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A: The biggest thing a realtor can do to manage his or her reputation is to be truthful, honest, and fair. A great deal of my business comes from referrals. When a client feels well taken care of during a transaction and the experience is a positive one, it is likely they will share my name with others.

There is nothing better than a happy client to bolster your reputation. Serving your client requires proper communication not only with them, but as well as with other agents. All parties appreciate being on the same page.

This also helps manage expectations for both buyers and sellers to make critical decisions with as much information as possible.

Social media, especially my webpage, Instagram and Facebook have really been helpful. They are easy platforms for my past, present and future clients to understand the scope of my business.

It is very convenient for them to get the information they are seeking whether they are local or out of town. It is also easy to keep the status of properties current.

As with anything, managing a reputation is a combination of communicating the practice of your business and consistent service to your clients.

Matt Heafey, the Grubb Co., 510 5411754,

heafey@grubbco.com.

A: Building and curating the CAENLUCIER brand began with a simple, yet often overlooked decision.

What is our unique value proposition and are we willing to make the commitment to pursue a singleminded focus in the market? Most agents in San Francisco are generalists and shy away from taking this step in their business.

We choose to specialize, without exception, in properties in the city’s northside neighborhoods. We even developed a digital analytics program, the San Francisco Property Analytic System, which targets the 2,200 singlefamily homes in Pacific and Presidio Heights, upper Cow Hollow and Sea Cliff.

The results from our brand position with our personal client relationships and online have been remarkable. Clear and constant messaging through our marketing and advertising has elevated our unique value to buyers and sellers in these prime city neighborhoods. Joseph Lucier and Stacey Caen, Sotheby’s International Realty, 4152962218, info@caenlucier.com.

A: The golden rule is the principle of treating others as you want to be treated — and ultimately inspire us to treat each other with respect, kindness and fairness.

As Realtors, we have a code of ethics and standards of practice that we have to abide by. We do a pretty good job of policing ourselves. So when someone is not playing by the rules, they can be disciplined and penalized through professional standards and arbitration hearings.

By the way, not every licensee is a Realtor. Like any industry, there are a few bad apples, and we seem to know who they are and who to be cautious about doing business with.

The golden rule for every business person is, “Put yourself in your customer’s place.”

If you can conduct your business, and your life for that matter, with these two golden rules, your stellar reputation will speak for itself both online and in person.

Jeannie Anderson, Compass, 4152714887, jeannie.anderson@compass.com.