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Posted about 15 years ago

Becoming a "FAMOUS" Agent-Investor

Lesson #1: Publish or Perish

by Frazier O'leary (Faculty) - Published: 03/12/09

In truth, this "lesson" applies to you whether you're an Agent-Investor or just another normal, run of the mill, ordinary, mundane, dime a dozen (am I beating a dead horse here?) Realtor.

You've got to make yourself famous.

When I talk about "getting famous", many Agents cringe a little bit.  They have internalized the lessons that "self-promotion" is selfish or vain or whatever and they "wish" that they didn't have to do it.  They wish that they could just do a good job and have the world beat a path to their door.

Well, good luck with that strategy.

I actually find it amusing when people shy away from getting "famous" because what is fame but having a lot of people know who you are.  Business famous is having a lot of people know who you are and know you as something, know you as your "brand" or your "hook" or your USP (unique selling proposition).

Isn't that what advertising is?  A device to make you more well known?  Isn't that what networking is?  A strategy for getting to know more people and getting more people to know you?

So why, when I start talking about techniques for increasing their visibility through personal branding, personality, publishing, controversy, picking fights, getting thrown out of bars, and getting interviewed on Letterman, do I start to get the Crook Eye from all of these entrepreneurs?  (A few of those last techniques are more advanced than the scope of this article)

The bottom line of it all is that the more people who know you, the more famous you are and the more famous you are, the easier a time you will have running your business.

So how are you going to get famous?  Over the next 7 lessons, I'm going to talk about different strategies but most (if not all) of them rely on a simple formula that is well known in academia but only starting to become the mantra in the world of business - PUBLISH or PERISH.

That means SIMPLY that you have to start to shake off the anonymity that you've been wearing like a security blanket and that has enabled you to stay out of the public conversation and insulated from criticism, opinion, or notice and start to GET OUT THERE.

On sites like ActiveRain.com and BiggerPockets.com, you see Agents posting regularly to their blogs - about investing, about buying and selling, about the housing bubble, about the trials and tribulations of working with clients, and everything else under the sun.

And why do we do it?  We do it because the more you're seen, the more of a chance that you have to be discovered.  Discovered by your prospective clients, discovered by potential joint venture partners, discovered by OTHER media who can help you take your business to the next level, discovered by search engines who can introduce you to people well beyond your reach.

The "hang up" that keeps most agents and entrepreneurs from taking that leap - into becoming a publisher and self-promoter - is insecurity - the "Why would anyone care what I think/write/say?" disease.  And let me address that. 

If what you have to offer is of no value, then you're right -- Don't write something. Or Say anything.  Or Do Anything.  Close your business down and see if anyone out there is in the market for an employee who has nothing to offer but taking up space.  I'm sure that those companies are out there.  And that they're thriving

Over the next 7 lessons, I'm going to share some strategies for going from anonymous, generalist wall flower to being a "Hey, I know you..." agent-investor that attracts investor buyers and wholesalers/new investors to help you implement your plan for transforming your business by becoming an investing agent.  The topics covered will range from clarifying your BRAND to choosing MEDIA to developing CONTENT to partnering for maximum LEVERAGE to attracting BUZZ.  You're only a decision away from changing your business from frustrating and hard to easy and effortless...if you'll jump onto the FAME WAGON.

So, the first step is to DECLARE YOUR VALUE to the world and if you're having trouble finding it, then focus on nicheing down, specializing, and becoming an expert in some area.  Too many people are worthless generalists when they could be valuable specifics...if they would only niche.

To review, the first step to getting famous is to recognize that you're going to have to step out of the shell that has for so long protected you from other people's judgement and opinions about you.   The fastest way to break that shell is to start PUBLISHING.

In Lesson #2 - I'll discuss HOW you want to be famous and what are some fame accelerators that you can use to supercharge your "Getting Famous" mission.  We'll talk about the Power of Association, Celebrity, and the tools that Social Media have provided to make it easy to have your own Paparazzi!

If you want to learn the "7 Steps to Transforming Your Business By Becoming An Investing Agent", visit http://www.Agent-Investor.org.

 
If you want to learn how to transform your life, income, and business by becoming a "From Anywhere" Six or Seven Figure Business Consultant, visit http://www.JointVenturePreneur.com


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