How2 Write Your “About Me” Page

Your About Me page is your chance to set out a professional profile for yourself on the randrealty.com site. Most agents spend very little time on their professional profile, which is a mistake. In the internet age, your personal profile is the single best personal marketing piece you can possibly generate. Your potential buyers are going to get their first impression of you from your personal profile, so if you have an incomplete profile, a series of random bullet points, or you write in ALL CAPS (which connotes that you are too lazy to use proper capitalization), you are communicating to clients that you are sloppy in your presentation.

Remember that in the modern age, people are going to search for you on google, yahoo, and other search engines. They are likely to find your personal home page. If you do a poor job with it, those potential clients might move on.

So make sure your About Me page presents a professional image. Some basic ideas on how to do that are below:

1. General Suggestions
Here are some general suggestions about writing your personal profile.

• Try writing it in a word processor, rather than on the Randcenter site itself. It’s easier to write it out in a word processor, and you don’t have to worry about Randcenter timing you out (if you don’t type anything for a period of time on Randcenter, you get logged out to protect your personal data, since many agents use Randcenter on office computers).

• Try writing it in the third person, rather than the first person. If you write it in the third person, it seems more authoritative, and it’s easier to be complimentary about yourself. Compare the following: “I am well-regarded by other industry professionals” to “Jane Smith is well-regarded by other industry professionals.” Isn’t the second a lot more authoritative? Write your profile as if your manager was writing about you. Indeed, within the context of the profile, you can actually quote yourself!

• Keep the profile to three paragraphs, no more. Don’t make it too short, but no one wants to read a book.

• If you are NOT a good writer, then make sure you have someone proofread your work for you. Indeed, maybe have someone in the office who writes well do your personal profile for you, in return for you doing some task that they don’t like doing (or just take them to lunch!).

• Be upbeat and positive, but don’t be syrupy or cloying. Profiles that go on and on about how much an agent loves her job, and how wonderful the community is, seem false and insincere. Be professional and real.

• Avoid clichés and slogans. If you want to use some sort of catch phrase that you’ve traditionally used in your marketing, that’s fine. But if you’re using some worn-out real estate cliché like “you’ve tried the rest….[you can fill in the blanks on that, right?]” or “my experience isn’t expensive, it’s priceless!”, then so are a dozen other agents.

2. Substantive Suggestions
It’s difficult to write a comprehensive guide to putting together a personal profile, since the profile is indeed supposed to be “personal.” So new agents are going to have a different profile from experienced agents, and agents with an interesting educational or work background are going to have a different profile than agents who came to real estate directly. But some general principles apply to all profiles:

First, highlight the one or two major qualities that you think distinguish you from other agents. What are your greatest strengths as a real estate agent? Whatever you think those greatest strengths are, you should highlight those in your profile. Actually think about what you believe distinguishes you, and empathize that. If you can’t think of a particular quality, ask your happy clients what the best part of their experience with you was.

Some general suggestions are your ability to negotiate, communication skills, technical ability, attention to detail, transactional knowledge, honesty, integrity, discipline, work ethic, creativity, cutting-edge sensibility, empathy and understanding of client needs, diligence, professionalism, marketing skill, and personal care. Those are just suggestions, obviously, and you shouldn’t simply make a laundry list of those qualities that you think clients want.

An example: “John prides himself on his empathy and understanding of client needs. He says, ‘the best part of this job is when I’m meeting with a client, and I feel that light bulb go off in my head because I know the exact right home I’m going to show them.”

Second, highlight anything unusual about your background that might be impressive, and then connect it to your real estate services. If you have an impressive educational background, then you should mention it. If you came into real estate after an impressive career in another field, then you should mention it. But don’t just mention it, connect it. Tie your past career or educational background to the work you do for your clients. An example: “Jane Smith came to real estate after a successful career in project management for a Fortune 500 firm, and credits that experience with helping her service her clients needs by giving her an understanding of all the complicated parts of a project like a real estate transaction.”

Even if you don’t have that kind of educational or work background, you can still find something in your past that you can connect to your current role. For example, some agents came into real estate after years of working from home raising a family. They didn’t go to college, say, and they didn’t work outside the home for years before going into real estate. But that can be turned into a major positive: “Jane Smith feels like she really knows Westchester County and the needs of the people who move here, because she spent 15 years raising her family of three children in Dobbs Ferry before going into real estate. As she says, “the greatest training I had for my real estate career was living in our local area, and getting to know the people and schools in our communities, and I bring that local experience to my professional real estate services.”

Third, highlight any connections you have with the community or local institutions. You should absolutely mention your involvement with any local organizations, any leadership positions you hold, and your history in the area. If you’ve lived in the area for 30 years, mention that. If you grew up here, mention that. Even if you’re new to the area, and don’t have a history here, mention where you live currently: “John Smith currently lives in Tappan with his wife Peggy and three children.” If you don’t want to peg yourself to a town, then just mention that you live in the county. You want to communicate to clients that you’re connected to the local communities.

The only caveat with regard to your involvement with local organizations is whether you want to highlight organizations that are organized around political or religious viewpoints. If you decide to highlight that you’re involved in your local political or religious organization, you might be signaling to people that you’re looking for clients who are also members of that organization or who share that viewpoint. That might be a good thing if you believe that your local affiliation will be helpful in developing your niche in working with that narrow group of people, but just realize that you might signal to others that you’re not interested in working with them.

