Sure, you can attempt to be a little different. But the end result will be that you end up being the same as everyone else. I’ll let you in on a secret, everyone is at least a little unique.
Differentiation is the same. You can’t be just a little differentiated. You must go all in or forget about it completely and head down the commodity route.
Let’s take a look at the typical sales person to understand how all of this works. Your typical sales person (in the CRE space at least) is highly energized, sociable and engaging. They probably understand finance and legal issues (around CRE at least) better than your typical person – this is what they do for a living after all. They are going to know the movers and shakers in the market either directly or through very close contacts. If you try to differentiate by knowing more people or being better at finance and legal you will lose. You are just like every other person.
However, if you know more about marketing and branding of the workplace….suddenly you have a differentiated niche. If you can relate the way real estate decisions impact top line revenue (not including the retail side of the business) you have a differentiated approach.
Some of you out there may think that being the listing broker on a building is differentiating. It’s not. It’s the same strategy that hundreds of others are taking. You are just a more highly visible commodity. Sure, having your name out there is good marketing, but don’t confuse good marketing with differentiation.
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