Does the world need another real estate professional?
The world doesn’t need another soda.
Those were the words I heard this past weekend at the Kellogg School of Management’s Annual Marketing Conference where I spent my Saturday in the world of corporate America.
For those of you that are not familiar with Kellogg, it is one of the top business schools in the country and is known around the world for its focus on marketing. It’s located in Evanston, IL just north of Chicago.
I felt a bit out of my element surrounded by people who are on year five of their “ten year plan” to end up in some big venture capital firm somewhere. After all, I’m the guy who started life as a musician and hopped through several other careers (including car sales and banking) before deciding that I was really a hardcore entrepreneur all along.
I knew going in that I would come away from the conference having learned something important. I can always learn something from just about anyone. I never thought that the day would end with me walking away more confident than ever about the business path I have chosen.
The conference was setup in the normal way with a few keynote speakers interspersed with panels about various marketing topics.
Participating in the first panel on “Non-traditional Marketing Methods” was Peter van Stolk, founder of Jones Soda.
There I was, surrounded by the future MBAs of America like a fish out of water. Then Peter opened his mouth and I felt right at home.
If you know me, you know that I can’t stand corporate America. Big business really rubs me the wrong way. What I dislike most are all of the rules and regulations that come with it, and the lack of passion that it evokes.
I will be the first to admit that I don’t like rules. I think they were made to be, at the very least, questioned and many times completely ignored. Rules, after all, are often made by those who have a great need to prove that they have power.
Peter’s first question from the moderator was just to summarize his outlook on the world as he sees it and to say something about the non-traditional marketing methods he uses at Jones Soda.
His reply was priceless and there were audible gasps in the room full of people who weren’t used to hearing a businessman talk this way.
I can’t remember his exact words, so I can’t quote him exactly, but this excerpt from an interview with Peter in Fast Company (March 2005) gives you the gist of what he said:
The reality is that consumers don’t need our stuff. I don’t mean to say that. But when you start thinking that way—a lot of time, business people, marketers convince themselves that people need their stuff. They’re passionate about how you need my new widget. You need it!
The fact is, you don’t need it! And as soon as you get off the fact that you don’t need it you become, in my opinion, you become a better marketer, you get a better understanding of your customer. You’re not listening to your customer when you tell them, “You need me.” You listen to you customers when you say, “You really don’t need me.” Coca-Cola sold 500 million cans of soda yesterday. I think a consumer can find a cold beverage somewhere if they really need to. Let’s just get this stuff clear. Clearly, let’s call an ace an ace. Nobody’s going to lose any sleep, no one’s going to get dehydrated. That’s a fundamental difference, I believe, between marketers and brand builders.
I’m convinced that I don’t have to play by anybody’s rules. We’ll, that’s not true. We have three. A. The world doesn’t need another soda. B. We don’t believe people need our soda. C. We can’t play by anybody’s rules. If we adhere to those three things, then we’re going to create an emotional connection with our consumers, we’re going to be bigger than a lot of companies think we can get because we’re doing the right thing, and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it.
And later he adds,
A great brand is going to evoke passion. You’re going to love it or hate it. And I’m good with that. I’m good with people loving us. And I’m good with people hating us.
Peter’s whole concept of business and branding holds a valuable lesson that can be worth a ton for you and your your real estate business.
Is your real estate business unique? Does it stand for something different?
Could your clients go down the road to the next real estate pro and get pretty much the same type of service?
If so, you’ve got some work to do.
You’ve got to stand for something, and stand for it so much that you rub some people the wrong way. Those people will not be your clients, and that’s fine. Because there are people who will actually want to do business just with you…
So what do you and your business stand for and why should someone do business with you?
Your future clients want to know.
