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Setting Yourself Up for Success in Spring:

Do you know what one of the biggest concerns of sellers is these days? It’s not being able to get above listing price for their own home — it’s being able to find a new home once their home sells. To help curb this very valid concern, luxury real estate professionals need to get the process started as early as possible for their sellers. Rather than wait for your sellers to officially declare their intentions to sell, it’s important to anticipate those intentions and start their luxury home selling/buying journey sooner rather than later to help set yourself up for a successful partnership.

The key here is being able to create confidence in your sellers. You need to convince them that they will be able to find a new home despite perceived inventory issues, and you can help ensure this by strategically targeting potential home sellers in the markets your clients are most interested in purchasing a home in. Rather than simply wait for new inventory to become available, be proactive in bringing the desired inventory to your client. While most homeowners might not be very receptive to immediately selling their homes, chances are still good that you’ll potentially be able to find at least one homeowner who has been strongly considering selling their home (and just hasn’t started the process yet).

Creative Targeting and Effective Agent-to-Agent Marketing:

Remember, not all home sellers necessarily want to stay in the same geographic area after they’ve sold their home, especially in today’s market. That’s why it’s so important to form strategic partnerships with real estate professionals in desirable markets your home seller may want to purchase a home in. Use the MLS to target real estate professionals in hot markets to potentially reach an even larger pool of potential buyers who might be interested in working with you. Not only does it create an opportunity for you to provide your client with an excellent experience they can tell their own sphere of influence about, but it also creates future referral opportunities from sellers interested in purchasing a home in your area.

Another creative way to potentially secure new partnerships? Tap into the real estate investment market by targeting individuals who aren’t necessarily looking to move into a new home, but are interested in potentially purchasing a home for investment purposes. Seek out properties that are for sale and investment ready, and target homeowners in higher price points who might be more receptive to purchasing the home as an investment property. Even though they may not be interested in moving into the property in question, they may very well be interested in purchasing the property if it features an investment-ready home they can add to their portfolio.

Topics and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• How real estate professionals can tap into “other” markets
• An effective way to prepare for limited inventory setbacks
• Creating new interest in today’s luxury real estate market
• How you can attract real estate investors to partner with you
• Creatively targeting buyers (and buyer agents) in today’s luxury market

Resources Mentioned within Episode:

• Official Website - REAL Marketing
• Contact David Collins
• REALTOR.com Cross-Market Demand Report
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Knowing How to Balance Your Messaging Is Key:

When it comes to marketing, knowing your audience is the first step in determining how you should approach your messaging. If you’re targeting a specific market, you need to make sure that your messaging plays off of the ideas that are important to the individuals in that specific area. Remember, if your messaging isn’t striking the right balance between self promotion and providing your audience with something of value that they care about, you risk your messaging failing to have the impact you’ll need to turn these contacts into potential clients.

Furthermore, the platform you’re using can also play a factor in how you approach your messaging strategy. For instance, your newsletter audience is likely going to interact with your messaging in a different way than your social media audience will. While there may be crossover between segments, always remember to follow best practices for each individual platform you incorporate into your marketing campaigns.

Building Your Brand with Digital Media:

Expanding your sphere of influence by making the most of each digital platform is one of the most effective ways of building your referral pipeline. Whether you’re trying to spark more of a conversation on Facebook, posting stunning professional photos of properties on your Instagram account, or providing a more in-depth analysis of a particular subject on YouTube, every marketing channel you focus time and energy on should have its own accompanying strategy.

So, if each platform has its own strategy, what’s the common denominator amongst all these different platforms? The answer is simple — branding.

Using social media and other digital platforms to continually push your brand image is an effective way to establish yourself as the go-to authority for all things real estate related in your target markets. Curating a brand image, and continually reinforcing that image, is the best way to sustain that image. If it’s your goal to become the expert in the markets you’re targeting, be sure to provide a consistency in the branding you’re incorporating into your digital media marketing efforts so that potential clients immediately recognize you and differentiate you from the competition.

Topics and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• How to write the ideal newsletter based on your target audience
• What kind of social media content you should incorporate into your marketing strategy
• How you should adjust your approach on different platforms
• Incorporating your personal branding to drive your overall branding strategy
• Technological improvements in the world of luxury real estate

Resources Mentioned within Episode:

• Official Website - Alexander Brandau IV
• Subscribe to Alexander Brandau IV on YouTube
• Contact Alexander Brandau IV
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Continually Growing Your Luxury Database:

The key to a healthy luxury database is constantly building up your referral network. Whether your referrals are coming from past clients, your digital web properties (such as your YouTube channel), or from other real estate professionals in your network, it’s important to look for referrals from a variety of places.

