Brand It Like Serhant: Stand Out From the Crowd, Build Your Following, and Earn More Money

by Ryan Serhant

Bestselling author and real estate, television, and media icon Ryan Serhant shares his proven, three-step strategy to build your brand from scratch Brand is everything. Whether you’re a real estate broker, a hair stylist, or a freelance contractor, your end goal is the get leads and generate new business. You want people to think of you the split second they consider looking for a new apartment, getting highlights, or finally redoing that guest bathroom. And while building a brand from scratch sounds daunting, the authentic you is already a brand—you just might not know it yet.Brand It Like Serhant brings readers through Ryan’s three-step strategy that transformed SERHANT. from that-broker-above-Burger Heaven into the most followed real estate brand in the world. In Phase One, you’ll discover your core identity, from your written brand statement to fonts, colors, posing for photos, and more. In Phase Two, you’ll learn how to deliver consistent content—realistically, by understanding social platforms and making the right choices for your work. And in Phase Three, you’ll shout it from the share your accolades, leverage growth, and achieve your full potential. Weaving interviews with household names like Gary Vaynerchuk, Rebecca Minkoff, and Mark Manson, custom worksheets to get organized, and a case study of one person’s progress through each chapter, Brand It Like Serhant is textbook, classroom, and teacher rolled into one. Start to finish, Ryan’s actionable guide empowers you to build an authentic, enduring brand by becoming known for what you want to be known for—and skyrocket your career.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 22, 2024

Reviews

[David Paladino]

Really big fan of Ryan. If you are starting a business or looking to be more in touch with your personal brand, this book is for you.

[Donna Charlevoix]

Audiobook is read by the author. He is entertaining to listen to. The content of the book was mediocre. I found myself increasing the speed of the audiobook to get through it faster. That being said, I was interested enough to continue listening. He talks about how he became successful and gives tips to the reader. The paper copy has worksheets and questions to answer to help you build your brand.

[Daijah]

I really enjoy Ryan Serhant entrepreneurial content which is why I wanted to check this book out. Turns out I really like his writing style as well. I appreciated all of the research and personal experiences he tied into every lesson of the book. I do think the branding content is base level as a whole but the real accounts from Ryan, the case study student Sydney and all of the entrepreneurs he referenced made the book worth it.

[Michael]

Listened for 1 hour and he said nothing but boring platitudes. Feels like one of these books that should've been a blog post. His previous book, "Sell it like Serhant", was a lot better.

So I figured I'd rather just read a 10 bulletpoint summary of the book and save my time:

-Nail down your core identity before you post a single thing. Define exactly what you stand for and lock in your visual style so you stop looking like an amateur.

-Find your personal "And". Your brand must be the exact intersection of your professional expertise and your personal passion, making you impossible to replicate.

-Tell stories instead of listing your boring achievements. People buy into your struggles and triumphs much faster than they care about your resume.

-Stop obsessing over your follower count. Algorithms prioritize the actual quality of your content over how many people clicked follow five years ago.

-Treat your brand like a relentless 24/7 pitch. Distribute your content across multiple channels so your reputation works for you while you sleep.

-Stop sending lazy follow-ups. Never check in without attaching real market data, a new listing, or something undeniably useful to the client.

-Upgrade your audience into a community. An audience just sits there and listens to you, but a profitable community actively talks with you and each other.

-Own your contacts by building an email list. Move your followers off rented social media space and push them into your own newsletter or private workshops.

-Master the three C's of amplification. Build credibility, earn media coverage, and grow your community instead of just screaming louder than your competition.

-Quit waiting for the perfect moment to launch. You do not need anyone's permission to start building your empire, so make the bold decision to start today.

[Calle Holmgren]

I loved Sell it like Serhant and I had high hopes for this book. But, I found myself having a hard time reading a book on branding from a person who named his company after his last name, in capital sans serif letters, with a period after the word/name, in blue letters. Yes, there were some nuggets in there but it’s clear Ryan’s calling in life is selling, not branding.

[Victoria]

This is third of Ryan Serhant's books and it's definitely the most niche. I always listen to Ryan's books as opposed to read them because he is such a great storyteller and I think that makes his books and life so interesting to learn about. I greatly appreciated the examples he provides and references to his own experiences.

