Confessions of a Luxury Real Estate Agent - Part 1

➡️ Special guest today! Neil, Mark's brother and real estate partner, joins Mark and Sarah this week to discuss luxury listings, specifically working with luxury sellers and preparing for sale. ➡️ About 2 decades ago, Neil started like all real estate agents do: buying and selling at every price point. Early on you have to go wide so you can learn areas and grow as an agent. But over time, the ultimate goal is to naturally specialize in an area. Neil specializes in the area around where he lives, but you don't have to do that as an agent. You can choose your target area and focus your business accordingly. ➡️ At face value, there isn't a big difference between a luxury seller and a regular seller. However, often luxury sellers are repeat sellers. They've had multiple transactions. While that adds to their knowledge of the process, it can also complicate things. Luxury sellers often have higher expectations and require more time. Luxury homes are also often one-of-a-kind homes, so your approach to prep for sale and marketing is different for every home. You have to be a chameleon. ➡️ On the front end, this all requires a tailored prelist appointment script. A canned script isn't going to get you the listing. Have the mindset that you're not going in as a salesperson, but as a consultant. ➡️ You have to understand what their motivation is for selling, which is critical regardless of price point. Are they moving for family, for their health, financial reasons, downsizing, etc. And no matter what that reason is, you have to meet them with empathy. ➡️ If you're an agent looking to tap into the luxury market, what gives you credibility is your knowledge. You have to be the expert and be able to illustrate you're the expert. This also gives you confidence. ➡️ An important aspect in the prelist appointment is to also make sure you're taking time to listen and not just talk. At the end, ask: Is there anything that came up today that would prevent you from working with me to sell your home? That kind of open question probably wasn't asked by a competing agent and gives them a chance to voice any concerns.