What's in a Name, Redux!

“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Billy Shakespeare said that—well, actually he had Juliet say it in Romeo and Juliet. Of course, Juliet’s problem is that Romeo’s last name is the name of her family’s mortal enemy and she is supposed to hate him just because of his name! She finally makes the rationalization that his name doesn't really characterize him since he is so wonderful to her—not to mention she apparently thinks he’s smoking hot. Anyway, maybe she should have avoided Romeo, but, hey, it's a great story!

On the other hand, we all know how names can indeed strongly impact us with their connotations versus their denotations. Madison Avenue certainly knows that’s true! The denotation of a word is its basic definition: a "horse" is a solid-hoofed, plant-eating, domesticated mammal. More importantly, though, the connotations of "horse" are far more significant: the nobility of the warhorse; the athleticism of the racing filly; the drudgery of the county-fair pony walking tiny circle after tiny circle carrying screaming kids; the loyalty of that Budweiser Clydesdale! Powerful stuff, right?

Okay, that's cool, but what does it have to do with Real Estate--our noble profession?

Well, when your name is Berkshire Hathaway, PLENTY!!

Two floor calls to the 82nd Street office a few months ago show us that a real estate brokerage by any other name may not smell quite as sweet. In the space of an hour, Gary Boram took a pair of calls that could lead to about $1.2 million in transactions. Wow, floor can still work, that's great. And congrats to Gary for already converting one of the calls to a new listing. Excellent work!

And now, for the punch line, here's where Juliet may have missed the mark with her rationalization about Romeo's last name. Both floor calls came in because the callers had seen some BHHS Indiana Realty signs but they knew nothing about us. What they both DID know, however, were the names Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett and they knew the connotations of those names: success, stability, professionalism, unmatched business wisdom, superior quality, the list can go on and on, all positive, and they said as much in their own way when they called.

The first call was from a couple who had bought from a builder several years ago and was considering selling to move up from about $150,000 to maybe $250,000. They got to Gary because of Uncle Warren's reputation and the connotations of the Berkshire Hathaway name. They didn't call about a specific house and they didn’t call any other brokers—and now Gary has listed their current house and is helping them find a new one.

The second call came from a lady who explained that her listing had expired recently and that she had of course been besieged by every realtor in town shouting how they--and only they--were the perfect agent to get her house sold. She said she was tired of such hyperbole and had seen some of our BHHS Indiana Realty signs around town. She of course knew Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett and no doubt all those positive connotations underscored her perceptions of us even though she knew nothing specific about our real estate brokerage, so she asked Gary if we were different! He then met with her a couple days later and she decided to sign the listing contract on the spot—and she canceled a total of FOUR other appointments she had previously made! Again, congrats to Gary on the excellent work, and thanks to Uncle Warren for the leg up.

Oh, by the way, the new listing is just under $900,000.

Wow, so floor can still work and Gary--a relatively newer agent--has shown us not only that he's off to a great start in his real estate career, but also that there is genuine, and growing, power in a name--sorry, Juliet--when it's Berkshire Hathaway.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! A couple weeks ago, Julie Downham got a similar call from someone who had had their home listed with a competitor and decided they wanted to take advantage of the value in the name Berkshire Hathaway. Julie now has a lovely new $699,000 listing.

And the calls keep coming in!

Are you making the best use of the strength of our brand and all those positive connotations to help get you to the five-yard line so you can punch the ball over the goal line more easily? Or are you sending one of your linemen off the field when they just might make the key block to spring you into the end zone?

Remember, that name Berkshire Hathaway smells mighty rosy!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development