HEY THERE PEOPLE! JUST A QUESTIONS TO ALL YOU REALTORS OUT THERE?!. DO YOUR BROKERAGE ALLOW YOU TO HAVE YOUR OWN LOGO WHEN MARKETING YOURSELF TO THE PUBLIC?! THANKS PEOPLE?! THIS WAY I DONT WASTE MY TIME ON IT

check with your broker. i can use any logo that i want to brand myself with. personally, i use my name as that is what i want people to remember.

Turn the caps off we don't need to be yelled at.

Like estatereal I do business under my own name. It always appears in the same type face and color on my cards, letterhead, signs, etc.

At our broker, we can use whatever branding we want. Some persons using a slogan, others use their name, others use a logo.

Whatever works.

I can use whatever I want as long as it complies with all the laws. I have my broker approve everything before I sent it out though just to keep me out of trouble. There has been only a couple times where he had to make some recommedations. He offered to let the lawyer look at it, but it was easier to just make a few changes.

I know other brokerages that do not allow such freedoms.

perfect everyone thanks very much :D i luv this forum!

'The agent is the brand of recognition and the company is the brand of reputation' - Gary Keller, Co-Founder and Chairman of Keller Williams Realty

That quote by Gary is one the most powerful statements that I have ever heard. The only reason that a real estate company would rather you market their brand versus creating your own brand, is that they fear that you will not be there a couple of years from now. Either you will drop out of the business because they don't offer enough training or you will come to realize that YOU are the reason YOU do business, not the real estate company you work for and will take your clients and relationships to another company where you will get better training, technology, commission splits, etc...

You have to have a BIG vision when entering this industry, because it's that vision that will pull you through the first couple of years. You need to build your own brand from day one, so that after years of branding and ultimately team building(leveraging other people), you will have the option to do all of the things that you WANT to do instead of HAVE to do.

I have met many agents at Keller Williams who built their brand and business from day one with that vision. Now after years of consistent marketing and branding, their clients don't have to work them as individuals, because they are now loyal to their brand and more importantly their standards of service.

If your company does not want you building your own brand, then they are more concerned about the future of their own brand then of the success of their agents. There is no other industry where the sales force is more of the product then in real estate. When I switched from Coldwell Banker to Keller Williams five years ago, I took all of my clients and relationships with me. You are the reason you will do business...not the company you work for. If you market your company for 25 years, do you really think you will ever see another cent from this industry? No chance. But if you had built your own brand and marketed that for 25 years, you could be retired and still generating passive income from you team for years to come.

THINK BIG!!!

Brand yourself first. You are an independant contractor. If your broker doesn't allow that, find a new broker.

Ironically, my first broker was the one who really pushed the "independant contractor / this is YOUR business" philosophy...he was also the first one to tell me that I couldn't brand myself or have my own logo because I wasn't really a business - I was representing him and his company...

I left that firm a couple of days later...

ManFronTheBand,

my first broker was very similar. I remember having 6 numbers on my business cards because that was how he wanted it. i was very naive.



to the op,

the most important thing that you can do is brand yourself, because even if you go to kellar williams, chances are that you wont be there forever. when you leave you dont want anyone you have done business with or solicited through any medium to remember keller williams (or any other brand_ just used kw as an example). the only thing you want them to remember is YOU!

As far as I know the law requires the name of your broker be prominent. It's going to be up to every different broker and exactly what you have in mind so you really have to talk to them to find out.

I'm also at Keller Williams and have extreme flexibility in terms of branding.

At the other extreme, there is a broker in my area who does not even permit her agents to put a name rider on the sign. Nothing, zilch. Yet plenty choose to work for her.

The primary concern I have as I explore branding with my new company is to develop a professional, easily recognizable signature logo. There are several agents in my area who've got outstanding designs and slogans. Unfortunately, there are far too many who seem to have spent about five minutes playing around in photoshop... really... a new sign went up around the corner from my house the other day and it was absolutely hideous. I can't for the life of me imagine how or why that agent came up with such an awful design.

If you do choose to brand... hire a professional. Or if you can't afford one, at the very least send your proposed designs out to at least five or ten unbiased sources for review. Heck... post it on the message board and you'll get plenty of honest feedback.

Good luck!