Let’s go straight to it. The method to earn multi-million dollar listings is simple. You need:
Have a flawless and recognizable presentation. Have unrivaled knowledge of your market. Cultivate a strong and committed network.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a simple list, but the work and process of creating it is not easy. If it were, everyone would be a real estate agent and everyone would be making millions doing it.
Let’s set the scene
The luxury real estate market is not limitless, but the opportunity is still there and it is massive. The inventory of luxury single-family homes in North America was total nearly 40,000many of which are likely to be concentrated in luxury markets.
Who buys?
North America is over 240,575 people with an ultra high net worth (people with investable assets of more than $30 million), and in 2020 27% of them bought new homes while another 29% planned to buy in 2021, according to data compiled by statesman.
At what rate?
In 2022 luxury homes stayed on the market for a average of 11 days, down from 38 days just a year earlier in 2021 for all of North America. That’s a difference of over 100%, it’s actually 110,204% to be exact.
Ultra-high net worth individuals are less affected by economic changes like a recession, so there doesn’t seem to be any slowdown in sight.
How to get into luxury (this is what you’ve been waiting for)
Show your worth
It all ends and begins with your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). It’s how you differentiate yourself in any market.
Start simple and build from there.
Define your short and long term goals, your ideal buyer/seller and honestly evaluate what your real estate business has to offer.
What do you bring to the table that other real estate agents don’t? A deep understanding of the market, decades of experience, a highly motivated network or a charming person?
From there, you can put it into words. Keep it short and sweet. You should be able to explain in 2-3 sentences what your USP is to anyone. Internalize it and make it the focal point of your brand.
Create a flawless and recognizable presentation
Customers eat with their eyes first.
This culinary adage applies to a wide range of disciplines, especially real estate. 82% of sellers will give a listing to the first agent they contact and 73% of buyers only interview one agent before deciding to buy a home with them. So, as an agent selling or buying a multi-million dollar property, you need to create an imprint moment. Like a duckling that hatches and develops a bond with the first thing it sees, agents need to position themselves and their digital brand to drive home that “imprint moment.”
The 3 elements of the presentation
1 – Visual
Your website and digital presence come first. 95% of buyers used online tools in the home search process, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
You need to stop potential customers in their tracks because if they leave your site without imprinting it on their memory, you’ve already lost it.
To win, your online branding (website, social media, and directory listings) must be consistent, concise, and captivating. Appearance should communicate your expertise and wisdom to your market and set you apart from your peers (in a good way).
Use color palettes, professional and confident fonts and a stylish and professionally designed logo based on the USP you want to communicate.
Professional advice: create professionals, advanced design presentations i sole proprietorship websites can go a long way to establishing yourself with sellers and buyers.
2 – Verbal
Develop a written style. Make it recognizable. Use it across all your communication channels to create a lasting impression.
You can insert trigger words that help define your voice. Repeating a word or phrase and spreading it creatively throughout your marketing and branding can create an association that brings customers closer to you.
Make your words impactful by using unexpected language, strong words, and emotional appeals.
Most importantly, always write for your customers. This isn’t a vanity project, it’s a tool to help people find and apply for your service offering.
Be meticulous about maintaining standards for these elements because they all communicate your value to customers in one way or another.
3- Emotional
People buy [into] feelings.
Identify the emotional cues you want your USP, visual identity and voice to trigger in your audience.
These are the emotions that drive people to make purchasing decisions, and the same emotions that will bring you new customers:
Greed: “If I do X, I will get Y.”
Fear: “If I don’t do X now, I’ll miss Y.”
Envy: “If I don’t have X now, they will have X.”
Pride: “I’m smart for getting X when I did.”
Embarrassment: “I’d be stupid not to get X now.”
They apply to any transaction.
Know your market inside and out
There isn’t much else to it. It really is as simple as it sounds. Collect and retain as much information as possible about your market.
You should be able to recite information about your ads down to the minute details, not just the highlight reel that you think will interest buyers.
Take it a step further by learning the history of your listing, market, and overall location. Putting a property in historical context can help fill buyers’ image with deep color.
Here are some tips to win the information game:
Survey in the neighborhood. Get the lay of the land from the premises and make connections. Visit a local historical society. Map out neighborhood landmarks and read online reviews (with a grain of salt). Read about the region at your local library. Join to Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).
Be creative and manage to go where other agents won’t, rightfully so.
Build a network: It’s about who you know
“I’ve come to believe that connecting is one of the most important business and life skill sets you’ll ever learn. Why? Because, ultimately, people do business with people they know and like.”
– Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone and former CMO of Deloitte
It’s a simple maxim for a straightforward approach to business, and it works. Build and manage your relationships expertly and it will pay dividends, or in this case, commissions.
82% of real estate transactions can be attributed to referrals, an absolutely amazing number. Especially when you learn that 65% of agents don’t get business from open houses.
It’s as easy as:
Use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to track your contacts and interactions. Record important dates such as birthdays, milestones and anniversaries to seize moments to reach out to your network. Block out time on your calendar to grab coffee or lunch with agents or buyers you want to connect with. It comes to social networks without the pretense of selling or buying. Relationship first, transaction second.
I’ve given you the tools to land multi-million dollar properties, but it’s up to you to put them into action. To make my point, it’s simple, but it won’t be easy. It takes time, experience and effort to get into this level of real estate.
If you have what it takes, Luxury Presence can help you get there. Click here to set up a meeting with one of our experts to find out how.
