Seen another company’s mission statement that impressed you? Want to create one “because every company is supposed to have a mission statement?“
Whatever the reason is, you’re in the right place.
In this article, I’m going to make a case for mission statements, talk about the benefits of having one, and give you helpful examples and critique.
Let’s dig in!
What’s a mission statement and does your real estate firm need one?
A mission statement is a formal description of the company’s aims and capabilities.
Mission statements are supposed to help the reader understand at a glance who the company serves and what kind of results can their customers expect.
It’s not necessary to go any fancier than that.
Go too broad and the statement waters down and loses its punch.
Create a succinct statement that tells a lot in a few words and it will:
- Make your company sound professional
- Move the needle in the direction of trust
- Help your potential clients understand your business better
- Inspire your potential client to call you
That’s all good and dandy, but surely a real estate company doesn’t need a mission statement, right?
Perhaps not. But why take that gamble?
Mission statements can easily be created in a couple of hours and your business is going to reap the benefits for as long as it exists.
Does a small real estate business need a mission statement?
Even the businesses with one employee need mission statements so the answer to this question is a resounding yes.
A well-crafted mission statement will:
- Inform your decision-making
- Eliminate excuses
- Provide clarity
- Boost your moral
- Make you sound more professional in the eyes of your clients and colleagues
Your company needs every advantage it can get.
Creating a mission statement you can be proud of can set you apart from your competition and show your willingness to go a step further any everybody else.
Benefits of mission statements for large real estate companies
It’s hard to keep everyone on the same page when you have a large business.
And we all know how important it is for everyone to pull in the same direction.
This is where a mission statement comes in handy.
Here are 5 ways a powerful mission statement can contribute to your large real estate company:
- It adds to the company culture
- It helps put the staff on the same page
- It helps recruit the right people for your company
- It can help you audit your company and pinpoint which types of activities you want less, and which you want more of in order to achieve goals
- It can help reinforce the customer-centric approach to business within the company
- Plus all the benefits already mentioned in the previous section of the article that apply to large companies as well
Mission statement best practices
Regardless of all the possible differences between companies, which are numerous, some mission statement guidelines apply no matter what.
A mission statement should be:
- Simple to understand
- Succinct
- Rooted in the present
- Customer-centric
- Problem-centric
- Humble, ego-free
- Inspirational in its authenticity
Expanding on the last point, a mission statement should be inspirational because of its authenticity and truthfulness, not because it’s embellishing things and describing a better version of your company.
Mission statement best practices also include tips like:
- Describe what you can do for your customers
- Create more than one while brain-storming
- Get second, third, or however many other opinions you need
- It’s OK to change a mission statement, it’s not set in stone
How to get the most out of your mission statement
Like any other tool, a mission statement needs to be used for your company to see any benefits from having one.
To use your mission statement is to make your staff and clients aware of it.
With the staff, it’s easy.
You could do an exercise like requesting everyone to chime in on the mission statement and critique it.
This way it will force your employees to not only read the mission statement but also understand it.
With the clients, it’s a bit trickier.
It’s best to display your mission statement in places where it stands a chance of being discovered but without putting too much attention on it.
For example:
- In the footer of your website
- Towards the bottom of your Home Page
- Anywhere in your About Page
- On the back of your business card (if it’s succinct enough)
- In your promotional materials
- Framed on the wall somewhere in your offices
Mission statement generators
Mission statement generators are tools that can help you create your mission statement.
There are four different types of mission statement generators:
- Ones that ask key questions and craft your mission statement based on the answers
- Ones that break down a mission statement and let you fill in the key components yourself
- Ones that break down a mission statement and provide you with a lot of options for each of the component so you can stitch them up and create your statement
- Ones that generate completely random mission statements and throw them at you in hope that something sticks
I wrote an article where I listed the top 5 free mission statement generators.
Feel free to check it out to find more about all of them or continue reading here for the winner and runner-up.
Here are the best two generators I found:
- HoneyBook mission statement generator – get your mission statement by answering questions
- Whole Whale mission statement generator – fill in key components to craft your mission statement
Keep in mind that these automatically generated mission statement will lack power and authenticity.
But they’re OK to check out if you need some inspiration and plan on heavily editing them to fit your real estate business better.
Talk about inspiration, here are 10 mission statement examples from companies in the real estate industry.
10 Real estate mission statement examples plus my critique of them
Score: 4/5
I like the consumer-centric aspect of this mission statement, but it could be a bit more succinct and to the point.
Turn Key Real Estate
To provide the most professional, compassionate, and trustworthy service in the industry. Our client’s interests are very important to us and we pledge you will always be our top priority. We are dedicated to developing long-term client relationships guaranteeing you will always have us as your real estate resource even after the transaction has concluded.
Score: 3/5
Unclear at times, this mission statement talks too much about the company itself.
Hybrid Real Estate
The mission of Hybrid Real Estate, Company is to provide an outstanding level of service and expertise in the real estate market that is innovative and ambitious. The Hybrid Real Estate, Company is dedicated to the highest standards, systems and performance necessary to fulfill all of your real estate dreams.
Score: 3.5/5
Points for brevity, but it lacks clarity and feels very vague.
Inspirited Real Estate
We exist to provide world- class services in the area of our core competences that leave our clients happy and thoroughly satisfied.
Score: 4.8/5
This mission statement approaches perfection. It’s succinct, customer-centric, and concrete.
Scarce Real Estate
We uphold the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and integrity whilst providing the best personalised real estate service to our community. In doing so we provide a positive and memorable experience for all our customers, creating loyal clients for life.
Score: 4.4/5
Another very competent mission statement that does everything well.
Neal Estate Team
With integrity, expertise and hard work The Neal Estate Team delivers world class personal service helping our clients get great value for their homes and real estate investments while supporting our families and our community.
Score: 3.7/5
While this mission statement carries a great customer-centric message, it lacks brevity and feels a tiny bit all over the place.
Novus Realty
Our mission is to provide an outstanding level of service, excellence and expertise in the real estate market to our clients. To always bear in mind that behind every real estate transaction, there is always a person or family involved. To act in the best interest of our clients at all times, by offering unquestionable ethics on all transactions and to develop long-lasting relationships with our clients by offering exceptional service and utmost customer satisfaction.
Score: 4/5
A very decent mission statement that would benefit from a bit clearer language.
Hutchinson & Harlow Real Estate
At Hutchinson and Harlow Real Estate we aim to give our clients a specialised real estate experience, providing state-of-the-art professional services to vendors and buyers that create maximum benefit and personal satisfaction in a lifetime relationship.
Score: 4.5/5
I love how customer-centric this mission statement is.
Allied Commercial Real Estate
Our mission is to provide our clients with the highest quality of brokerage services available. To bring a value-added and highly qualified team of real estate professionals to the table for all of our clients from the smallest to the largest. To provide our clients with extensive market analysis and expertise that fosters innovative solutions and rewarding real estate opportunities.
Score: 3.5/5
While it’s great that this real estate company cares about their employees, the mission statement is not the place to talk about it this much.
Hill Real Estate
To establish our agency as the preferred real estate company within our market area, by building relationships within our community, staff and business providers. To provide systems, tools and services for our staff to enhance their careers and help them achieve the highest degree of success in their business and personal lives.
Score: 4.7/5
This mission statement is customer-centric, short, and to-the-point. It’s hard to point out anything wrong with it.
Gumenick Properties
The Mission of Gumenick Properties is to create value by developing, acquiring and managing quality real estate while providing excellent customer service.