Luxury Insights

7 Characteristics of Successful Agents

2010-03-16T08:00:00-05:00

Here are seven things that most successful agents do:

Look and act successful (project confidence and competence)
Demonstrate professionalism and competence
Be unintimidated by money, power and celebrity
Be memorable - do business with style
Use quality marketing materials
Network with other luxury agents
Always be ethical

March Wealth Report now available

2010-03-15T13:39:37-05:00

The March 2010 Wealth Report Newsletter is now available for members.

In this month's issue:

Retail Sales Round-Up: Splurging Shoppers Boost Luxury Sales
WealthSurvey: In-Store Customer Experiences: Mystery Shopping
White Paper: Building Luxury Brands Using Customer Data & Analysis
NEW: Luxury Customer Relationship Marketing Association (LCRMA)

Members can access this report and an archive of past reports on our website (login required). More on the report from our partner the Luxury Institute here.

Quality service begins with understanding your customer

2010-03-15T07:55:00-05:00

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.
-Peter Drucker

In real estate as in all business, success comes from understanding and meeting the needs of your clients and customers.

It is all about "fit" and there are a number of challenges implicit in this.

Accurately understanding the wants and needs that your targeted clients will use in their purchase decision and evaluation of service.
Crafting an offering--your mix services and how they are presented--that aligns with the client's needs.
Positioning yourself and your services in a way that makes the "fit" clear to the clients AND in a way that clearly differentiates you from your competition.
Execution. Actually delivering on the expectations that you have created in the minds of your clients.

Remember that the buying and selling process doesn't really differ much by price point. However, the luxury market demands more of your professionalism, expertise, communications skills, and ability to get the job done. The most successful agents deliver on this and then some!

"There are reasons some businesses are hugely successful, others “get by” and the less fortunate fail. From a marketing perspective it seems quite simple: You must know your customers and what it takes to make them happy."

- Bruce Johnson

Some of the ingredients for success:

Unique knowledge and abilities
Defined target markets
Ability to understand your clients needs and to create value
Outstanding service
That extra step - surprise and wow customers

Wealth rebuilding bodes well for luxury market

2010-03-11T09:04:39-06:00

U.S. Millionaires' Ranks jumped 16 Percent in 2009, Study Says

"The millionaires’'club in the U.S. grew by 16 percent in 2009, following a 27 percent decline in 2008," according to a new Spectrem report. Affluent households -- those with net assets of $500,000 or more -- increased 12 percent to 12.7 million. At the same time, the number of households with a net worth of over $5 million rose 17 percent to 980,000. Finally, the magazine reports, "The average age of a so-called affluent investor is 58, compared with 62 for a millionaire and 67 for an investor with more than $5 million." Value of a household’s primary residence is not included in the calculation.

Know Your Competition

2010-03-10T09:45:00-06:00

Whether you are a new agent wanting to break into the luxury market, or an experienced and successful luxury agent, it can be useful to identify your current competition and evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, and positioning relative to your own.

Not only is this useful in establishing your competitive advantage and positioning, it can also be a good way to identify what tools and tactics are working in today's market, and the agents with whom you need to be networking.

To identify your competitors, pull the listing and sales in the top price ranges for your market area(s) and see which brokerage firms and agents are most active. This will give you sense of the key players in the market as well as their relative market share. Calculating market share both by transactions sides and dollar volume can be useful too.

Knowing who your competition is isn't enough. You need to know what they are offering. Here are some questions to consider as you evaluate your competition:

Is their market share increasing or decreasing?
Are they targeting a particular niche?
Do they have a clear strategy?
What is their positioning?
If they had a tagline or motto, what would it be?
What three words best describe them?
What are their strengths and weaknesses?
What are doing well?
What are they doing poorly (and does it matter)?
What marketing tools and tactics are they using and what is most effective for them?
What do their websites and marketing materials look like?

Of course you will also want to evaluate your own competitive positioning on a regular basis.

Home Staging and Interior Design Trends for 2010

2010-03-04T11:06:25-06:00

Many of you know Kay Green and Ashley Jennings from our past Leaders in Luxury events.

And we all know the importance of good staging. So, if you are looking for ideas or info on current trends, jump on over to the Kay Green Design site.

You'll find some good information, including copies of their recent presentations at the International Builders Show as well as seminar handouts and articles.

Where's the green?

2010-03-03T22:00:30-06:00

2008 Median Household Income by County

Download the full graphic from the Census Bureau here (PDF 574k)

Russian billionaire backs out of deal, loses $50 millon deposit

2010-03-03T13:23:26-06:00

Back in August of 2008 Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov put the French mansion Villa Leopold under contract for a record $750 million. In March of last year he tried to back out of the deal and wanted his $50 million (€40 million) deposit back.

Yesterday the courts ruled in favor of the owner Lilly Safra, who can not only keep the €40 million but was also awarded damages of €1.5 million. Ms. Safra indicated that she would be donating the money to charities.

The Times Online has more details here

What Nobody Teaches Realtors: Why Some Ads Work and Others Fail

2010-03-01T23:23:16-06:00

Read the full article on Broker Agent Social

Analyzing and Understanding your Market: Real Buyers

2010-03-01T08:14:00-06:00

In the previous post in this series we looked at Days on Market. In this post, we'll be looking at the Number of Closed Transactions, which we like to call the Number of Real Buyers.

The number of sales (Closed Transactions) in each price range is the same as the number of buyers who actually purchased homes and closed on them. When it comes to psychology and communicating effectively with clients, the term "Real Buyers" is more powerful.

Here are some quick tips on how you can use this important measure in your communications and negotiations:

Creating Realistic Expectations with Number of Real Buyers: If you list a $750,000 house does your seller believe that there are buyers on every corner? Usually the seller overestimates the demand in the market. If you will track this statistic and make a simple change in terminology, it may help your seller recognize that buyers for high-priced homes may not be waiting on every corner.

Be sure to talk about REAL BUYERS as opposed to closed transactions or homes sold. Using number of real buyers instead of number of sales with your sellers can be a dose of reality. “In the last 90 days, in the price range where you want to list your home, there have been six real buyers or two per month. And it has taken an average of 175 days of marketing to find each of those buyers.” That’s powerful information!
Negotiating List Price with Number of Real Buyers: Let’s assume you have a seller who wants to list at just over $750,000 and you think the list price needs to be a bit under $750,000. You can say to that seller, “In the last six months, in the price range where you would like to list your property, there has been one real buyer per month. However, if we keep it under $750,000 we are in a price range where there have been two buyers per month. We’re doubling the odds of selling your home by listing it under $750,000.” When you can justify WHY you are recommending a particular list price and show the seller specific statistics regarding the alternate price ranges, you are educating your seller to the reality of the market. You are also more likely to receive a properly priced listing.
Negotiating for Your Buyer with Number of Real Buyers: You can also use this tool when you represent the buyer. It’s very effective when presenting a contract to be able to show the listing agent and/or seller that, “There were only ten real buyers in this price range in the last month. My buyer is qualified, likes the house, and is ready to purchase. With so few buyers out there, doesn’t it make sense to do this deal?”

Next: List-to-Sales Price