Being a successful real estate agent demands a clear and authentic personal brand. Christine George, CEO and Founder of Post & Beam Creative, didn’t set out to help agents sell more homes. Instead, she focuses on helping them uncover their unique identities and stand out in a crowded market.
Christine has spent over 15 years in the real estate industry, refining strategies that empower agents to market themselves with confidence. In this episode, she shares her journey and her "three A's" framework: Awaken, Activate, and Amplify. Through this process, agents can define their niche, craft intentional marketing strategies, and make authentic connections with their ideal clients.
"When you are true to who you are, your clients feel it," Christine explains. "They feel it. So focus on what you do and what you do well and continue to challenge yourself along the way, but forget about what everybody else is doing because they're not watching you and whatever they're doing."
Tune in today to the Be A Marketer podcast with hosts Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, and Stephanie Alfonso, Senior Director of Vertical Innovation at Constant Contact, to discover how to craft your unique brand, attract your dream clients, and make meaningful connections that fuel your success.
Meet Today’s Guest: Christine George of Post & Beam Creative
🤔 What she does: Christine George is the CEO and Founder of Post & Beam Creative, a branding and marketing services firm specializing in real estate. She helps agents and brokers uncover their unique value and bring it to life through personalized branding and marketing strategies.
💡 Key quote: “When you are true to who you are, your clients feel it. They feel it. So focus on what you do and what you do well and continue to challenge yourself along the way, but forget about what everybody else is doing because they're not watching you and whatever they're doing. If you try to do it, it's not going to come off the same way. It's just going to come off as disingenuous. So just be who you are.”
If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.
Chapters
Being a successful real estate agent demands a clear and authentic personal brand. Christine George, CEO and Founder of Post & Beam Creative, didn’t set out to help agents sell more homes. Instead, she focuses on helping them uncover their unique identities and stand out in a crowded market.
Christine has spent over 15 years in the real estate industry, refining strategies that empower agents to market themselves with confidence. In this episode, she shares her journey and her "three A's" framework: Awaken, Activate, and Amplify. Through this process, agents can define their niche, craft intentional marketing strategies, and make authentic connections with their ideal clients.
"When you are true to who you are, your clients feel it," Christine explains. "They feel it. So focus on what you do and what you do well and continue to challenge yourself along the way, but forget about what everybody else is doing because they're not watching you and whatever they're doing."
Tune in today to the Be A Marketer podcast with hosts Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, and Stephanie Alfonso, Senior Director of Vertical Innovation at Constant Contact, to discover how to craft your unique brand, attract your dream clients, and make meaningful connections that fuel your success.
Meet Today’s Guest: Christine George of Post & Beam Creative
🤔 What she does: Christine George is the CEO and Founder of Post & Beam Creative, a branding and marketing services firm specializing in real estate. She helps agents and brokers uncover their unique value and bring it to life through personalized branding and marketing strategies.
💡 Key quote: “When you are true to who you are, your clients feel it. They feel it. So focus on what you do and what you do well and continue to challenge yourself along the way, but forget about what everybody else is doing because they're not watching you and whatever they're doing. If you try to do it, it's not going to come off the same way. It's just going to come off as disingenuous. So just be who you are.”
If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.
What is Be a Marketer with Dave Charest?
As a small business owner, you need to be a lot of things to make your business go—but you don't have to be a marketer alone. Join host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, and Kelsi Carter, Brand Production Coordinator, as they explore what it really takes to market your business. Even if marketing's not your thing! You'll hear from small business leaders just like you along with industry experts as they share their stories, challenges, and best advice to get real results. This is the Be a Marketer podcast! New episodes every Thursday!
Dave Charest:
On today's episode, you'll hear from a branding mastermind on how to set yourself apart in the real estate industry. This is the Be a Marketer podcast, real estate edition.
Dave Charest:
My name is Dave, director of small business success at Constant Contact, and I help small business owners like you make sense of online marketing. And on this podcast, we'll explore what it really takes to market your business even if marketing's not your thing. No jargon, no hype, just real stories to inspire you and practical advice you can act on. So remember, friend, you can be a marketer. And at Constant Contact, we're here to help.