And the key to maintaining your database? Reciprocating referrals. Remember, if you’re unwilling to refer business to others, there isn’t much incentive for them to refer business to you either.

Expanding Your Reach Via Digital Marketing:

Digital marketing plays an important role in any luxury real estate marketing strategy. Shayla explains that she devotes a lot of time to her carefully curated YouTube channel, posting videos that help show her personality, establish her as a local real estate authority, and even connect her to the community at large when she interviews local businesses, such as the humane society. In addition to YouTube, she also showcases content on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, noting which videos and content pieces perform best, and adjusting her overall strategy accordingly.

When it comes to any digital marketing campaign, ensuring that your content is properly optimized — the way Shayla does — will not only help your content rank better within search results, but it will also increase your number of impressions, which could in turn lead to additional referrals. Shayla even uses her email signature to highlight relevant market updates, the MLS, and her YouTube videos, constantly mixing it up to provide her email recipients with new information they may find value in.

And where does Shayla learn about these helpful strategies she’s implementing in her marketing campaigns? Podcasts (like this one).

Topics and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• How a digital marketing approach can play a critical role in building your referral network
• How to properly tend to luxury database in order to enjoy continual growth
• Why you don’t need to hire a professional videographer to shoot your YouTube content (and why you do need one when crafting content around client homes)
• Shayla’s approach to YouTube optimization and expanding her overall presence by expanding her digital presence

Resources Mentioned within Episode:

• Official Website - Shayla Twit
• Subscribe to the “Get Sarasota Real Estate Fit with Shayla Twit” YouTube Channel
• Contact Shayla Twit
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Why Addressing Every Square Inch of a Luxury Property is Important:

In the world of luxury real estate, one of the most effective ways to set one property apart from the rest is to properly stage the home — and partnering together with an experienced luxury home stager is the key to professionally showcasing the property and unlocking the home’s true equity.

When a home is professionally staged, items are not merely being arranged so that they’re pleasing to the eye. Rather, effectively staging a home helps potential buyers envision the lifestyle that would come along with their purchase. Properly staging a home will help reveal the home’s maximum value in a way typical marketing strategies aren’t able to fully tap into. When it comes to showcasing luxury properties, professionally staging those properties is absolutely essential.

Topics and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• What is luxury home staging and styling?
• How do you properly stage a home to prospective buyers?
• What do buyers look for in luxury homes?
• How has the luxury market recently evolved?

Resources Mentioned within Episode:

• Official Website - Lori Pedersen Home Staging + Styling
• Official Website - Nissan Michaels
• Connect with Lori Pedersen on Instagram
• Connect with Nissan Michael on Instagram
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

How Different Generations Use Technology:

When it comes to pointing out the differences between Millennials and Gen Z versus Gen X and Baby Boomers, technology is usually one of the biggest differentiators. Younger generations grew up with the technology we use today, or at least comparable, earlier versions of it. While it might take older generations a bit more time and effort to find and learn their way around new online communities, maneuverability is more or less second nature for Millennials and Gen Z.

While it’s safe to argue that this younger generation is more adept at adapting to new technologies, it’s also very true that this generation has become very reliant on what they hear from fellow members of the tribes they subscribe to. As a result, these younger generations are a little less trusting of institutions (and marketing messaging from said institutions), and are in fact very good at tuning out advertisements that clutter their news feeds and inboxes.

So what does this mean when it comes to real estate? Creating loyalty amongst the younger generation will naturally lend itself to expanding your reach as a real estate professional, simply because those who are loyal to you will potentially be more likely to refer you to their fellow tribe members. Building your own loyal base of clients and potential clients is key to sustainable growth, a healthy referral pipeline, and establishing yourself as a sought after professional in the luxury real estate space.

Prosocial Rewards and the Peak-End Rule:

One of the most effective strategies at capturing new referrals is by offering what’s known in psychology terms as a prosocial reward. These specific types of rewards refer to benefits that you as a professional don’t necessarily offer to potential clients, but, instead, your existing client base offers on your behalf instead. Consequently, these benefits aren’t being framed as having come from the professional, but rather having been given to a potential referral directly from an existing client (as a gift, so to speak).

With prosocial rewards, the person delivering the benefit, an already trusted source of information for the potential client, gets to play the role of insider as they give their friend something of value, all on the behalf of a brand or professional without the brand or professional having to really get closely involved in the process. This is a great strategy for securing new referrals from typically already qualified leads.

