Ain’t no one got time for another branding exercise, right? … If you know your brand inside and out then feel free to skip this exercise completely. If on the other hand you struggle daily with trying to develop your personal brand and attract dream clients to your business then listen up butter cup cause this exercise is eerily efficient at getting right to the core of what your brand style is all about. 

Here’s the cold hard truth, even if you think you don’t have a brand, you do. Your brand is the sum of all the opinions your past clients have of you, and if you’re thinking “well heck, I have no idea what that is” then you just might not be very clear on what your brand is.

You think you know, you’ve created marketing material around what you assume will resonate with the most amount of people but somehow your efforts seem to fall flat more often than you care to admit.

If this sounds familiar, chances are you need some brand clarity STAT!

And the best way to get clarity around your brand is to get VERY comfortable with the overall tone or “vibe” of your brand (otherwise known as your brand style).

That’s where exercises like these come in, they allow you to have fun while crafting a vibe for your brand that will resonate with the very people you want to attract to your business.

Here’s how it goes: 

Imagine you’re putting together the perfect client appreciation party for your clients, what would that look like? Where would you host it, how would people be dressed? Is it happening in your backyard poolside, or on a fancy rooftop patio complete with catering and modern jazz?  

(pro tip: plan the party for the clients you want in the future not necessarily the ones you’ve attracted into your business thus far) 

Whip out a piece of paper and start planning your party. Here are some questions to help guide you:

👉 Where would you host it? (ie, industrial loft? Romantic rooftop? Modern art gallery?)

👉 How many people would you invite? (intimate and casual, or huge and boisterous?)

👉 What would the signature drink be? (sidecar, martinis, cherry blossoms, craft beer)

👉 What type of food would you serve? (potluck, passed appetizers and aperitifs, BBQ)

👉 What would the dress code be? (super cas, black tie, business casual, what dress code?)

👉 What would the decor look like? (twinkle lights, faux candles and bistro tables, black and white accents, picnic tables)

There is absolutely no right or wrong when it comes to the answers in this exercise, the trick is to hold your clients front of mind while creating the perfect party for them, one where you also feel extremely comfortable because if it’s not a party you would want to attend chances are you’re trying to attract the wrong people into your business. 

Have fun with it, give yourself permission to make a few revisions and then once you’ve crafted the perfect client-appreciation party on paper, ask yourself what the vibe is. 

Rustic chic? Modern minimal? Romantic and whimsical? Luxurious and high-end? The tone of your party is the tone of your brand, keep it in mind when you create your next marketing piece, use this party as a jumping-off point for any Canva design, business collateral or branding you put together, because at the end of the day if your party is a backyard BBQ because that’s what you and your clients would most appreciate, trying to look like you belong on selling sunset will create a total mismatch in your marketing. 

Now with that clarity go forth and create, attract and connect with the people whom you’d love to see at your perfect client party.

 

 

Need more help building your personal brand? Join the Marque Collective, our membership for realtors who want to build a brand and business they love.