Personal Branding: Attract More Clients by Defining Your Brand Position

Brand positioning is one of the most important marketing principles and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. Yet, to sharply differentiate yourself from your competition, as a luxury real estate marking professional, your brand position, what you stand for in the minds of your target market, must be made crystal clear.

When you get your brand positioning spot on, it is like comparing apples and oranges. There simply is no comparison. It lets your ideal clients immediately recognize that you are a match. and your competition is not. It accelerates the speed of trust. Portraying yourself as part apple and part orange, in an attempt to be all things to all people, is confusing. It weakens your brand signal and your power of attraction.

When you think of Rachael Ray the author, cooking show and talk show host, what comes to your mind besides the words she coined, “Yummo and Delish”? Rachael stands for wholesomeness; she is the archetypical “girl next door”. As a result, Rachael is one of the most trusted personal brands in the United States.

People like to do business with people like themselves, people who share the same values. If you are attracted to Rachael’s down-to-earth wholesome values you are more likely to trust her advice. Rachael has mass appeal because there are so many people who can identify with what she stands for.

Now, if Rachael Ray attempted to pull off a cooking show focused entirely on fine Italian cuisine that features traditional family recipes, she simply would not be authentic. But, Giada De Laurentiis owns this market segment. Giada’s brand position is sophisticated/sexy. She began her professional training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, specializing in both cuisine and pastry. Her training also included positions at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Fine Dining Room and Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills.

Wholesomeness/girl-next-door and sophisticated/sexy are very distinct brand positions. Both are unmistakable. Each has appeal. Within moments of watching either of these famous chef’s cooking shows you can grasp how they are different and what each of them stands for.

What does your brand stand for? You must take a position and make it clear if you want to attract an abundance of ideal clients, those who share your personal values. The purpose of personal branding is to articulate your brand position with laser sharp clarity; making what is genuine and implicit about you, explicit so you stand out from your competition, instantly.