At William Raveis, it’s always been known that “the agent is our customer.” Bill Raveis said this back in 1974 and it’s been our mission statement ever since, but never have the words been more true than with our sales associate branding program. Let me walk you through the process here on our blog.

Branding, by definition is “the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design”, or at least that’s what Google says. But, our branding program is different, much different. The sales associates are not a “product”, they are not a commodity, they are individuals with different hopes, dreams and ideas of how they want to be perceived in their market place. It’s our job to get to know them and understand what they need before we sit down together to create a brand with them. Yes, key word, WITH them, our sales associates are the lead designers in this process. Our in-house graphic designers assist and guide them through the process of creating a logo, or as I call it, the seed.

Let me take a step back for a second though and give you some stats. Our branding program was started by Bill Raveis himself, back in the early 1980’s and since then, we’ve branded over 1,600 sales associates. I’m unsure how much time that equates to because there is no set time limit to the branding process. Some logo designs have taken five minutes and some have taken five months, but that’s the beauty of it: the journey. We don’t just slap their initials down and say here you go, and we don’t just design in one color, because if the whole palette is available, why not!? At the end of the day, the sales associate must love their brand and they must have a positive experience; that is always the goal in our process.

I referred to their logo before as the seed, let me explain. Once that initial meeting is done and their logo is set, that logo, that seed, is planted and designed into every piece of marketing that leaves their desk. It’s not a logo anymore, it’s a consistent look and feel that sets every agent apart in their region. Business cards, signage, websites, advertising, direct mail, emails, specialty items, the list goes on and in everything, it counts.

We love our sales associates and we love designing for them; we love building relationships with them and working together. We want them to be proud of their brand. A brand that will certainly grow their business; it’s the ultimate goal.