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Bling Your Brand

7 Steps to Creating a Logo, Brand and Look You Love!

I gave a similar presentation at a RESA Conference and it was really too much for just an hour. This presentation is essential for our image conscious industry and I hope you will learn and grow using the tools I share in this presentation.  Spend a day and have fun with this...

**If you have not created your FREE Canva Account to create amazing graphics for your business, make sure you do that by going to Canva.com!

***After you create your free Canva Account, go to my Canva Templates Section (under HSR Library) to add a TON of staging templates to your Canva Account that you can edit:-)

You will want to download my Bling Your Brand Worksheet to use as reference:

***Due to the ever-changing Internet, some of these resources look different or now may charge a bit for their "coolness".

Bling Your Brand Video - Shortened

 

NEW - How to Create a Gif Images for Emails

Want to learn how to create the animated image below for your emails, social media and website?  Right click and save as...to download this flyer image and watch short video below on how to edit it:

Links and Resources Mentioned in Branding Videos:

Marketing Step 2 – Representation

Your Brand and Marketing Representation

It's been said before, but this is one maxim that bears repeating: you never get a second chance to make a first impression and image matters in our industry.

Your company "brand" is your client's first impression and it usually manifests itself in your website, business cards, logo, brochures, email signature, forms, etc...

Today we are going to help you explore the kind of "look" you want for your business.  The good news is that there are tons of great tools online to help you shine.  Starting with the Bling Your Brand section, you are going to be researching Interior Designer's websites to find a brand that speaks to you.  As you move through the process of building those items that represent you, please remember these things:

  • Keep it Simple - The best logos are usually simply done using two fonts, so don't overthink this
  • Don't REinvent - Use the HSR materials as great starting points for marketing and simply swap out your information and tweak the stats.
  • Momentum is Key - Don't agonize over minutia especially when it comes to building your website!  If you're not getting something to work, skip it/delete it and move forward.
  • Have Fun - This should be the fun part, so try not to get too frustrated as you're working through building out your representation materials.
Please read through the HSR Marketing Step Two - Representation section of the First 50 Marketing Guide in your HSR Training Manual before going through the following online sections.

Marketing Step 1 – Market Research & Foundation

Know Your Market and Set Up for Success

Although you will be tempted to just jump right in and get going, there are a few things you should address so you don't set yourself up to fail. Just as a good business plan is critical to consider before starting your business, so is a strong marketing plan. Take it step by step and build a good foundation that will serve your business for years to come.

Step One - Market Research & Planning

Part of being successful in marketing is to plan, go with your strengths, build your systems, research your competition, understand your target markets and reflect on a possible niche.  As you can imagine, all of these things revolve around A LOT of research and soul searching!  Hopefully I got your juices flowing in the Industry Overview section last week, so this week we begin our marketing adventure doing more of the same.

Read the first 10 items of the First 50 Marketing "To Do" Guide in the Member Training Manual before going through the rest of today's sections.

Contact Management

Organizing and Automating Your Contact Process

At the very least, you will want to be able to email all your prospects and clients at the click of a button.  This is what a contact management system (CMS) does for you.  Your database of clients and prospects adds tremendous value to your business!  This is not a list you can buy...it's one you will carefully cultivate.

There are a lot of choices for a CMS system and the list is growing.  Depending on how technical and big you want to grow you can spend a lot and go with InfusionSoft which has every bell and whistle imaginable or spend nothing and start with Mail Chimp.   MailChimp is FREE for the first 2000 contacts (as of this writing) and 9 out of 10 stagers have less than that many leads, so it should work well to start for your business. 

Quick Steps to Getting Started with MailChimp

1. Click on the link and create an account with MailChimp

2. Create a List called "Realtors" where you can upload your Wave Marketing Realtor contacts. Consider creating an "Auto Responder" campaign and attaching it to the "Realtors" list to drip follow-up emails automatically.

3. Create a List called "Clients" for all clients to be added to, as well as friends and family. This list is your redesign list and you should consider adding an auto-responder campaign about your approach to redesign.

4. Create newsletters monthly to both lists. Send open house announcements to the Realtor List.  Send fun redesign articles to the Clients list.

The important thing is staying in touch!

I've used every kind of CMS available for simple emailing and there are pros and cons to each.  I think when you're just starting out, it's best to go with a free, simple to use MailChimp program and then you can always GROW into something else down the road.  If you're one of those people who like to research everything before committing then take a look at:  GetReponse.com, Aweber.com, ConstantContact.com and Emma.com.

Since technology is always changing, I will always have my favorite technologies listed in the HSR Library under Technology and Business.​ 

Your Target Markets

Your Target Markets and How to Reach Them

Before you can successfully create a marketing plan, you need to understand WHO your potential clients are and WHERE to find them. Every good sales person know that spending time selling to clients who have the potential to give you LOTS of business has more impact then going after smaller clients. Likewise in the staging industry, it's important to differentiate between what I like to call "A" level target markets and "B" level target markets.

"A" Clients = Clients that can refer you business on a continuous basis

"B" Clients = Clients that are a one-time sale or possibly a two-time sale (referral)

Don't think that HSR considers you only a professional home stager, because you're not. You're a Redesigner as well which is a very close cousin to staging. The reason that HSR's emphasis is on staging, particularly in marketing and building your business is because the staging business model is filled with "A" target markets, not "B" (as you'll see below).

The smart home stager/redesigner focuses their marketing efforts on the staging side of their business NEVER ignoring the redesign side for referrals and holiday times when things are slow in real estate!

Home Staging "A" Target Markets


Target Markets:Sources for Finding:Sources for Being Found:
Real Estate Agents
  • "First 50 Marketing Guide" in Training Manual
  • Identify Heavy Hitter Section
  • Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Redfin.com
  • Association Directory List
  • Realtor Office List
  • Google for top SEO agents
New Home Builders
FSBO's (For Sale By Owners)
Relocation Companies and Departments
Seniors & Retirement Communities
Foreclosures, Bank Owned through Real Estate Investors Your best bet is to work with real estate investors (REI) who buy these auctioned properties by networking with your local investor club!
Probate Lawyers These lawyers specialize in handling the property after someone has died and transitioning the furnishings and home into something that is saleable.
"B" Level Target Markets for Staging and Redesign
Home Seller Home Owner
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