YOU ARE NOT A HOUSE - Book Review

If author Dr. Bill Fisher came up with his book title to grab the attention of potential readers, he succeeded with me. Try as I might I couldn’t figure out how the phrase “You Are Not A House” could possibly relate to the subtitle “How to Build Your Real Estate Career With Passion And Authenticity.”

Since I’m guessing you might be facing the same challenge, here’s how the book’s promotional literature explains it. “How does a real estate agent build a rich, satisfying career? For decades, real estate professionals have thought of the classified ad as the standard for all their advertising and marketing.

Use punchy words, leave out information that readers will call to find out about, tease the reader all the way to the phone. This may help sell a house, but it does very little to build your career and motivate people to call on you, not an advertised house, for help with real estate matters. You are not a house.”

The book is written around a series of “Service Oriented Marketing Principles.” Number one on the list sets the tone for the remainder: “Design all your marketing and prospecting with your clients’ needs in mind. Not your own needs.” The point is elaborated on with this: “The central error people commit is thinking from the vantage point of their own professional needs, rather than from the vantage point of their client’s and prospective client’s personal needs.”

Dr. Bill, as he refers to himself, is a former highly-successful real estate practitioner in California who now specializes in providing marketing information through a variety of personalized newsletters. Check out his blog at youarenotahouse.blogspot.com. His e-mail address is wedwrap@comcast.net. Just remember. You are not a house.

When teaching my real estate licensing classes I role play that I am the managing broker and the students are agents in my company. The company name: “Golden Rule Realty.” No theological implications, just good business. Both of these books would be prominently displayed in our office.