Dave Charest:
Well, hello, friend, and thanks for joining us for another episode of the Be A Marketer podcast. This is the second in our series of episodes dedicated to the real estate industry. So that means I have not only one amazing person, but two amazing people with me here today, and And that means the one and only Kelsey Carter. Hello, Kelsey.
Kelsi Carter:
Hi, Dave.
Dave Charest:
And the one and only Stephanie Alfonso. Hello, Steph.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Hey, everyone.
Dave Charest:
Once again, so excited to be with you both here today. Steph, you've been doing a great job, of course, lining up these amazing guests for us. Kelsey, why don't you tell us a little bit about who our guest is today?
Kelsi Carter:
Yeah. So today, we have Christine George with us. She is the CEO and founder of Post and Beam Creative, which is a branding and marketing services firm specifically for real estate. So 80% of their clients are actually real estate agents and the other 20% range from broker owners to lenders, real estate coaches, the list goes on. Stephanie, can you actually tell us a little bit more about Christine?
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah. So Christine's mission is truly to help every individual real estate professional find their unique identity and make it come to life in their marketing so that they stand out. And honestly, Christine is a branding mastermind. I love her perspective on intentionality, how to set yourself apart in the real estate industry, and break the status quo.
Dave Charest:
Yeah. Lots of really good things in this episode. Christine talks about how to articulate what you bring to the table as an agent, why daily practice is key to business development, and why you are your most important asset. Let's go to Christine as she talks about intention and identifying your dream customer.
Christine George:
Intention really means, number one, you know, really understanding who your dream customer is
Stephanie Alfonso:
Mhmm.
Christine George:
And not trying to be all things to all people. I have this great slide that I use when I'm presenting, and it's this man if you guys can imagine, it's this man at work at his desk, and everything around him are all his paperwork, his phones, his, like, all these files, and they're up to his neck, and he's screaming. Right? And it's like, yes, that's exactly the feeling you would get if you're trying to be all things to all people because you're frustrated because nothing is happening. And so when you're doing social media, email marketing, speaking, webinars, education, whatever it is that floats your boat, you've got to be focused on that dream customer.
Christine George:
And what I say to agents who come to me and say, well, I don't want to miss out on any opportunities. Like, if I focus on one client, then I'm going to miss all of these other clients. And that is not the case. It doesn't mean that you're gonna turn away business. Like, let's say that you are focused on listings in the luxury market and you get a first time home buyer who wants your service, wants to hire you, it doesn't mean you're going to say no to that first time homebuyer.
Christine George:
It just means that all of your focus is going to be targeted at getting those luxury listings. You're able to scale your business that way, you're able to stay focused, you're able to become known for something, and you're able to attract the clients that you wanna work with. And then you have the choice to take the business that comes sort of off the side. It doesn't mean that you have to say no to opportunities. It just means that you're saying yes to going the direction that you want your business to grow.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Love And I think that what's also important about having that, like, specific intention about who you're targeting, who your audience is. It's also important to understand too that before you can even understand who your audience is, you need to understand who you are. Right? Your brand story, what value you're bringing and establish that. And one of the things that I love that you have put out there that you focus on are the three A's.
Christine George:
Yeah. It's funny because I'm working with a client right now who is an incredibly successful real estate professional, and she really doesn't have a handle on who her client is, Or she knows what she brings to the table, but she doesn't really know how to articulate that. And so that's what that's really what I help my clients do. And the three A's is the framework that I use to do that. So Awaken is all about, like if you're thinking about building a house, right, it's like laying the foundation.
Christine George:
So it's it's really uncovering who you are, and we do that through a digital brand assessment. We look at your digital footprint. I love to really dig into the key stakeholders that are a part of your business as an agent, really understand what makes you different. We go really deep in sort of that discovery piece. We look at your competitors and do a lot of research on your competitor activity in your market.
