Use your own style to develop a winning brand

Combining fundamentals with your own style to develop a winning brand

By Bill Kozar, Content Marketing Specialist

Illinois Young Professionals Network

Illinois YPN Chair and REALTOR ® Eddie

Ruettiger served as moderator. Ruettiger, a broker for Baird & Warner in Plainfield, is the State Legislative Contact for state Sen. Pat McGuire of Joliet and was the 2018 REALTOR ® of the Year for the Three Rivers Association of REALTORS ® . Illinois

YPN Vice-chair Megan

Beechen, of Realty Executives Elite in Lemont also helped put together the event.

Make sure to check out this discussion at Podcast. illinoisrealtors.org or wherever you get your podcasts and search for Illinois REALTORS ® Podcast

Mabél Guzmán

Although Mabél Guzmán, Rebecca Donatelli and Sam Powell have taken slightly different paths to succeed as REALTORS®, all three relied on trust to build their brands.

The trio shared career insights during an Illinois REALTORS® Young Professionals Network (YPN) virtual panel discussion, “#werk Your Brand,” in April.

Solutions depend on situations

Face-to-face encounters have always been an important part of Guzmán’s success, whether the 22-year real estate professional is helping consumers find the right home or asking for referrals. But the growth of social media in recent years has played a growing role in her business. Now, she uses it to reinforce the brand she’s built as a real estate expert.

“When customers reach out to me, I get a chance to go back to them for follow up,” she says. “For me, it’s about consistency and being that resource for someone.”

“You have to be your authentic self,” says Guzmán, a broker with @properties in Chicago. “You can’t have one persona somewhere and then another persona somewhere else. When you are true about who you are, then people will say, ‘This is somebody I can trust.’”

Social media has helped Rebecca Donatelli build her brand faster than she could have ever imagined.

In five short years, she attracted more than 14,000 followers on Instagram and has achieved “influencer” status. Not only is she a broker for McDowell Homes Real Estate Services in Cleveland, Ohio, but she is the founder of the Rebecca Donatelli Team and the owner of her own speaking consulting business.

“Instagram started as a hobby because of my love for photography. But the more I became involved in the industry, the more people took to it,” says Donatelli. “It is really just about putting yourself out there, showing who you are, and people getting to know you. My goal now is to make people trust me before they even know me.”

Sam Powell, a broker with DreamTown Realty in Chicago, also uses her love of photography to connect with customers.

She started her real estate career in 2002. She learned about others’ best practices and to trust in her own abilities through her involvement with the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and the Women’s Council of REALTORS® Illinois. That positive reinforcement fostered her sense of camaraderie and collaboration.

“I feel our gift to the industry is to share our knowledge and (learn from) our mistakes,” says Powell. “We’re raising the bar in our industry by willingly sharing our talents side-by-side with each other.”

Facebook, niche marketing and design

All three panelists said authenticity was an essential ingredient in building their own brands.

For example, early in her career, Powell used her talent for graphic design to create fliers that helped

her prospect for business in targeted neighborhoods. She also found Facebook helpful as she developed a niche market in the LGBT community. “I was an early embracer of Facebook,” she said. “The digital face-to-face . . . allowed me to be more authentic.”

She has a passion for educating consumers and colleagues, loves volunteering on local charity projects and has won numerous awards during her 17-year career. Powell is Governor for the Women’s Council of REALTORS® Illinois and has been active with the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and Illinois REALTORS®.

Instagram, coffee and photography

Donatelli built her following on Instagram by first sharing photos with friends. The more friends she made in the industry, the more she found herself encouraging those

Rebecca Donatelli

friends and congratulating them on accomplishments.

Her involvement with her local YPN group, the local association’s board of directors and making the President’s Circle trip to Miami boosted her numbers. Becoming a finalist for REALTOR® Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Class and her work on the NAR YPN Advisory Board also helped.

These days, her goal is to post something new every day. And while most followers seem more interested in her coffee drinking experiences than her real estate successes, she occasionally gets unexpected leads.

“I had someone (recently) reach out to me on Instagram,” Donatelli said. “She said, “Hey, I’ve been following you for a while, and I have to buy a house with my husband. We need to go this weekend; I feel like I already know you and I’m not interested in interviewing anybody else.”

Research, politics and networking

Guzmán’s passion for real estate has provided her with numerous opportunities to serve colleagues, too.

She is the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) vice president for association affairs and a past president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®. She is also the Illinois REALTORS® State Legislative Contact for state Sen. Iris Martinez of Chicago. She has testified before Senate and House committees on real estate-related issues and has developed a reputation for professionalism, tell-it-like-it-is honesty and relationship-building.

She has burnished that reputation with colleagues by attending some of their committee meetings and providing useful information on topics she is passionate about. Her willingness to go above and beyond has been evidenced by the 2012 CAR REALTOR® of the Year and Illinois Presidential Medallions in 2014, 2015 and 2018.

“I see myself as an educator and a facilitator,” says Guzman. “There’s a big responsibility with that because then people come to you as that resource.”

Today, some people refer to her as their own personal Google search engine.

“If I don’t have all the answers, I’m going to connect you to the right resources,” she says. “I have a list of resources to share and I’ve built a network of friends. You start building resources by connecting with each other.”

Sam Powell