What is a brand? with Rory Vaden

Keller Williams annual convention, Family Reunion, was such a whirlwind of events and programming. I can still hear those digital dials ringing from the slot machines in my ears, and my feet still hurt! I loved the Gary Keller moments, the power and energy of Tony Robbins, the simplicity of Mel Robbins, and the accent of Phil Jones. The one speaker that I got the most out of though was Rory Vaden, mainly because I identified with and was convicted by so much of what he was sharing with us. Instead of sharing my notes from all of the amazing speakers, I thought I'd go deep on my notes from Rory:

What is a brand?

What do people think about when they think of you? 

The digitization of your reputation is your personal branding.

Did you know that 3/4 of people in America are more willing to trust a person with an established personal brand?

The higher the requirement of trust, the more important it is to have a personal brand.

Personal branding is not about you. It’s about the people you serve. A great personal brand is service centered.

What do you want to be known for? 

Find your uniqueness and exploit it in the service of others.

Become well known for one thing. When you have diluted focus, you’ll get diluted results.

You are most powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were. This is how you find uniqueness. The calling on your heart is the result of a signal being sent out by someone who needs you.

People buy solutions to problems. You must be clear on what problem you’re solving ( ex. MLK - inequality, Mother Teresa - poverty, Dave Ramsey - debt).

Become an ambassador of the problem.

We either educate, encourage or entertain. Teach everything you know in bite size chunks in miscellaneous order. People don’t pay for information. They pay for organization and application.

When you are selling there are wins and losses.When you are serving there are only wins.

Don't know how to create content that will help people? That's ok. Here are some ideas to get you started towards building your unique personal brand:

Use the formula: Question, Answer, Call to Action.

Look at the questions you’ve answered in the past in your inbox or social media. Use stories as much as you can. By the way, every photo in your phone is a story.

What challenge have you conquered?

What set back have you survived?

What obstacle have you overcome?

The more specific, the more terrific

Who can I serve in the deepest way? Start with WHO not WHY. What problem are you solving for who? This reminds me of something that our MAPS Coach Abe Shreve used to say to us: "that which is most personal is most universal."

And finally, there is no fear when the mission to serve is clear. Fear disappears when you help someone. If you feel fear you are being self serving. You are worried about you and not the people you are serving. It’s ok to be scared. Do it scared. Fear gets to come for the ride, but doesn’t get to drive.

We know 3/4 of Americans are more likely to trust someone with a personal brand and 52% of Americans want a real estate agent that has a personal brand. To our clients, thank you for supporting our brand since 2005. We'd love to support yours.

-Andy Peters