How to Stand Out From the Competition: Luxury Real Estate Edition
Every niche of the real estate market is packed with agents, all of whom are working to attract attention and business. Now that you’ve chosen luxury real estate as your own niche, it’s time to ask yourself how you plan to stand out from the competition. Our step-by-step guide will present you with a path to success, but there are no shortcuts here. You’ll have to put in many hours of dedicated work to reach the upper echelon of the luxury market.
Let’s dive in.
1.) Understand Your Target Client’s Mindset
In order to anticipate the needs of wealthy clients, you must think like a wealthy property owner. If, like most of us, you aren’t outstandingly wealthy yourself, you may be struggling to understand what your clients will want from you.
Bridging this gap is challenging, but not impossible! Here are concrete steps you can take right away:
Read publications like Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Businessweek, and The Wall Street Journal regularly.
Subscribe to luxury publications, blogs, and social media accounts dedicated to exquisite food, upscale wine, world travel, and luxury real estate.
Get yourself invited to fashion shows, auto shows, charity galas, and equestrian competitions.
Visit houses of worship in luxury neighborhoods.
Learn to play golf, then play on high-end courses.
Visit upscale bars and restaurants during happy hours.
Put on your best business casual clothing and wander art galleries and luxury goods stores. Don’t fret if you can’t afford anything—the point is merely to meet and mingle.
These activities will often require you to invest some of your capital but consider the value of the first-hand experience you’re gaining. In fact, it may be helpful to view these activities as an extension of your continuing education.
Once your clients experience your intuitive understanding of their needs, they’ll rely on you for their real estate needs and refer their wealthy friends to you.
2.) Invest in Marketing
In addition to the many ways in which you market yourself, it’s vital that you invest in high-end marketing, photography, and videography of each property you list. A failure to do so will turn clients away; they’ll assume the quality of your photos, footage, and ads reflects the overall value you’ll bring to the table.
3.) Systematically Qualify Your Leads
Before you invest a great deal of time and effort into a potential client, ask questions about their occupation, current address, and desired lifestyle. If you notice a sizeable gap between their current situation and where they’d like to be, tread carefully—you may be wasting your time.
Your questions might include:
When are you planning to move?
What prompted this move?
What are your favorite/least favorite things about your current area?
What are the features that would make a property your dream home?
Implement a systematic lead qualification/tagging system. It may look something like this:
High interest
High value
Unlikely
Referred by _________
You won’t be able to accurately qualify each lead from just one interaction, but you should continue to add tags as potential buyers move through your process. When you notice that a client is being hesitant or isn’t putting effort into closing, back off. While you’ll move rapidly when they’re ready to buy, it’s important not to waste your time and money chasing lukewarm leads.
There’s no need to make a formal declaration of your decision; just don’t reach out to these clients. They know where to find you!
4.) Value Their Time
While wealthy clients have money to spare, they loathe wasting their time. Rather than talking too much in an effort to build rapport, keep an eye out for ways to streamline your methods.
For example:
Choose carefully from your available inventory. Only present them with homes that seem like excellent fits for their needs. This is not the time to try a few outliers to see what sticks.
Keep detailed records of your client’s preferences. Every interaction you have with them may yield information that they do not share with you when you first meet.
By creating and memorizing a detailed file, you’ll optimize your ability to match your client with ideal properties.
Begin the home selection process with a virtual tour of a property rather than proposing a visit. Your detailed, high-quality fo0tage of the property should be accurate and informative.
Your client will be displeased should you present them with tempting footage that skips over features that they don’t like.
5.) Create More Value
Expand your perception of your role. You are your client’s real estate concierge, and like the concierge at a luxury hotel, you are going to be calm, professional, informed, and helpful. You won’t make any interaction about yourself, because you’ll be busy anticipating your client’s needs.
Go the extra mile at all times, in every possible way. Excellent response time, outstanding service, impeccable communication, and impressive connections will become your new normal.
6.) Keep Making Contacts
Networking is just as important now as it was when you first became a real estate agent. Other agents will be great partners for you, of course. However, you must also build partnerships with professionals and business owners who are not involved in real estate but can introduce you to their wealthy clients.
The Takeaway
Wealthy individuals have high expectations for their partnerships, and you will be no exception. If you’re considering a jump into luxury real estate, take your time building your experience with median-value listings first. Ensure that your network connections with other agents throughout the region, especially those in Parks Realty, are robust. Dip your toe into the luxury market by working with agents who specialize in your target range as much as you can.
Refine your marketing skills, especially in luxury spaces. Back up your marketing with an in-depth knowledge of Middle Tennessee’s high-end real estate market. Your knowledge, energy, and dedication to your niche will help you establish yourself as a sought-after agent!
Once you begin to build up your client base, continue to maintain your responsive communication style and continue to offer impeccable service to each of your luxury clients.