Another helpful tip when asking for referrals centers around the concept of the peak-end rule, a psychological term that refers to the highlight and culmination of one’s experiences as the lasting memories most easily recalled. Generally speaking, the peak and end are the two aspects of an experience that a potential client will remember most vividly. When asking for referrals of any kind, the best time to do so is as close to the peak of satisfaction as possible, namely because your client will never be as satisfied with your services as they are at that very point. By always keeping the peak-end rule in mind, you greatly increase the likelihood of filling your pipeline with qualified leads.

Topics and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• Who are the next generation of homeowners?
• What is a niche tribe in marketing terms and how can you appeal to these groups to build out your pipeline?
• How can a real estate professional create a network among fellow real estate professionals?
• How and when is the best time for a real estate professional to ask their clients to refer them out to their network?

Resources Mentioned within Episode:

• How to Reach Barry Kirk
• Official Website - Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute
• Connect with Barry on LinkedIn
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Four Different Types of Loyalty:

Barry explains that there are four different types of loyalty that can be split into two different categories: transactional loyalty and relational loyalty. Within transactional loyalty, you’ll find two specific types of loyalty. Mercenary loyalty centers around the possibility of someone else being able to deliver a similar kind of transaction, and is based more on the end result itself than the service received. With inertia loyalty, clients tend to remain loyal to your brand simply out of convenience, often because they don’t have more than one option to choose from. In this instance, think of the type of relationship you may have with your cable company, and that more or less categorizes what inertia loyalty is all about.

Within relational loyalty, there are also two specific types of loyalty that Barry discusses. True loyalty centers around the experience you’re able to deliver to your clients, and often involves one going above and beyond in the service that was offered. The final type of loyalty is the one that is often the most difficult to earn. Cult loyalty is based on the value alignment clients are able to connect with throughout the purchase, and this idea is reinforced when they see other people also make similar purchases. This social proof keeps clients wanting to come back for more, mainly because of the values espoused by the brand and the connection they feel to the remainder of the client base.

The Next Generation of Homeowners:

Because of the prevalence of social media, millennials are a generation raised on tribal identity. Growing up, they were able to utilize a variety of social media sites and quickly find their niche tribe in the process.

When it comes to doing business, millennials are seemingly less price-conscious (despite struggling slightly more financially), and more connected to the values they associate with different brands. Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute ran a study on whether the values espoused by a business actually influence purchasing behavior, and 55% of respondents agreed that those values did in fact influence their purchasing behavior. Among those who identify themselves as brand loyal, it’s significantly more likely that the values of a particular business or professional drive their purchasing decisions as a result.

Topics Covered and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• What does retention mean in luxury real estate?
• What is client engagement in the upper tier?
• What are the four types of loyalty and how do these apply to real estate?
• Who are the next generation of homeowners?

Resources Mentioned Within Episode:

• How to Reach Barry Kirk
• Official Website - Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute
• Connect with Barry on LinkedIn
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Buzzsprout Affiliate Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=891796​

Connect with guest Amanda Bentley-DeSousa via Twitter: @abentleydesousa
Check out Shawn Ferguson's Lab at Yale via their website

Timestamps​

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 01:07 - Segment 1: Slap Shot (Short Story)
• 08:59 - Segment 2: The Origin of "Shoot For The Moon" (Metaphor History)
• 15:28 - Segment 3: Canadian Vs. American Research Institutes (Communication Topic)
• 27:39 - Segment 4: Talk With Amanda Bentley-DeSousa (Guest Interview)

Description
I orbit close to the origins of “Shoot For The Moon”, along with some poetic verse. In addition, I discuss some of the differences between Canadian Vs. American Institutes within their respective regions. I interview the scientifically methodical Amanda Bentley-DeSousa (PhD) regarding her academic journey and observations within both CAN and US research environments. Check out the references and transcript here: https://www.kjbmercurio.com/episode37.

How Andrew Attracts Luxury Home Buyers in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Area:

With Niagara-on-the-Lake being recognized as one of prettiest towns in the world, the demand for available inventory is always high. To attract the right buyer, Andrew explains that he wins his listing presentations by tapping into his existing network and database. In fact, 85% of his business comes from agent-to-agent referrals. Additionally, he also partners with over one hundred luxury real estate listing sites to help get the word out to potential buyers throughout the world, utilizes traditional print marketing to help attract buyers locally, and (of course) takes a very strategic approach to building his social media presence and expanding his reach digitally. For Andrew, the first step though is always targeting his own personal network.