[Ember]

I love Ryan’s shows and have heard him do podcasts and I am pretty sure I read at least one of his other books? I loved this one and took away several things that I am incorporating into my role at work. I’m going to recommend this to a few people. Especially if you own or work at a small business, this book has a lot of valuable insights.

[mia]

i loved this book, although not my typical read, it genuinely taught me some things ill carry with me forever.
ive annotated this book front to back. and it’s something i can always go back to as i progress in my career.

[Clayton Chase]

Nope.

[Bruce]

A solid read from someone who has built his brand and cornered the market of Real Estate.

The brand is everything now. It is your reputation, and reputation precedes you.

[Corina Avila]

This would be a great book for someone who has never thought about, or done marketing. Since I’ve spent most of my career in marketing, it was just old news.

[Scott]

A much better book than “Sell it…” because there are actionable steps to apply the advice given. Easy to digest, and it prompted me to seriously think about my approach ahead.

[Aidan O'Connell]

i didnt like this book at all. seemed a bit useless to me with a lot of repetitiveness. this might work for someone who wants to learn a lot more of business with a practical side

[Alejandra]

Easy read. Highly recommend if you want to sell yourself to a job, find your passion, and learning how to be honest with yourself.

[Arthur Charlez]

Given my background in agency founding, coaching, and property marketing, "Brand It Like Serhant" is exactly the kind of tactical manual I appreciate.

​If Big Money Energy is about fixing your internal thermostat, then Brand It Like Serhant is the blueprint for turning yourself into a media entity

​It confirms what I’ve always practiced: you can’t wait for the world to find you; you have to become the signal they can't ignore. It’s a book that tells you to stop thinking like a service provider and start thinking like a Publisher. You are the content creator, the distributor, and the authority.

​It breaks down how to take your expertise - like running an award-winning agency or dominating property marketing - and package it into a consistent, engaging, and profitable brand that works for you 24/7. It’s all about creating the platform that makes the clients come to you, rather than you having to chase them down. For any entrepreneur or business coach, it’s mandatory reading for scaling beyond the one-to-one model.

[Valerie K. Flynn]

Worth reading. A bit self promotional, but it is written from the author's success of building his own brand. Not being in real estate, his brand was unfamiliar to me.

It was interesting, some fluff, but decent nuggets. I've flagged 20+ spots on his book and will be writing notes up for future reference.

He's encouraging you to pursue your path. He really tries to give you the information to succeed like he did.

Author tends to curse a bit, that's part of his candid style. So if the F word bothers you you may want to go to a book summary service, like Shortform or one the others. It's not excessive, according to him, this is his tamest book of his trilogy.

[Danielle Ackerman]

Awesome nuggets! Definitely one to re-read throughout the branding process.

[Nina ( picturetalk321 )]

This is a completely ridiculous book that I found myself drawn into by Spotify's audiobook offering. I had heard an interview with the author on Erika Kullberg's 'Erika Taught Me' podcast in which he came across as personable. The cover should have alerted me to the kind of book this is: we see a young, dynamic-looking Serhant, gazing dynamically into some distant and promising future, dynamically ripping open his suit jacket (tie flying) to reveal a big 'S' (standing for Superman Serhant, I'm thinking). Serhant reads the book himself. I quite liked listening to his American-accent voice which is strangely compelling, and found the insistence on 'crushing it!' and 'being successful!' hilarious. Some of Serhant's tips are quite useful (it's been a few weeks so I've forgotten what they are now, alas -- perhaps not so memorable after all?) but mainly I listened to this on my dog walks for the entertainment value of a billionaire real estate media personality, writing and reading self-help, American do-it-yourself ideology.

I later discovered that this book was published by Hachette so it slots into prompt 38 of the 52-Book challenge of 2024: 'published by Hachette'. If I read another Hachette book later this year, I may move this over to the 'author self-insert' prompt although it's not so much as an author self-insert as an author 100%-self-promote. :D

Crush it!! Go get 'em!!!

[Amy Castaneda]

Had some good points, but also a lot of what every other business influencer says.

[Cameron Galbraith]

Some actual novel advice. I've followed Ryan for years now, but because I don't work in real estate or sales I never had a reason to read any of his books. The advice he provides in this book is super helpful, even as someone who has done a good job of building an audience online over the last few years. Good job Ryan!

[Matthew Baltzell]

Best Personal Branding Book

Thanks for this Ryan.

There’s lot of actionable steps in here.

This book is a must if you’re taking the plunge into personal brand.