Christine George:
And then from there, we go on to the activate piece, which is really sort of building the house. So, okay, so now we know really what those unique components are. How do we articulate that both visually and through words? And so we do a visual analysis, and then we also take a look at, okay, what are the words that you use in your language every day? You know, how do you come across with your body language?
Christine George:
What language do you use in your emails, in your social media? How do you come across? What's the tone? What is the emotion you want to evoke in people who watch a video with you? So we work on all of that.
Christine George:
And then Amplify is really, okay. What does it look like when you actually put it out there in the market? And that's really essentially your marketing twelve month marketing strategy. So I love that framework. I mean, it just fits really well, and it's digestible for somebody to be able to really package it and then get it out there.
Dave Charest:
So I've got a follow-up question there, actually. So I'm interested, like, you know, from your point of view, when you think of just marketing strategy in general for, like, whatever, a mom and pop shop, whatever the case may be, what's the big difference you see between a traditional marketing strategy versus real estate specific? Is there or what does that look like?
Christine George:
Yes. And it's a great question, Dave. So when I look at your Amplify, right, or your marketing strategy, I look at it we're in the relationship business in real estate.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Mhmm.
Christine George:
And that's different from a big tech company or a big consumer goods company. We're in the one to one relationship business. And so I look at building your marketing strategy in three different buckets. The first is the relationship nurturing bucket. And, essentially, that is all of the relationships that are in your database.
Christine George:
It's your past clients. It is your friends. It's your family. It's the people that you do business with. All of these people that are in your database, how are you nurturing those relationships and continuing to stay top of mind?
Christine George:
Because, essentially, your relationship nurturing bucket is your low hanging fruit. What do we need to do to maintain top of mind and good solid know like trust with those people that are already in your database? The second bucket is your relationship building, and that's essentially your prospecting. So you're always needing to be prospecting. I don't care how successful you are.
Christine George:
You ultimately wanna get to being a % referral based, absolutely, but you can't not prospect. And that's essentially how do you go out there and build relationships through trade groups, through BNIs, through local community groups, local government, your kids' soccer games, your PTO. Whatever it is that's in your life, take advantage of the groups that you're already connected with to build those relationships to prospect your business. And then the third bucket is your marketing bucket. That's sort of your traditional owned, earned, and paid media.
Christine George:
You know, owned is, as you know, anything that you create on your own, your social media, your blogging, your podcasting, your email marketing. Anything that is of original content, your earned is anything that you get rewarded for and get noticed. It's the testimonials that you get from your clients. It's the ratings and reviews. It's the awards and the recognition that you might get.
Christine George:
And then, obviously, paid is any paid ads, your Facebook ads, your social media ads, your Google ads, or, god forbid, if you're you know, some agents are actually out there doing out of home these days. You know? So whatever it might be. So those are sort of the three buckets, relationship nurturing, relationship building, and then marketing.
Stephanie Alfonso:
So quick question as far as, again, kind of going back to finding your voice, having that align with your marketing strategy, how important is it in your opinion for agents to really focus their brand around their niche market? You know, if I were, like you said before, a luxury agent, again, open to all business, maybe I'm a listing agent. Of course, I'll still take buyers. Right? Or maybe I specialize in 55 and up communities or, you know, I specialize in working with first time home buyers.
Stephanie Alfonso:
So how important is that? How much do you encourage agents to really drill down into that and own it?
Christine George:
Yeah.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Let me hear your perspective.
Christine George:
Yeah. I think it's really important. I also think it's very organic.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Mhmm.
Christine George:
So when I meet with a client and we go through this whole process, I rarely find somebody who says, okay. I am just gonna completely pivot, and I'm gonna start focusing on the commercial side of the business. Like, that rarely happens. What we end up finding is, oh, hey. I'm an agent who over the last 10 transactions I've had, the most joy I've gotten is working with couples, baby boomers who are downsizing, and they need to get out of this house that they've been in for forty years.
Christine George:
And so it's more of it. And why is that? It's because of who your brand is. It's because I'm the type of person who I just have this connection with people who are older than me. I wanna help them.