Why It's Important to Have Marketing Resources You Can Depend On:

While Revel Realty Inc. has its own internal marketing team, Andrew points out that it’s crucial for all real estate professionals to have reliable marketing resources at their disposal. Real estate professionals need to focus on lead generation, not building their own graphics and videos to use throughout the advertising process. For Andrew, it’s important to seek out and partner with individuals who align with your own vision, and rely on those individuals to handle the creative details involved with the production process. Each one of Andrew's own social media managers utilize their own expertise and creative vision in a way that compliments the way Andrew wants to market himself. The best advice Andrew can give? If you decide to partner with someone based on their portfolio, don’t micromanage them — rather, let them go to work in creating content for you that has a similar look and feel to what they’ve previously done so well and trust in their process as an expert resource.

Topics Covered and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• How do you sell to a luxury home buyer?
• What are the common marketing mistakes that luxury real estate professionals make?
• How do you reach potential buyers beyond your region in order to create more consistent transactions?
• Why is it important to have talented marketing resources at your disposal?

Resources Mentioned Within Episode:

• How to Reach Andrew Perrie
• Official Website - Revel Realty Inc., Brokerage
• Follow Andrew on Instagram
• Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Where to Start with Lighting and What “Lit Correctly” and “Dim Correctly” Means:

With lighting design, Lynne always starts with the lifestyle of the client, regardless of whether she’s starting from the ground-up or retrofitting an existing home. From her experience In Florida, Lynne often sees her clients replacing burnt out bulbs with light bulbs that are less than ideal. The rendering typically falls off over time, the dimming sometimes stops working, and Lynne is brought in to correct the situation.

When a home is “lit correctly” it means that the lighting is consistent throughout the space. Color consistency is present throughout the home and dim-ability functions as it’s supposed to. A properly lit home should create ambiance and just “feel right.”

Lighting in the Real Estate Industry:

To Lynne, lighting is typically one of the last things clients look at when it involves real estate. Ideally, proper lighting placement should be decided on during the construction phase of the home, specifically during the architectural stage. This allows designers to recommend the right product for the space, design the lighting scheme based around the lifestyle of the client, and provide the client with an accurate budget of what it will cost to properly light a home in today’s world.

Why is this so important? From Lynne’s perspective, people are typically home more often at night than they are during the day, and real estate professionals often fail to familiarize themselves with the existing lighting setup. She strongly recommends viewing properties at night to get a more accurate feel for the overall aesthetic and consistency — and to determine what needs to be fixed before the house is put on the market.

Topics Covered and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• What is the technology behind the lighting in luxury homes?
• How has lighting evolved from fluorescent to LED?
• Why is lighting important and why should real estate professionals and homeowners consider it when selling and building a house?
• What is the future of lighting in luxury homes?

Resources Mentioned Within Episode:

• Official Website - Illuminated Design
• How to Reach Lynne Stambouly
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

What C3 Stands For and John’s Marketing Vehicles:

C3 stands for Character, Culture, and Commitment, which are the three things John Simmons and his partner, Jesse Laner, focus on. What makes C3 different from other agencies — and one of the reasons why John is able to so effectively get his company’s message out in a competitive environment — is the trust that he and his partner have earned throughout the Northern Colorado area.

What to Keep Doing as a Real Estate Professional:

When John used to teach, he had what he called a “Wheel of Fortune” that he would incorporate into his lessons. Within the real estate industry, he uses it to identify how much time real estate professionals have and what their priorities are. John then creates an action plan according to the time these real estate professionals can allot for income-generating activities, and suggests this approach should be consistently implemented in order to maximize output.

“What are you handing out that’s of value to these buyers and sellers walking into your open houses?” John asks. In response, he teaches his team that, in order to stand out amongst potential clients, they need to always provide those potential clients with valuable content.

Topics Covered and Questions You’ll Uncover During this Episode:

• How C3 puts heavy focus on their marketing to further differentiate themselves from other competing brokers
• Why only taking professional photos should be an absolute must for any real estate professional looking to take their listings to the next level
• Why having high standards for print and online marketing is so essential
• Why maximizing social media accounts to connect with potential clients in both a personal and professional capacity is key
• Understanding that some marketing pieces  — namely photography, seller guides, buyer guides, and features in luxury magazines — should not be skimped on to save costs
• Why real estate professionals should always be open to communicating with their clients who already know, like, and trust them in order to continue nurturing the relationship

Resources Mentioned Within Episode:

