How’s your headshot? As a real estate agent, you probably have one that’s printed on your signs, featured on your website and maybe even splashed across billboards and bus benches.

On photo day, did you roll out of bed and plop yourself in front of the photographer, trusting that whatever image he captured would be good enough? Or did you put in some time and effort to make sure you got the best possible photo, one that represents your professional polish?

You probably did the latter. Real estate is one business in which image and reputation are both critical, and you know better than anyone that those things have to be cultivated.

Like the owner who repaints his kitchen and updates his landscaping to get a better price for his house, you can get more clients by maintaining a positive online reputation.

How’s your headshot? As a real estate agent, you probably have one that’s printed on your signs, featured on your website and maybe even splashed across billboards and bus benches.

On photo day, did you roll out of bed and plop yourself in front of the photographer, trusting that whatever image he captured would be good enough? Or did you put in some time and effort to make sure you got the best possible photo, one that represents your professional polish?

You probably did the latter. Real estate is one business in which image and reputation are both critical, and you know better than anyone that those things have to be cultivated.

Like the owner who repaints his kitchen and updates his landscaping to get a better price for his house, you can get more clients by maintaining a positive online reputation.

“Online reputation management,” like “high current income mutual fund” and “a Kardashian said,” is one of those phrases that probably makes your eyes glaze over.

No judgment; reputation management may sound dry and dull if it’s not part of your job. It’s also the kind of term that gets thrown around a lot but doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. But in most businesses, online reputation management simply means making sure that customers are saying good things about you online.

And while some businesses use shady practices to ensure their positive online reputation, it’s actually easier (not to mention more ethical) to tackle this in a straightforward way. It’s as simple as this:

Give your customers great service, and systemize the way you handle the rest. You’re responsible for the first part. Reputation tools help you do the second.

When the bar trivia theme is “the human skeleton,” you’re the expert everyone turns to. But when it comes to online reputation management, no one expects a chiropractor to have all the answers.

It’s time to prove them all wrong. Mastering these business-building skills is shockingly easy when you use the right tools.

And considering that your reputation has the power to make or break your practice, you can’t afford to ignore it.

It should be reassuring, as more and more industries outsource work and move their processes online, to know that you’ll never be replaced by a virtual dentist.

No telemedicine service will be able to undercut your prices for root canals. No self-driving robot will make house calls to tighten braces… at least, not for another few decades.

But while so many parts of the dental field remain firmly rooted (tooth pun!) in the brick-and-mortar world, your reputation has moved. It now exists almost entirely online. If you want to shape it and make sure it’s as solid and positive a reputation as you deserve, you’re going to have to get online too.