Christine George:
I think of my own mom and dad. Like, I'm just giving you an example here. Right? So it's an organic realization that, wow, these are the people that I love to work with because it aligns with my brand. It aligns with who I am already.
Christine George:
And so that's usually a big that's like, wow. I've been doing this, and I never really thought about it before. And so now they realize, wow. This is who I love to work with. This is why I love to work with them.
Christine George:
And usually, the why is like it allows you to really understand what it is that makes you different. So I've got a client who is basically that person. She loves working with downsizers. And the reason is the thing that makes her different is that she really gets and understands what they're going through emotionally when they downsize their house. Mhmm.
Christine George:
And so she sees this transaction not just as a transaction. She really sees it as this is someone's life. They've got all this stuff in their house, and it's really that stuff is memories.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Mhmm.
Christine George:
And so how do I take that and help them make the transition, you know, having peace of mind. Whereas another agent would say, oh, it's just, you know, I gotta get rid of all their crap. It's just a pain in the butt, you know, just to make this deal.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah.
Christine George:
Do you know what I mean? So under that's kind of the long answer to your question. I think it's a really organic thing that you come to realize that the people you wanna serve are aligned with who you are.
Dave Charest:
So, Christine, I I've actually gotta follow-up to that then. So I love this, right, because I think it allows you to be more specific and speak to things. So from your point of view then and even the example that you just gave, like, then how does that show up then in your marketing materials? How does that show up in your brand materials? Like, how do you bring that to life?
Christine George:
Yeah. So if you think of those three buckets, right, the nurturing, building, and then marketing, and and I'll take my client, Martha, for an example. Everything she does so, like, from a relationship nurturing perspective, she's going to do activities that serve that client. So for example, one of the things that she does is she has a quarterly seller seminar right in her office. She doesn't make it huge.
Christine George:
She has probably four or five people that she gets to come, and she talks all about she addresses all their concerns about downsizing. She specifically targets people in that age group when she invites them. She uses social media and direct mail to invite them, And so she's continually educating them in her voice with her experience. And then what she also does is she's got some amazing lead magnets. So she wants to lead generate on her website.
Christine George:
Her lead magnets are focused on, okay, how to take this house full of memories and start to declutter. It's very different conversation than telling a couple with three kids how to declutter so that they can upsize.
Dave Charest:
Right.
Christine George:
So that resource is very different, very specific, and very focused on that ideal customer. Does that make sense?
Dave Charest:
Absolute sense. Yes.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Okay.
Dave Charest:
Yeah. Yeah.
Stephanie Alfonso:
So I wanna get into a subject. It's what I've been dying to talk about because no. I love it. And, it's something that we can joke and we can laugh about, but it is so important. Again, we're talking about personal branding.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yes. We wanna make sure that we are passionate about who we're targeting and core audiences and the type of communications that we have. But we all know that a big issue in the industry when we talk about branding, new agent, seasoned agent, doesn't matter when we're getting our creatives together, when we're putting together our logo and doing all of this stuff. What do we see? We have a headshot.
Stephanie Alfonso:
I know we're a podcast here. My arms are crossed. I've got a pay up.
Dave Charest:
I can see it. I can
Stephanie Alfonso:
see it. And our logos have roofs, and they have key. And we are just your typical real estate agent, and that's exactly what you expect everyone's branding to be. And, Christine, I know you're passionate about this. I share that passion with you.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah. Let's talk about it.
Christine George:
Doesn't it, like, drive you crazy? So and I can't again, right, like, I can't fault the real estate professional. It's not their core business. Like, it's not what they do. They're serving buyers and sellers.
Christine George:
Right? They're selling homes. Right? So they're just thinking very literally. Well, I sell houses, so I'm gonna make sure my face is on my sign.
Christine George:
I'm gonna make sure my face is on my business card. I'm gonna make sure that I've got, like, a roof over my head, for my logo. Like, I need people to know I'm a real estate agent. And no. No.
Christine George:
You don't. You need to build know, like, trust, and you need to build know, like, trust based on who you are. And you'll never have to sell anything again when you can build know, like, trust with somebody. You just don't. When somebody trusts you and wants to do business with you, you never have to sell a darn thing.
