The Sunday Setup

Building Your Brand Through IBRE: A Step-by-Step Guide

May 18, 2025

A special thank you to Giselle for commenting on a previous post. She asked for a step-by-step guide. Giselle, hopefully, this will get you started. I’ll follow up with you soon.

The Journey from Agent to Brand

Building a sustainable real estate brand isn't about copying selling systems—it's about claiming who you are, intentionally framing it in a way that helps others, and taking strategic action by aiming at the right audience. Here's your roadmap through the Identity-Based Real Estate (IBRE) process:

Step 1: Awareness - Claim your strengths

Start with yourself. This isn't just introspection—it's the foundation of your entire business.

Complete a thorough self-assessment using the graphic below. Start by recognizing your natural tendencies. What patterns of actions do they create? Those actions have positive or negative consequences and are how other people truly experience you. We need to start with the reality of what it’s like to be on the other side of you if we want to build a realtor’s identity-based brand.
Document your unique experiences and perspective - look back at your life experiences. Recall impactful stories from your past that demonstrate the claim of who you are (this helps with cognitive bias).
Identify your natural communication style (read The Five Voices for help with this.)
List your core beliefs and values (this has nothing to do with real estate and everything to do with living to your full potential and dying without regrets).

Step 2: Intention - Frame your strengths (as a guide)

Shift from being the hero of your marketing to becoming the guide in your client's story.

Define the challenges your claim (or voice) solves. This is your marketing material.
- For example, let’s pretend you’re hilarious - you have a sharp wit, are quick on your feet, and enjoy keeping things light. You handle the worst situations with humor. Looking back at your life, you can point to serious (perhaps even dark) moments where humor saved you. You’ve confirmed this with others or can recall stories from your past to verify its truth. People have told you how funny you are. They’ve said things like, “You should be a professional comedian.” Humor is one of your core values. Your “marketing frame” should speak to people who take real estate seriously, not themselves. Your marketing should resonate with others (like you) who would appreciate some levity. Imagine you’re the customer… what would you want to receive from your realtor? Likely something that blends competency with comedic relief. Shift your marketing perspective to the customer’s position and be the guide you’d like to hear from.
Use the power of story as your marketing framework (read Storybrand by Donald Miller for more help).
Choose marketing channels that complement you and optimize for consistency.
- What will you do to showcase competency & comedic relief a minimum of 365 times this year?

Step 3: Action - Aim your messaging at the right audience

Transform your insights into a cohesive brand strategy.

Review all current marketing materials - do they align with your claim? Or are they trying to solve any problem for all people?
Align your channels. Choose where and how you will communicate.
- Are the people on your postcard list also following your social channels?
- Is your claim showcased in the right channel? Video may (or may not be) right for you.
- When aligned, you can leverage one marketing piece in various channels.
Create consistent content that positions you as a guide.
- Don’t start and stop marketing. It’s a bad look and doesn’t breed trust. Your marketing plan should be one you're excited to execute. It should feel more like a calling than a collar.
Develop systems that support your claim.
- Delegation and automation can be utilized at this phase - but only if you’ve claimed and framed your identity. It’s not someone else's responsibility to “create” you. Our brand identity must be clear before asking someone else to help us with distribution.

Implementation Guidelines

Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Do I need to spend some time clarifying/confirming my identity?
Does my marketing reflect my claim and sound like me?
How does this marketing piece help your client? How are they better off? Am I solving real problems for my ideal clients?
- If you’ve heard me speak in other spaces, I’ve mentioned “private problems.” The things someone thinks, but may not say out loud. If your marketing consistently solves someone’s private problem, I promise you - they’ll call.
Are my boundaries clear, consistent, and in a documented process that I follow repeatedly? Until they are, it will be very hard for someone (like an assistant) to help you.
Does my approach differentiate me from the "sea of sameness"?

Continuous Evolution

Remember: Your brand isn't static, but your values, boundaries, and process are. If you go through a major life event, your outlook or values may shift slightly, but you likely won’t morph into a completely new person. Regular check-ins with these questions help ensure you stay true to your identity while meeting your client's changing needs.

Warning: Avoid the common trap of copying other agents' approaches. Your power lies in your unique identity and how you translate that into value for your clients.

Another warning: Having helped a few people at this point, I’ll tell you that being “self-aware” and confirming your claim fall into the “simple-not-easy” category. I’ve tried teaching this in group settings, and it was understandably hard because this work is bespoke. Personal. It’s also why it’s so effective in practice.

Simply noticing what’s true about you is a worthy start. I hope this piece gets you started, and if you need help, reach out.