There are various schools of thought on the topic of how personal your brand should be.  Some experts in the field think strictly personal branding is passe.  Others think home buyers and sellers select their agents mostly because of the agent’s personality.

My view is that you should create a brand that can outlast you in the marketplace.  If you structure your brand all around yourself, you’re locking yourself into being around to represent the brand forever. 

Most agents I know plan to retire at some point.  And, many of them want the option of gaining something back from the real estate business they’ve built with a lot of hard work over a number of years.  It’s a bit difficult to turn a personally-branded real estate practice over to someone else when you’re ready to hit the links full-time.

The other factor to consider is that prospects are looking for WIIFM – the old “what’s in it for me”.  Just because you’re a swell person, that doesn’t mean that you’re a good REALTOR®.

So, my advice is to structure your brand to highlight the competitive advantages that you bring to the marketplace.  And, to make a very direct connection between the services you offer and the benefit those services bring to your prospects.

If you can combine part of your personality with your brand, that’s a good idea, as long as you aren’t the focal point.  Here’s an example.  One of my clients has identified a niche in the EMS/Firefighter/Law Enforcement/Health Care Provider population.  He himself is a Paramedic/Firefighter.

The brand we developed for him is: First Response Real Estate Services.  Take a look at the description of his First Response Real Estate Services brand, and you’ll discover how the connection is made between who he is and how that benefits his target market prospects.