Christine George:
And so, gosh, let's create a brand that is true to who you are and not what you do. So give
Stephanie Alfonso:
me an example of that. Because in defense of 99% of real estate agents that probably have a key or a roof in their logo Yeah.
Dave Charest:
Right now. Yeah.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just like you said, Christine, like, we get it.
Stephanie Alfonso:
That's what you do. Right? As soon as I go to your social media or if I go to your website, gotta know what they do. So give me an example. I'm Stephanie Alfonso.
Stephanie Alfonso:
I'm a real estate agent. Let's say I'm a brand new agent. I'm saying, Christine, help me with my personal brand, and we're in the conversation right now where we're talking about logos. We're talking about image and all of that. Give me some ideas.
Stephanie Alfonso:
If I go to you and I say, this is what I already had created and it's all the typical stuff, help me get creative. Give me some examples. Well, so
Christine George:
I'm gonna give you sort of a big box example. Okay. When you think of the brand REMAX, what comes to mind? The big balloon. Thank you.
Christine George:
Does that scream real estate? No. A balloon has nothing to do with real estate, yet it's part of the REMAX brand. Now whether or not you like the balloon, that's up for debate. Right?
Christine George:
But that's a great example of you don't need to have a roof or key over your house. With you, Stephanie, I know you're a former dancer and a dance instructor.
Stephanie Alfonso:
That's right.
Christine George:
And you're an educator in the role that you're in. Right. And so that is the first thing I would dig into is what is it about you and this love for teaching and education? Right. And so how do we dig into that, and what can we create both visually?
Christine George:
I'm not saying we do, you know, ballet slippers or, you know, dance you know, put a dancer in there or anything. Right.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Right. Put it in some more.
Dave Charest:
A dancing house. It's perfect.
Stephanie Alfonso:
A dancing house.
Christine George:
It's almost like Fred Flintstone with a car
Stephanie Alfonso:
in the face. Exactly.
Dave Charest:
I might I'm gonna have to switch switch here.
Christine George:
Yeah. But you get what I mean. Right? Like, I would really dig down what makes you you and tie that all together.
Stephanie Alfonso:
I love that. And, you know, that was an awesome example. When we think of, right, REMAX, we think of the hot air balloon. That's not a house. That's not a key.
Stephanie Alfonso:
That's not a roof. But it's probably one of the most recognizable brands in the world. In the world. Yeah.
Christine George:
When you think of Nike, what do you think of? Yeah. That's right. A swoosh. A swoosh.
Christine George:
You probably think of sneakers, Michael Jordan, but you don't need to see a sneaker as their logo.
Stephanie Alfonso:
That's right. I love that. Dave, what are your thoughts on that?
Dave Charest:
I mean, that's an interesting one. I I don't know. But I'm curious as to so you mentioned the big box stores. Right? Like, these are brands that have the money to be building this brand and putting behind, making sure people see it, making sure people are recognizing that over time.
Dave Charest:
How do I, as, let's say, a potential home buyer, maybe see someone who doesn't have that type of budget, that doesn't have that it's not top of mind for me. Right? Like, I haven't seen it before.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah.
Dave Charest:
How do they get across that, oh, this is somebody that I need in the real estate industry?
Christine George:
Well, I mean, that goes back to what we were saying before, which is you've gotta really invest relationship nurturing, the relationship building, and the marketing. And the visual piece of it, the logo, is just a very, very, very small piece of it. It's really it's everything that you do to support that is equally, or if not more, important. Because you're right, they don't have the big bucks that a Nike has or a REMAX have, and we don't expect an agent to either. That's why getting involved in the community, really plugging into those things that you love to do or that your family are involved in, and making the phone calls, if that's your thing, or being intentional on social media, all of those things together are really what are going to help make you stand out.
Christine George:
And the way you serve your clients is all the proof. It's the proof. That's right.
Stephanie Alfonso:
The way you make people feel that lasts forever.
