I ask the question, "What is your Brand?" Although the answer may sound simple to some, most of us don't think of ourselves as having a personal brand. However, a "Brand" is what separates us from our competitors and communicates to the market place our value and expertise -- and those with a personal brand generally attain higher levels of success in the real estate industry than those without.

Currently in San Antonio there are more than six thousand Realtors, and a similar number of affiliates, ready to fulfill essential roles in our thriving real estate market. What separates you from the person behind you? Why should someone do business with you? Your answer to those questions provides the components that make up your "Brand".

Unfortunately, what most of us fail to realize is the necessity of communicating our unique "Brand" to our target market. Contrary to what most people in real estate think, we are in the business of marketing (attracting), not sales (convincing). Our marketing efforts, therefore, should focus on attracting the customers we want to work with and repelling the ones we don't. Does your "Brand" attract and repel affectively?

At the core of a good brand is differentiation from your competition. When potential clients know why they should do business with you without having to rely on you to tell them why, then you know that your marketing of your brand has proven successful.

Another large component to a successful brand is its visibility in the market place.

The greater the visibility of your brand, the greater the certainty that this brand will drive prospects to you instead of you having to expend effort seeking those prospects. Your marketing campaign should be recognizable to everyone in your desired market.

For example, think of any automobile commercial and the time of day it appears. The auto makers know the demographics of their market and what shows their chosen prospects are most likely to be watching. They deliberately and effectively reach a large number of their chosen population, successfully communicating their message and attaining their objective.

Here are a few ideas to think about when deciding on your own marketing and advertising campaigns.

• How does this activity/product/etc., attract the target clients I want to work with and repel the ones I don't?

• How does this activity/product/etc., differentiate me from my competition?

• How visible am I to my target market?

Numerous examples of effectively marketing a brand may be drawn from both inside and outside of real estate. Consider Nike, Fed Ex, and McDonalds. Like these masters, those of us in real estate must recognize that in order to reach our personal and professional goals, we must spend our time and money developing and maintaining our "Brand" so that we're working smarter, not harder.