Personal Branding 101 Podcast: Ryan Walseth
Ryan Walseth aka Wally with Lakes Sotheby’s International joins us for this super special episode on personal branding. His personal brand started playfully. As a property manager and investor since ‘07, he started buying homes on his block. He joked that if he purchased enough homes on the street he’d rename the street Wallywood Blvd. His friends, family, and clients call him Wally lovingly and that name became the engine that drove his personal brand.
What’s your why?
First things first, find your “why”, what drives you. Then, if it feels right for you, find a logo that represents who you are. You can use that logo for “swag” like stickers, your social media, blog, and much more content.
When there are 20,000+ real estate agents in the state of Minnesota, it is important to set yourself apart. Like Ryan says in the show, “People don’t hire REMAX Advantage Plus, they hire Ryan Walseth.” Ryan is building his brand around hospitality over sales as a way to separate himself and to add value to his clients.
“I don’t see any of the other 20,000 agents as competition because the pie is so big. I want to work with people that I can relate to and vice versa.”
This is why your personal brand is so important: you differentiate yourself and attract like minded people.
How to use your personal brand to nurture your clients:
Ryan doesn’t just use his personal brand for real estate, it encompasses all of his values. It is, “what I live every single day 24/7/365.”
His personal brand is all about hospitality, which naturally draws people toward him because he’s an expert at making people comfortable-- that’s just who he is. It’s important for your personal brand to be true to who you are. Anything else will feel inauthentic.
How can you use your personal brand to promote online?
Share everything you do. THAT is your personal brand.
“Document don’t create”- if you are constantly crafting and creating this personal brand instead of living your truth, you will experience burnout.
Don’t promote-- share. “People will see through the BS.”
Don’t just share the positive. Share the nitty gritty. Sharing the things you’re doing and what you believe in every single day, it becomes who you are. People gravitate towards things that they can actually relate to.
What’s your first step?
FIND A MENTOR
People spend a lot of time marketing and doing things that don’t have a high ROI, so it is invaluable to find a mentor that can help you determine what would have the highest ROI.
Discover what is your REAL personal brand
Who you want to attract and who you want to work with
Build a strong foundation for the long term
How does it FEEL to hire you?
What does working with your LOOK like?
RESOURCES:
A great place to hire a logo designer
Where you can find the sticker maker mentioned on the show
FIND WALLY:
Instagram: @rwalseth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wallywoodblvd/
Phone #: (612) 770-1361
Email: rwalseth@lakesmn.com
RYAN’S FAVORITE PODCASTS: