While you can’t always tell a book by its cover, a well wrapped package tends to be more inviting to explore than something that looks like it fell off the back of a garbage truck. I’m always surprised when I attend investor meetings. We’re an entrepreneurial bunch of independent business people that run the gamut in terms of style, appearance, and grooming.
What I find most interesting are the people who go to meetings to network, seek loans, find financial partners, or negotiate deals looking like an unmade bed. Ripped or soiled jeans, beat-up gym shorts, shirts that look as though they double as pajama tops and 3 days of beard stubble don’t inspire confidence. Some show up looking like a million bucks and others look like they don’t have two nickels to rub together. It is said that that average person sizes someone else based on visual cues (appearance) in about 15 seconds.
What’s the biggest challenge facing the new investor? If you’re new there’s probably a list as long as your arm and choosing just one can prove difficult. Is it establishing credibility? Finding leads? Letting people know what you do or want to do? What does an investor look like? A policeman has a uniform, a hat and a gun; a doctor has a white coat. Lots of people can be recognized by the uniform they wear; but what about the investor?
When I first began attending REIA meetings, (that’s Real Estate Investor Association for the uninitiated), I was always impressed by the folks with shirts that had their business logo embroidered on them. They looked more professional, seemed more confident, more knowledgeable, more… well you know…prepared. Why was that? I think it was because they looked the part. They looked like they actually had a real business because if they were willing to invest in branding their business on their apparel, they must also be doing other things well too.
I recently developed a new product called The Ultimate Lead Generation Program for Real Estate Investors. It provides over 100 ways to locate motivated sellers; many of them free or very inexpensive to implement. One strategy listed under the “A” section is Apparel and it can provide multiple benefits. Anything that looks good and says “We Buy Houses” can get conversations started by people asking, “How do you do what you do?” Do you want to buy their house? A professional appearance coupled with a simple marketing message can go a long way.
I’ve been using shirts and hats with my business logo for years. A buddy of mine has his rehab crews wear tee shirts with his log, message, and phone number on them. The workers like the free tee shirts and he likes the free advertising. Even if you don’t go for the logo look, think about the image you project; when you’re a well wrapped package it will definitely make a difference in your business.
To your success
Augie Byllott
One of the best providers for items with logos (and they can help you design the logo too) is Queensboro Shirt Company ; you can check them out right here: Queensboro