7 Secrets to Selling Luxury Real Estate

Selling real estate, especially luxury real estate, is one of the most rewarding professions around! If done correctly, people are helped, dreams come true, and you are provided with great financial freedom and opportunity.  One very important point to keep in mind  when selling luxury real estate versus simply shelter, is that about 95% of the decision is based purely on emotion. Keep in mind that selling is an art that can be learned.

The following seven secrets that the top 5% of producers know and use will help boost your production as well!

    1.    Maintaining a Professional Attitude.. one of the most important characteristics to develop while selling luxury real estate is emotional control.  Make up your mind that you’re not going to allow yourself to get overly excited when things are going well or utterly depressed when things seem to be falling apart. Because both will happen. 

    2.    Long Term Perspective.. The serious slump that the luxury market has been in the last several years is finally beginning to end. The fact that you are reading this indicates to me that you have survived or that you are starting this business at a very good time.  It is extremely easy to form bad habits during the good times.  Therefore, as things are beginning to move forward, use this time to develop and hone your selling skills.  A wise friend of mine once said “sometimes the tough times are good for us because they make us do business the way we should be doing it all the time.” How true that is! 

    3.    Serving versus Selling.. How do you really see your job? Is it just to get people to do what you want them to do and pocket a commission? Hopefully not because that is very short sighted for becoming a top producer.  You are to help solve peoples problems and fulfill their needs and desires  It is not all about you but about them.  Focus your on compassion not commissions.  Successful selling equates to unselfish service. An old maxim sums it up “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”.

    4.    Self Discipline..This character trait is without a doubt the most important one in obtaining a high-level of success.  If this business was easy, everyone could do it.  Make yourself do what you should be doing versus simply what you want to do. A disciplined life will develop long-term success in all areas of life.  There is a great deal in this business that you will not necessarily enjoy but your commitment will help you overcome your fears, frustrations, and even procrastination..and fuel your actions!  After all, you do not try real estate… It tries you!

    5.    A Contact Sport.. If you don’t have appointments, you won’t make sales. It’s as simple as that.  Commit yourself to having at least seven telephone conversations with prospective buyers or sellers each day. It helps you sort out prospects from suspects. You have more confidence because you leave the office knowing that you have done what needs to be done.  Yes, that old-fashioned telephone – not just emails.  Learn to live by the law of averages. The more contacts, the more appointments, which equal more sales.  This isn’t brain surgery..but it does take something few people possess..self discipline and determination!

   6.    Questioning/Listening.. Sales people tend to talk themselves out of more sales than they ever do into them.  The art of selling luxury real estate or any other kind, is built on the same foundation as effective counseling – deep questioning and attentive listening. People will tell you how they want to buy. You have to understand that first and realize you are not there to just give your spiel...and hope!

7.    Sincere Service.. The vast majority of Realtors never build a sustainable business because they have a “love’em and leave’em”attitude.  Not only do they fail to provide excellent service, most of them provide hardly any service after the sale. The greats in our luxury real estate business do the opposite. They create at least 70% of their business on referrals from very satisfied customers. My friend Kathy Iverson, a top agent in Beaver Creek CO, stated “Terry, it’s all about relationships. That sums up our entire business”. So..go the extra mile! Do the unexpected!  And referrals will begin flowing in. Then you will have  discovered the greatest “secret”....Serving Others!!