Project A Professional Image

You’ll buy and sell more when you use the national image you’ve already paid for! By Ernie Hughes Have you ever seen Dr. John Hayes not wearing a HomeVestors shirt? I haven’t. In fact, I am told by the lovely Mrs. Hayes that John wears HomeVestors sleeping shorts. The man lives and breathes HomeVestors. Why not? If you want to promote an image, you must project that image. Since I am speaking of projecting an image, let me share with you a story about image. Long ago and early on in my real estate career, I learned some very valuable lessons concerning image. There is no doubt in my mind that fate had a hand in meeting the late Ken D’Angelo. Soon after our meeting, Ken recruited me to go to work at a “hole in the wall” real estate office in far east Dallas where he held his real estate license. We were one of many small, independent offices that did not have a recognized name; nor did we project a very professional image. A professional image has always been important to Ernie Hughes. While enrolled in a local real estate school to obtain my license, I did odd jobs for the real estate company. I painted houses, did repair work and collected rent for the two brokers that owned the company. Ken and I became fast friends. Ken always offered assistance to anyone in need, even at his young age of 23. I was broke and without a car at the time, so the weekly dinners at Ken’s house, sometimes a ride to and from the various houses I was painting, and the 10,000 pair of eyelashes that he and his dad gave me to sell (false eyelashes were big in the early 70s) provided me with pocket money, a polyester suit and platform shoes to present a professional image when I obtained my real estate license. It was the 70s and polyester and platforms were big back then. Developing a lifetime friendship and business relationship with Ken D’Angelo must have been destiny. Little did I realize at the time that Ken and I had high yellow/red personality profiles and that the Four Strengths Personality Profile would help in our real estate careers. That did not come until several years later when we met Ken Channell. Both of us quickly realized there was something missing from our association with the real estate company where we worked. It did not have the professional image that Ken and I wanted to project. It was our desire to become hugely successful and we were willing to do whatever it took to achieve our goals. In 1976, franchised real estate companies were gaining in popularity. Century 21, Realty World and Red Carpet Realtors were quickly becoming real estate power-houses and projected a national image that Ken and I were looking for. Ken and I, along with six real estate agents we quickly recruited, looked very sharp in our Red Carpet blazers. We were great stewards for the Red Carpet image. Cal Wilkins and Bobby Roan (now two of Homevestors’ powerhouse offices) soon became Red Carpet brokers, too. The Red Carpet image grew locally as our three companies, and many other real estate companies, became Red Carpet offices. Fast forward to 1978. ERA (Electronic Realty Associates) had the latest in real estate technology (i.e. dot matrix fax transmittals – black & white pictures of houses). Ken and I were enamored by this new upstart company and the new technology. In May 1978, we became the first of many Red Carpet offices to leave the red blazer behind and traded it in for an electric blue blazer and ERA. We were already successful as Red Carpet Realtors and became even more successful with our ERA Hughes-D’Angelo Realtors. Our East Dallas office was one of the biggest and most successful in the North Texas region. You may ask what this story has to do with professionalism and projecting an image. HomeVestors has probably spent the least amount in advertising to create the biggest success of projecting a national image in the history of advertising. Yet many franchisees, employees, buyers, sellers, rehab supervisors and dig lead locators do not project the HomeVestors brand recognition. Therefore, we do not monopolize on what is so obvious – the Power of the HomeVestors of America, Inc. brand. These are some of the reasons why ERA Hughes-D’Angelo was so successful: All agents were required to wear career apparel everyday. All agents displayed magnetic car signs with the company name on their automobiles. All agents were required to farm (digging for leads) everyday, every week. Agents even sent weekly newsletters to their neighborhoods. All agents were required to distribute 10 business cards everyday. All agents were required to attend weekly sales meetings (Mondays at 8 AM). All agents were required to tour the houses listed the week before – we really looked sharp with 58 agents in 10-12 cars, all dressed in electric blue blazers, rolling up into a neighborhood to tour houses. Our phones were ringing from people that wanted to list their houses with us. All agents were required to answer the telephones using a script. All agents were required to use the Listing Flip Chart Presentation with sellers. All agents were required to attend weekly training sessions. All agents recruited new agents - they were paid an incentive to do so. All agents were required to have fun working with Ken and me, and they did. ERA Hughes-D’Angelo projected the professional image that Ken and I wanted to project a few years before while working for a small, independent company. The image we created paid off many times in many ways. So why aren’t you using the brand to project the image that HomeVestors has created? HVA has created a powerful image for you to use. Quit acting like a small, independent company. Project the image that you pay for and have earned the right to use. If you are the leader of your company, start leading. Make your goal for 2009 the best that you can be by using the brand, image and the tools that HomeVestors of America has created for you. . . . Ernie Hughes manages HVA’s corps of Franchise Systems Managers and also coaches Development Agents.