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You may not like US presidential candidate Donald Trump, but businessman, television host and personal branding expert Mark Bouris says agents would be more successful if they emulated the “big man”.
Several key lessons have emerged from the US election campaign and they may not be what you would expect.
For one, agents need to have a strong image, Mr Bouris said at The Great Start, an exclusive breakfast event in Sydney with an agenda to help agents build their personal brand.
He told agents gathered at the realestate.com.au-hosted event that the keys to building a strong image are consistency and trust.
“The most important variable in how [to build a personal brand] is consistency. You’ve got to be consistently the same. People don’t like to be surprised. They want to be familiar with you. The way you build familiarity is someone sees something at the same place, at the same time, in the same way, in the same image. Familiarity also then builds trust.”
Mr Trump is the best example of this, being the “most consistent brand person” Mr Bouris has “ever seen and/or met”.
“Now, Donald, you might not like him, he is divisive. I get it. But he’s never off brand. Never,” Mr Bouris said.
“He is totally consistent. And you watch him today when he walks onto the stage, he’s exactly the same person he is the day before, the day before, the day before.
“He’s not changing. He’s not a shape changer. He’s not an image changer. He is consistent and persistent.
“And it seems like that’s what you’ve got to do if you want cut through to build awareness campaigns – because he’s trying to win people’s votes, which is what all of you are trying to do, or I try to do. I try to win consumers’ votes to come to me. You’re trying to win investors’ and vendors’ votes to come and see you. It’s a campaign. An election campaign. It’s about your image. It’s about being consistent.”
Mr Bouris said agents also have to be consistent in what they say, adding that they must believe the messages they’re putting out to the market.
“Whatever you decide to establish, be consistent on everything you do with it. Everything,” he said.
“This is all pervasive… It is everything you do. Everything you do.”
Mr Bouris said this consistency includes physical appearance, where, perhaps, Mr Trump offers yet another lesson.
“You have to have an image that you are consistent with physically, your appearance,” he said.
Even Mr Trump’s hair could have a lesson for agents.
“Now, we all laugh at that, but his hair is part of his physical image.
“If you look at him now, his hair has never changed colour – it’s getting a bit more yellow – but it’s never changed colour, ever since I can remember. And it is part of his physical image. He comes out always with a satin tie. It’s a pink or it’s a red or it’s a blue. He comes out with a pinstripe suit.
“He’s a big man. He’s a big guy. So his whole physical image has never changed. I’ve never seen him thinner or fatter. He’s got a sort of colour about his skin… He’s always the same. And this is a guy trying to become president of the United States. He is the alternative candidate.
“So obviously something works.”
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