Discretion is Wisdom. Learn to close deals quietly.
As much as creating content, tagging customers and celebrating recent sales can be effective for marketing, young professionals must understand something very important:
All businesses are not the same. All professions are not the same. And all clients are certainly not the same.
What works for someone selling clothes, wigs, perfume, food or other consumer products may not be appropriate for a lawyer, doctor, Estate Surveyor & Valuer, investment adviser or real estate professional.
You cannot copy every social media marketing strategy simply because it generates engagement.
Someone buys a property through you, and the next thing is:
"Congratulations to our latest client!"
Picture uploaded. Client tagged. Property displayed. Location revealed.
Someone rents an apartment through you, and before they have even settled in, their photograph is online:
"Another happy client! New customer alert!"
I see many young professionals doing this, and sometimes it genuinely worries me. I once had to respectfully DM a brilliant young professional whose blood was obviously very hot & heavy with content every day, every movement becoming a post. I advised him to adjust his approach.
Not because visibility is wrong, but because some serious clients may already be watching you and quietly avoiding you because of how much you reveal online. They won't tell you this. They'll just quietly take their business elsewhere.
As you grow, learn the difference between marketing your competence and broadcasting your professional relationships.
Be careful.
Real estate, law, medicine, finance and several other professional services require diplomacy, confidentiality and discretion.
Sometimes the greatest evidence of professionalism is what you know but refuse to broadcast.
There are clients who will never give you a transaction if they believe doing business with you automatically makes them content for your social media page.
High net worth individuals often value privacy.
Corporate executives value privacy.
Public officials value privacy.
Investors value privacy.
Families value privacy.
And sometimes, the bigger the transaction, the greater the expectation of discretion.
Our firm manages transactions and portfolios for some extremely high profile individuals and organisations. You may never see their names, properties or transactions displayed on my page by me or any member of our team.
Does that mean we are not closing deals?
We close deals consistently. week after week.
But I don't need to turn every client's transaction into public evidence that I am successful.
There is a level you get to professionally where confidentiality itself becomes part of your product.
Your client should be able to buy a ₦20 billion property through you, lease a ₦100 million property through you, or entrust a multibillion naira portfolio to your firm and sleep peacefully knowing that the transaction will not become tomorrow morning's Instagram content.
Young professional, build visibility.
Market yourself.
Create valuable content.
Show competence.
Educate your audience.
Showcase properties where appropriate.
Celebrate your achievements.
But learn the difference between marketing your competence and marketing your clients.
You don't have to tell the world everything you know.
You don't have to photograph everybody you transact with.
You don't have to tag every important person who walks through your door.
And you certainly don't need to expose someone's transaction simply to prove that business is moving.
Some of the biggest deals are concluded quietly.
Some of the wealthiest clients prefer professionals who know how to keep their mouths shut.
And some opportunities will never come to you simply because people have watched you online and concluded: "This person talks too much."
Your social media presence should make serious people trust you, not make them afraid of becoming your next content.
Visibility can attract a client.
Competence can close the deal.
But discretion can keep the client for twenty & many years.
Learn to close sales & do business with discretion.
Discretion is not weakness. You don't often post about your business doesn't mean you are not doing well in your industry.
Discretion is professionalism.
Discretion is wisdom.
Get wisdom. In your getting, also get understanding.
As much as creating content, tagging customers and celebrating recent sales can be effective for marketing, young professionals must understand something very important:
All businesses are not the same. All professions are not the same. And all clients are certainly not the same.
What works for someone selling clothes, wigs, perfume, food or other consumer products may not be appropriate for a lawyer, doctor, Estate Surveyor & Valuer, investment adviser or real estate professional.
You cannot copy every social media marketing strategy simply because it generates engagement.
Someone buys a property through you, and the next thing is:
"Congratulations to our latest client!"
Picture uploaded. Client tagged. Property displayed. Location revealed.
Someone rents an apartment through you, and before they have even settled in, their photograph is online:
"Another happy client! New customer alert!"
I see many young professionals doing this, and sometimes it genuinely worries me. I once had to respectfully DM a brilliant young professional whose blood was obviously very hot & heavy with content every day, every movement becoming a post. I advised him to adjust his approach.
Not because visibility is wrong, but because some serious clients may already be watching you and quietly avoiding you because of how much you reveal online. They won't tell you this. They'll just quietly take their business elsewhere.
As you grow, learn the difference between marketing your competence and broadcasting your professional relationships.
Be careful.
Real estate, law, medicine, finance and several other professional services require diplomacy, confidentiality and discretion.
Sometimes the greatest evidence of professionalism is what you know but refuse to broadcast.
There are clients who will never give you a transaction if they believe doing business with you automatically makes them content for your social media page.
High net worth individuals often value privacy.
Corporate executives value privacy.
Public officials value privacy.
Investors value privacy.
Families value privacy.
And sometimes, the bigger the transaction, the greater the expectation of discretion.
Our firm manages transactions and portfolios for some extremely high profile individuals and organisations. You may never see their names, properties or transactions displayed on my page by me or any member of our team.
Does that mean we are not closing deals?
We close deals consistently. week after week.
But I don't need to turn every client's transaction into public evidence that I am successful.
There is a level you get to professionally where confidentiality itself becomes part of your product.
Your client should be able to buy a ₦20 billion property through you, lease a ₦100 million property through you, or entrust a multibillion naira portfolio to your firm and sleep peacefully knowing that the transaction will not become tomorrow morning's Instagram content.
Young professional, build visibility.
Market yourself.
Create valuable content.
Show competence.
Educate your audience.
Showcase properties where appropriate.
Celebrate your achievements.
But learn the difference between marketing your competence and marketing your clients.
You don't have to tell the world everything you know.
You don't have to photograph everybody you transact with.
You don't have to tag every important person who walks through your door.
And you certainly don't need to expose someone's transaction simply to prove that business is moving.
Some of the biggest deals are concluded quietly.
Some of the wealthiest clients prefer professionals who know how to keep their mouths shut.
And some opportunities will never come to you simply because people have watched you online and concluded: "This person talks too much."
Your social media presence should make serious people trust you, not make them afraid of becoming your next content.
Visibility can attract a client.
Competence can close the deal.
But discretion can keep the client for twenty & many years.
Learn to close sales & do business with discretion.
Discretion is not weakness. You don't often post about your business doesn't mean you are not doing well in your industry.
Discretion is professionalism.
Discretion is wisdom.
Get wisdom. In your getting, also get understanding.