This article was last updated on August 27, 2019.
The old joke goes:
In New York, a guy walks into a bank. He tells the loan officer that he needs to borrow $5000 because he is going to Europe for two weeks. The loan officer says the bank will need collateral for the loan.
The guy hands him the keys and the title papers to his new Ferrari, which is parked in front of the bank.
Obviously, a $250,000 Ferrari is more than enough collateral, so the loan officer gives the man $5000.
He leaves, and the loan officer drives the Ferrari into the bank’s underground parking garage and parks it.
Over the next few days, the big joke among the bank employees is all about the foolish man that put up $250,000 collateral for a measly $5000 loan. But, two weeks later, the guy returns from his trip and repays his loan – plus $26.92 in interest.
The loan officer says to the guy, “I want to thank you for your business, but I’m curious. While you were away, I checked and found out you are a multimillionaire. I don’t understand why you bothered to borrow $5000 when you have so much money.”
The guy replies, “Where else in New York can I park my Ferrari for $2.00/day and expect it to be there when I return?”
Being boxed in is limiting. There’s the space inside the box and ALL the rest. In addition to its limitations, the space inside the box is VERY crowded.
Many entities doing many of the same things means no one stands apart from the rest. Real estate brokerages who all follow the same business model, use the same tools and sell the same things overwhelm the industry. They’re just more blue M&Ms in a box full of blue M&Ms. You get the picture.
Successful people continually think outside the box. Whether in marketing or customer relations, setting yourself apart from those who are thinking inside the box is crucial to realizing business goals.
Bill Gates didn’t sell computers. He sold the experience of having personal computing power in every home.
Apple doesn’t sell tech toys. They sell cool ways to connect with the world.
Amazon doesn’t sell stuff. They sell the ability to quickly and conveniently find what you’re looking for.
At Lake Homes Realty, we sell dreams — dreams of summer afternoons on the water and fall evenings spent by the fire pit.
A client may be looking at a dock but what they’re seeing is a child’s first fish.
Lake property is a means of realizing those dreams, and when you market the dream, in all reality, you more effectively market the properties and your local brand.