How to Create Visibility with Your Clients and Colleagues

Are you getting noticed? Are you getting the clients crave and the credit you deserve? Do you feel like a mole in a hole some days? You’re working hard and doing all the right things but you’re going nowhere fast. Perhaps it’s time for a new game plan.

We talk a lot in this blog about the importance of creating a great web site, writing an upbeat blog, having a high profile on social media. And all of those things are important. However, all the media in the world won’t be nearly as effective without YOU. How to you become a high visibility person? Here are four key components you can work on, starting now.

• Show up
• Stand up
• Speak up
• Join up

1. Show up. No, we’re not just talking about getting to staff meetings on time or meeting clients when you say you will. Showing up means being highly visible. The easiest way to do this is to learn some new skills that will expand your knowledge and set you apart from your peers. Ideas: (1) become your firm’s social media authority. (2) Become a subject matter expert in foreclosures, new state laws that affect your business, or topic that’s hot around the water cooler in your firm. (3) Take an online course designed to enhance your skills in an area where you feel inadequate. Challenge: which one of these could you begin to implement this week?

2. Stand up. This means to stand up for yourself in situations where you might be ignored or overlooked. You can do this with clients as well as with colleagues. Talk to your team leader or principle broker several times a week, even if he or she doesn’t appear to be responsive. Go to them with new ideas, however small, and eventually they will notice that you are often the center of attention when things are getting done. In addition, find yourself an advocate. This individual could be inside or outside your firm. It’s probably someone you already know. Ask that individual to speak on your behalf whenever it’s appropriate. This means calling your boss to tell him you gave a great speech at the Rotary club last week or you finally got a listing from the relatives of an estate who have been dragging their feet for months. Challenge: can you find an advocate this week?

3. Speak up. This is one of the hardest things for most people to do. And what happens as a result is that your colleagues and competitors are walking away with the kudos and the goodies while you’re still sitting at the table. You have to be willing to speak on your own behalf. You have to let people know when you’ve done good work or contributed to the success of the team in some way. A lot of people speak up and take credit for things they didn’t do totally on their own. Let’s say, for example, that Barb just landed a hot new client and she’s sharing her success in the weekly staff meeting. Without diminishing Barb in any way you say, “Barb’s presentation to the Jones family was outstanding. I think the Power Point I put together really helped them see how the market is trending in the neighborhoods they are considering.” Challenge: when is the next opportunity you might have to show off your contribution to a team project?

4. Join up. The most successful Realtors we know are the ones who are active in the community. First, consider what are the happening organizations in your market area? Is it the Chamber of Commerce? Rotary Club? Kiwanis? Caveat: don’t run out and join all of them or you’ll spread yourself too thin and you won’t make much of a contribution anywhere. Find the organization that’s fun, active, and where you feel most comfortable. And don’t just join up—get active. Get on a committee, volunteer to greet guests at weekly meetings or find a speaker for an upcoming program. Make it a point to see and be seen regularly. Challenge: How many local civic organizations can you research during the next month?

Personal visibility doesn’t just happen. You have to create it. If you’re not consistently visible, chances are you are in-visible. Make sure your accomplishments are getting noticed by people who count, both inside and outside your firm. Let them know about successful projects you’ve worked on. Praise your colleagues and team members publicly for their accomplishments and they’ll return the favor. Develop allies and advocates, both inside and outside the company, who will speak about you to people who matter. Don’t think your work will speak for itself. It won’t. You’re the one who can make that happen.