Today I thought I would talk about ego. Thankfully I do not intend to rave to you about how fabulous I am (which of course would be incredibly easy to do), but instead I thought I'd look at ego in a business context. Having belief in yourself and your abilities is essential if you're going to succeed, especially in an industry like real estate. Real estate agents, as I have mentioned before, have a bit of a reputation for being somewhat egotistical, and whilst admittedly some can push the meaning of a healthy ego to its limits, playing small usually doesn't serve you well either.
I've witnessed some real estate agents who don't like to use testimonials or promote the good things others have said about them for fear of tooting their own horn. These are obviously the polar opposite of those realtors who don't need anyone else to do it for them seeing they're so busy telling everyone how great they are. But testimonials are becoming a must. When you consider how highly most of us value word of mouth recommendations, a testimonial is basically a printed version of that. Why would you not want people to know how great one of your customers thinks you are?
True, some people are a tad cynical when it comes to testimonials. I for one don't believe a word of hose commercials where a series of beautiful, smiling people with bodies to kill for tell me how it's all due to a two day detox that comes in a box. But on the flip side, you can't discount the popularity of review sites for anything from restaurants to hotels, which is essentially a series of testimonials. Granted these reviews are not always positive, but if your business was featured, why wouldn't you pull the rave reviews and use them for your own promotion? Having someone else sing your praises is far more powerful than you doing it.
When it comes to promoting your real estate business, staying humble really isn't helping your success. The message about how your business can help others is more important than your ego – whether big or small – and that means letting people know how you can help them.
If you're passionate about real estate, and people you've dealt with in the past think you did a good job, there's nothing wrong and everything right about letting others know that. If you promote what others are saying about you, it's helping prospective customers make a decision about you, and if they want to use your services. I know if I read a series of online restaurant reviews and nine out of ten are good, chances are I'll try the place. Sharing your testimonials is possibly the best, and least ego-driven way, to share the best of yourself with others.