands are powerful. Here’s an example.

Your kid scrapes their knee. Do you tell them you’ll be right back with the adhesive bandage?

Of course not! You tell them to sit tight until you’re back with a BAND-AID®.

Let’s try another one. Your allergies are acting up, and you can’t stop sneezing. You’re not running to the store to pick up “paper facial tissue.”  You’re probably writing Kleenex® at the top of the shopping list.

These examples are very strong cases for the power that branding carries in a business. BAND-AID® and Kleenex® became so recognizable that even though other companies make the exact same things, we call those products by the names of the most popular brands.

How would you like to help your clients become a household name in their industry? At Buffini & Company, we coach real estate agents on how to build a personal brand so powerful, that they are the first people their clients think about whenever someone mentions buying or selling a home.

Our coaches help agents achieve this goal by completing an exercise that requires three simple steps.

Discover

Before anyone can start advertising their brand, they need to have a clear understanding of what that brand is. This is key for maintaining a consistent brand image down the line! After all, you don’t see BAND-AID® selling the product as tape, do you?

That’s why the first step to building a personal brand is to discover what drives you. Get introspective and identify how you show up in the world. Ask yourself what you want to be known for, why you do what you do, and how you want to make people feel.

The answers will reveal what makes you unique in the marketplace, and it will be an image you carry with you throughout your career.

Develop

Once you have written down a few words or phrases about your professional identity, it’s time to build a brand description. Highlight the words that differentiate you from others in the field.

It’s best to utilize emotional descriptors along with tangible skill-based attributes. For example, in real estate, an agent may list themselves as a “reliable, resourceful and powerful negotiator” or as an agent who’s “attentive, accurate and by your side.”

By the end of this exercise, you should have one or two key phrases that embody who you are as a professional in your industry.

Deliver

The final step is to make sure your personal brand shows up in all of your marketing materials. Every email, social media post, or blog should reflect the brand description in some way. The more that potential and current customers see those attributes reflected in your marketing, the more they will associate those traits with you as a professional.

It’s also important to remember that actions speak louder than words. For example, if a real estate agent tells people they are a great negotiator committed to exceptional customer service, but they don’t follow through, they are ultimately damaging their brand, business, and credibility.

In order to truly become a household name, business professionals must consistently deliver on their brand promises to bring them to life.

No matter which field you’re in, in order to stay one step of the competition, you need a powerful brand. When a coach can help clients become a household name, they are setting them up for long-term success.

If a professional is able to become the BAND-AID® of their industry, they will unlock doors that they never would’ve dreamed possible.

It starts with a strategic personal brand story and sticks around when the professional can bring the story to life with their actions.