Dave Charest:
Well, I've got an interesting question. Right? When you're talking about how you're serving your clients, what do you recommend to folks? Because I feel like this is often a missed opportunity. Right?
Dave Charest:
We work so hard to get the whatever it is that we're trying to get. So I'm gonna say sale in this instance. Right? But to get the business. What do you recommend to folks in terms of, like, what you're doing in those times where someone is not buying or selling a home?
Dave Charest:
Like, how should they be keeping in touch? What are the types of things that they should be doing? Like, I mean, I'm thinking of your example that you mentioned earlier. Like, I could imagine, like, oh, okay. Now what to do that that you've downsized your like, and offering tips in those areas.
Dave Charest:
But, like, how do people stay in touch without it being, I I guess, for lack of a better term, like, awkward. Right? Like, what is their excuse to stay in touch?
Christine George:
Well, you know, it's a daily practice, to be honest. It's not something and this is where a lot of agents fall short is they get so, so busy working in the business. They've got a lot of deals happening at the same time. They completely forget the business development side of it, and that's probably one of the biggest challenges that real estate professionals have. And it's a real fact that somebody who buys a house from you, real estate agent a, today, when they go to sell that house in seven years, they sell it with somebody else.
Christine George:
And why is that? Because their agent didn't keep in touch with them.
Dave Charest:
Right.
Christine George:
So it needs to be a daily practice of, okay. I'm going to allocate these two hours of my day every day doing prospecting, doing relationship nurturing, being intentional on social media. Whatever it is that you've put together in your plan, then you need to designate time every day to execute that because people will easily forget who you are and that's not what you wanna do when you're a real estate professional.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah. Dave, we've talked about that before, that leaky bucket. And I think the study that was done, you know, there was a focus group of a hundred people that bought or sold. 90% of them said I would use my agent again. Fast forward seven years when they went and bought or sold again, only 13% of them use the same agent.
Christine George:
Yeah.
Stephanie Alfonso:
That's a big deal, that leaky bucket. What do we need to do to plug up those holes, right, utilizing all of your different channels of digital work, provide value, and be remembered. And, you
Christine George:
know, real estate agents also don't love to do business planning. I mean, they just don't. They'll roll from one year right into the other. And I just wrote a a newsletter about this today. Like, when I was a kid okay.
Christine George:
Now, Dave, you're in Massachusetts. Before the school year started, my mother would take me either to Kmart Mhmm. Bradley's, or Zehr's. Wow.
Dave Charest:
Zehr's. Yeah. Right? Both of those are great. Number?
Dave Charest:
Yeah. Yeah. I do.
Christine George:
Right? And I would, like, stock up on all my Trapper Keeper
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yes. Trapper Keeper.
Dave Charest:
So funny. I'm looking at a Trapper Keeper right over there because my wife They
Christine George:
still have them, he says?
Dave Charest:
My wife found one, and she was psyched. Yes. There's one on the on the chair right over there.
Christine George:
No, sir. Oh my god.
Dave Charest:
So you
Christine George:
know what? I was I love them. I get them in all colors, my three ring binder, like, the whole deal. I, like, get everything organized so that I would have a successful year. Right?
Christine George:
That carried into my professional life, and I spent years in consumer products goods putting forecasting plans together and business plans and financial plans and all of this stuff, of course, with our marketing plan. And that's the only way that you're gonna ensure that you have a successful year is if you actually put the intention and the focus and the plan together. And so that's why when I work with clients, that's a big, big part of what I do is say, okay. Let's set your goal. We know who your ideal customer is.
Christine George:
We know what your brand value is. Now let's put a plan together that supports and aligns with your brand and is also gonna help you achieve that goal. Put those key measurables in place every quarter to make sure that you're reaching your goals. It's just oh my god. I love it.
Stephanie Alfonso:
It's like, my gosh. And you know what? I think it's you know, in real estate, you know, we struggle with it. We're notoriously not great at planning ahead and, you know, we all know proper planning prevents poor performance. Yep.
Stephanie Alfonso:
I think that's just a common thread amongst all small business owners. Right?