3. Outline
Here is how we suggest you outline your About Me personal profile:

• First paragraph: introduce yourself, how long in the business, what areas you cover or specialize in.
• Second paragraph: explain what you think, or your client’s think, is your greatest strength.
• Third paragraph: discuss your personal characteristics that you think humanize you or substantiate your professional qualities.

If you want to go outside the outline, that’s fine. Our general advice on these types of things is that we’ll provide you with a basic foundation of what works, and you are free to then “riff” off that basic foundation. One piece of advice, though – if you are going to do it “your way,” make sure you know what you’re doing, and that you’re doing it your way for a sound reason. And if you’re not a good writer, our advice is to stick with the basics that we’re providing, or find someone in the office who is a very good writer and bribe them to write your profile your way for you.

Samples
Here is a sample, “Mad-Libs”-style About Me personal profile:

Agent Profile “Mad-Libs”

For experienced agents:
Jane Smith is a licensed (Associate Broker/Salesperson) with Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, working out of the ________________ office. A real estate industry veteran for ___ years, she is well-regarded in the industry for her (choose a couple from: attention to detail, professionalism, commitment to personal service, negotiating skill, marketing skill, commitment to technology in real estate practice, commitment to Realtor ethics, etc.). She has represented both buyers and sellers in all parts of _________________ County (or Counties), and specializes in (choose from: first-time home-buyers, new developments, luxury homes, waterfront homes, seniors, any niche you would like to emphasize)

Jane’s clients appreciate her ____ and her _______(what trait or traits do you want to emphasize: exceptional negotiating ability, commitment to quality service, communication skills, patience, marketing skills, knowledge of the industry, experience, etc.). As one client stated, (“Quote from Testimonial”). Jane agrees that this is one of the most important parts of the client-agent relationship: (“Quote from Jane”)

Jane is a member of (name the organizations, particularly community organizations, and particularly leadership). She…. (If she was born in the county, talk about how long she’s lived here; If she has a distinguished educational or work history, talk about that). Jane currently lives in ______ with _______________.

Here’s how it reads filled out (and very generic):
Jane Smith is an associate broker with Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, working out of the New City office. A real estate industry veteran for 15 years, she is well-regarded in the industry for her commitment to personal service. She has represented both buyers and sellers in all parts of Rockland County, and has won numerous production and service awards from the local boards of Realtors and her brokerage.

Jane’s clients appreciate her attention to detail and her tremendous communication skills. As one client stated, “Jane was always on top of things. If we had a question, she answered it. And when there was a problem in the deal, Jane took care of it and kept us informed every step of the way.” Jane agrees that communication is essential to a good client-agent relationship: “My clients know that I’m available at any time to answer their questions, and that they can reach me via email, text, or by just calling me on my Blackberry.”

Jane is deeply committed to the local institutions and organizations of her community. As a member of the Clarkstown Parent-Teacher Association, she spearheaded a change in the local school district to allow for an increase in after-school opportunities for students. And as a member of People to People, she is active in helping the less fortunate of Rockland County. A long-time resident of Rockland County and an alumna of the Clarkstown School District, she currently lives in New City with her husband and two children.

For new agents:
Jane Smith is a licensed (Associate Broker/Salesperson) with Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, working out of the ________________ office. She comes to the real estate business after a successful career as (what did you do?), and has found that her prior experience has helped her in servicing her client’s needs. She is well-regarded in the industry for her (choose a couple from: attention to detail, professionalism, commitment to personal service, negotiating skill, marketing skill, commitment to technology in real estate practice, commitment to Realtor ethics, etc.). She has represented both buyers and sellers in all parts of _________________ County (or Counties), and specializes in (choose from: first-time home-buyers, new developments, luxury homes, waterfront homes, seniors, any niche you would like to emphasize)

Jane’s clients appreciate her ____ and her _______(what trait or traits do you want to emphasize: exceptional negotiating ability, commitment to quality service, communication skills, patience, marketing skills, knowledge of the industry, experience, etc.). As one client stated, (“Quote from Testimonial”). Jane agrees that this is one of the most important parts of the client-agent relationship: (“Quote from Jane”)

Jane is a member of (name the organizations, particularly community organizations, and particularly leadership). She…. (If she was born in the county, talk about how long she’s lived here; If she has a distinguished educational or work history, talk about that). Jane currently lives in ______ with _______________.

Here’s how it reads filled out (and very generic):
Jane Smith is a licensed salesperson with Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, working out of the Yorktown office. She comes to the real estate business after a successful career as a manager in a major retail organization, and has found that her prior experience has helped her in servicing her client’s needs. As she says, “in the retail world, you’re dealing every day with new people and new problems, and you have to learn to assess their needs quickly and on the spot. The great thing about real estate is that I get to spend much more time getting to know my clients and their needs.” She is well-regarded in the industry for her professionalism and attention to detail, and has represented both buyers and sellers in all parts of Westchester and Putnam Counties.

Jane’s clients appreciate her sharp eye and rigorous attention to detail. As one client stated, “when we were looking at houses, she would see things that other agents might miss, and she really got to know us and our needs in a home.” Jane agrees that this is one of the most important parts of the client-agent relationship: “some people think that agents just drive their clients around to look at a house, but if you’re a good agent, you really get to know what your clients need and can help them find it.”

Although Jane grew up in Connecticut, she fell in love with northern Westchester when she moved here five years ago, and has become a fierce advocate for local causes. Jane is a member of numerous local civic and community organizations, including Rotary International and Catholic Charities.

Ultimately, it’s YOUR profile, so write it the way that you like it. So long as it presents a professional image for you, it’s fine. But if you’re not sure of how to write it, or what to say, this guide might help you.