• Official Website - C3 Real Estate Solutions
• How to Reach John Simmons
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• Why “segmenting” your email list is key for sending the right marketing messages to the right people, creating a bespoke experience, and getting better results
• The importance of understanding technology’s role in facilitating the customer or client experience, and why it’s still essential to provide excellent face-to-face communication and service
• How to think about the content you create and share, and how to create content that’s actually useful for your email list
• A simple approach to getting started with online content and marketing if you aren’t posting or creating content strategically already, whether you want to do it yourself or outsource the work

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• Tobe Agency
• The Luxury Market Report
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• When to use a sales script and when to improvise
• Why practicing Yastrow’s habit of “input over output” is key for closing more business deals and creating stronger client relationships
• How to create “conversational momentum” to keep your prospect focused only on you and your conversation, versus the handful of other people and tasks competing for their attention
• The different types of conversations that lead to creating an authentic connection
• Why it’s important to “size up the scene” when you’re walking into a meeting with a prospect or client
• How getting your prospect talking about themselves actually helps sell your service more than talking about your credentials
• The right way to communicate your success without making prospects feel like you might be too busy to work with them

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• REAL Marketing
• Ditch the Pitch
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• Why getting outside of your market to network and train can benefit your luxury real estate practice and skill set
• The importance of designations and how they help distinguish you from the competition in a saturated market
• Why it’s helpful to mentor new luxury real estate professionals who are coming into the industry and how the mentor benefits as well
• How to be open to change in the industry, whether it’s buyer and seller needs and desires or changes in technology
• Why contracts and negotiations are getting more complicated and how to navigate them better
• The importance of being authentic and making strong connections with clients and peers
• Why having a “spirit of abundance” can help you reach your goals as a luxury real estate professional

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• REAL Marketing
• Parks Real Estate
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
• The Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist Designation

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• Why it pays to take your time bringing a home to market versus rushing to get it listed and sold
• How to overcome the “have you sold anything in this neighborhood?” question — even if you haven’t
• The importance of giving prospects branded, data-driven market information
• The reason you should stick with your branding, even if you’re ready for a change
• Why postcards aren’t helping your marketing strategy and what to use instead

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• Supreme Auctions
• REAL Marketing
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
• Luxury Market Report

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic artist, fantasy illustrator and creative architect Bill Stout, discussing his early work in the comic fanzines,  bootleg album covers,  record label designer,  his apprenticeship to Russ Manning on Tarzan and also to Harvey Kurtzman/Will Elder for Little Annie Fanny, Movie Posters, production design and storyboarding for films like Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.  Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• How to budget your marketing dollars when you're a new or seasoned luxury real estate professional
• They key to making clients feel like your services and marketing were worth every penny
• The biggest mistake luxury real estate professionals make when they’re busy
• Why lowering your marketing budget when business is slow can hinder long-term growth, and what to do instead
• The importance of the vocabulary you use around marketing and business with your clients
• Why bringing your luxury listings to market properly and with high-quality marketing materials matters at any price point
• What consistent marketing can do for your luxury real estate practice

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• Supreme Auctions
• REAL Marketing
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
• Luxury Market Report

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• What to consider when choosing your first brokerage
• The importance of asking for help and mentorship when you’re first starting out or returning to luxury real estate after a hiatus
• Why joining local causes, groups, and community activities is still an essential part of networking, even if you have a strong digital marketing strategy
• How Liz continued to network during the pandemic via virtual “socials” through her local groups

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• REAL Marketing
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
• Liz Heinkel’s Website

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• An overview of how the luxury market has changed since the beginning of the pandemic
• Creative ways luxury real estate professionals and their buyers are managing low inventory levels
• What affluent clientele want now versus when the pandemic started
• How attached homes are becoming popular with younger clientele who want to get their foot in the door while others are looking at larger homes
• The importance of becoming a data authority in your market and how to use the Luxury Market Report to better connect with clients and prospects

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• REAL Marketing
• The Luxury Market Report
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

Topics covered and questions you’ll uncover during this episode:

• How to identify and produce “moments that matter” in your clients’ experience with you
• Recognizing the difference between telling someone you’re an expert and actually demonstrating you’re an expert
• Why clients shouldn’t be privy to all the behind-the-scenes happenings that take place when buying or selling a home
• Balancing boundaries and empathy when you’re involved with luxury real estate transactions
• The importance of solving problems before bringing them to the attention of your clients
• Why it pays to not burden your clients with unnecessary stress

Resources mentioned within the episode:

• REAL Marketing
• Customer Experience Template Download
• The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing