For luxury buyers today, lifestyle is becoming increasingly more important when searching for their new home. Real estate agents who are looking to succeed in today’s luxury market need to make the shift to becoming a lifestyle agent, providing more well-rounded service to your clients and leads.
In the latest RISMedia webinar—“How to Succeed in the Luxury Market by Becoming a Lifestyle Agent”—panelists Sarah Knauer, sales partner at Amalfi Estates and Josh Tucker, managing broker at HM Properties, discussed how agents can succeed in today’s luxury market by highlighting lifestyle in their listings, marketing strategy and throughout their daily business.
The webinar was sponsored by Homes.com, represented by account executive, James Glenn, and moderated by Verl Workman of Workman Systems.
Knaur kicked off the discussion by explaining how she manages in a luxury market and why she incorporates lifestyle into her business plan. She explained that agents need to identify what luxury means in their market, determine how to break into these price points and how to identify key ways to put yourself in front of those clients, starting with image and confidence.
“Whether it’s your outfit, your hair or even your car, it’s all really important and plays into the confidence you’ll carry in order to work these clients,” she explained. Workman followed up by explaining how when you put the effort into looking your best, such as dressing for success, it changes your physiology to make you feel and work your best.
Because first impressions are lasting, your brand should also reflect luxury. “A lot of real estate is smoke and mirrors,” Knaur said. “Do you look like you’re in a fancy market? Do you look like you’re showing a lot of houses? Does your logo, brand and marketing reflect all of that?” If you are looking to create scale, you need to have a lot of strategy behind your branding.
Another way to dive into the lifestyle side of luxury real estate is by sponsoring events and charity. Not only will this help you connect with and bond with clients, but you can also give back to the community that you serve.
As many real estate professionals know, promotional items make great gifts for clients. At Amalfi Estates, they offer branded bottles of wine, water bottles and even high-end jackets. “Anything that is a little above and beyond that sets you apart goes a long way,” Knauer said.
When it comes to marketing in the luxury real estate space, it is important for agents to know what’s going on in their marketplace. From knowing what other homes in the area sell for to staying updated on off-market inventory, showcasing your knowledge through social media, magazines or other forms of marketing will help you compete at a higher level and attract more leads and clients in the luxury space.
“Lifestyle and luxury go hand-in-hand,” said Tucker. “And there are a couple different ways to look at lifestyle real estate.” Serving a community around a lake, Tucker knows the importance of lifestyle in his marketplace. He believes that agents should always understand the community they are selling and be able to play that part.
“You have to understand the lifestyle to gain the respect and business from the people that are buying or selling there,” he said, explaining that no matter where you are selling, whether it be Los Angeles or a laid-back lake, knowing who you’re working with and understanding the options around the area, such as dining and activities, are is extremely important.
Tucker explained that in order to set yourself apart in a luxury market you have to be knowledgeable about everything from who your clients are, their interests and opportunities you can offer them, highlighting the lifestyle aspects.
“You see a lot of listings that talk about the house (number of bedrooms, square footage, ect.). In our marketing materials, we’ll focus a lot more on the lifestyle, such as water frontage, local amenities.” he said, detailing the company’s use of videography for their listings, as well as hiring actors to showcase not only the home, but everything that comes along with it.
Because marketing can affect home sales, it is important for agents to put their efforts and resources into each and every listing, even if it is assumed to go off the market in less than 24 hours. Tucker explained that they utilize closed listing marketing materials for future marketing, such as imagery and messaging, to build your reputation in your marketplace.
Marketing plays a large part when it comes to lifestyle in real estate. But having a presence in your local community, such as charities and events, having strong relationships with other professionals in your area, as well as presenting yourself in a relatable way for your clients, can all go a long way in becoming a luxury and lifestyle agent.
For more tips on how to level up your agent services and offer value to your clients, watch the full webinar below:
To view more webinars from RISMedia, subscribe to our YouTube playlist.