Christine George:
It is. Yeah. I mean, myself included. Right? It's just it's not always the easiest thing to do.
Christine George:
And you you might have it put it in place and then just put it in a folder and, like, never look at it again. And that's not good either.
Stephanie Alfonso:
Right. Right. So it's all about the planning, the preparation, and then, of course, the execution. Yes. Right?
Stephanie Alfonso:
That That can be the other arm of it that we're missing to your point. So, man, this is some good stuff. This is some good stuff that I I I just love, Christine, that you're so focused on understanding, just really diving into who who you are as a person, as a business owner, tapping into that, letting that message carry on through to your personal brand. Yeah. And then, of course, really identifying who you're trying to bring that value to, the gift to gift model, all the things.
Stephanie Alfonso:
I I absolutely love it, and I can see and can tell why you've been so successful in this space.
Christine George:
Oh, thank you. Thanks.
Dave Charest:
Christine, I'm wondering, are there any other mistakes worth highlighting that you think you see from agents, particularly when it comes to marketing?
Christine George:
Well, there's one other big one that drives me bananas, and that is when agents see all the sparkly things or the squirrel, you know, or what agent a is doing over there or what agent b is doing over there, and they think, oh my god. I have to do that. When you're constantly comparing yourself to somebody else, then you're not being true to who you are, and your clients are not being served at the level that they could be. Because when you are truly who you are and maybe that means you're not gonna do video. I don't really do a lot of video.
Christine George:
Or maybe that means you're not gonna be a podcaster or whatever that means. You know? When you are true to who you are, your clients feel it. They feel it. So focus on what you do and on what you do well and continue to challenge yourself along the way, but forget about what everybody else is doing because they're not watching you.
Christine George:
And whatever they're doing, if you try to do it, it's not gonna come off the same way. It's just gonna come off disingenuous. So just be who you are.
Dave Charest:
Well, friend, let's recap some items from that discussion. Steph, what are the things that stand out to you from this conversation?
Stephanie Alfonso:
Well, first, really how to authentically identify and own your niche. You know, it's essential to not only find your niche, but to lean into discovering it in an authentic way that really reflects your unique strengths, right, and your passions.
Dave Charest:
Yeah. And, you know, the beauty in all of this is that you really get to choose the types of people that you wanna work with. And so you should really be thinking about focusing on choosing those clients that bring you joy, rather than steal it and allow you to shine in those moments. What else, Steph?
Stephanie Alfonso:
Yeah. Also, how we can really start to reimagine real estate branding. You know, how to step away from traditional symbols that we all think of, like keys or houses. Some of the most memorable brands transcend those industry cliches, right? So focusing instead on more distinctive and meaningful visuals.
Dave Charest:
Yeah. And, you know, this is really important, but something that I think could actually be really difficult for people, particularly if you don't have what I would call a creative disposition. So don't be afraid to do your research, of course, in this, or hire someone like Christine who can actually bring that expertise and help you bring your branding to life in a way that really you just may not be able to do on your own. What's your last item here for us, Steph?
Stephanie Alfonso:
And lastly, really guys, embrace authenticity with purposeful planning. You know, embrace who you are and create a strategy around it. And we all know, like, the actions that you're taking today are really gonna set the foundation for your future success. So intentionality makes all the difference.
Dave Charest:
Yeah. You know, it's funny how when it comes to marketing, there's this tendency to really start to behave in ways that, I guess, we think we're supposed to behave rather than really embracing those things that make us unique as humans. And it's really those things that allows each of us and you as an agent to really stand out over the competition. So great points there, Steph. Once again, thank you for joining us today.
Dave Charest:
Thank you for the amazing guest you brought to us. And listener, thank you, and we'll see you next time.
Stephanie Alfonso:
See you next time.
Dave Charest:
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Be a Marketer podcast. Please take a moment to leave us a review. Just go to ratethispodcast.com/bam. Your honest feedback will help other small business marketers like yourself find the show. That's ratethispodcast.com/bam.
Dave Charest:
Well, friend, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and continued success to you and your business.