No bones about it.

What subject piques your interest with a level of intensity like no other? The arts? Financials? Digital imagery? AI? Legal cases? Underwriting? Scientific studies? We could go on and on. For me, it’s marketing. Everything marketing.

Whether collaboratively brainstorming product ideas, learning to better deliver a message, admiring advertisements or geeking out over visual imagery... it all energizes me. One of my favorite reads back in college was Brian Tracy's The Psychology of Selling, a fantastic book for its time. I've always felt there should be a sequel dedicated to The Psychology of Marketing. Without psychology, marketing would be incomplete. The 'pull theory,' is a popular method that attracts customers by sparking their curiosity and interest rather than thoughtlessly pushing products on them. Under the right circumstances, it's wonderful. Create the low hanging fruit.

I suppose it was the University of Maryland's Business College that drilled into me to not sell something to someone that they don't want or need. That said, it's marketing's role to attract as many potential buyers to the product as possible. In the case of real estate, the product is the house. It's only after the consumers arrive at the house to see, feel, sometimes even smell and hear, that they experience the house and, with the help of their professional realtor?, put all the data points together and decide if they're ready to buy this particular home. If the marketing doesn't pull them in, they won't have the opportunity to decide.

I hope I don't sound like a broken record when I point out that marketing is not the area to skimp on when you want or need to sell your house. In fact, if you'll be interviewing realtors?, be sure that you have a good understanding of their plans for marketing. Not all houses require the same marketing strategy for the greatest impact, and an extraordinary realtor? will know which to use and when.

So many of my connections here are in marketing or sales of some sort and I imagine all would agree that no one could simply step into their shoes and sell (consult) well in their industry without some prior training. The same is true of the real estate industry. It's not just about selling pretty houses (though many of us may have thought that when we first got into the industry.)

So what does all this have to do with the costume featured above? Years ago, for Halloween, I wore a ghost costume to work. In the middle of a marketing strategy conversation, the owner of the company chuckled and said, 'Linda, I can't take you seriously in that costume.' My reply? 'Oh dear boss, when we're talking about business, you could take me seriously if I'm dressed as a clown.' It's funny because it's true. When you find the thing that holds your interest intensely, it's tough to break the focus.

If you haven't found that "thing" yet, keep exploring. No doubt you will.

Linda Crane