On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, we hosted our monthly YPN breakfast “Breaking Into Luxury Sales” at our home base, Manny’s Deli. We were so excited to get together in person, connect with our peers and devour advice from local industry experts. You can stay up-to-date on upcoming YPN events by following the YPN Facebook page!
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Our guest speakers Carrie McCormick, @properties | Christie’s International Real Estate, and Ryan Preuett, Jameson Sotheby’s International Real Estate, shared sound advice and best practices for real estate agents looking to break into luxury sales.
The Key to Success Is Maintaining Great CRM Habits
A CRM stands for “customer relationship management” and is often used as a general nickname for a systemic database of clients, or a tracked sphere of influence. As you build relationships, how are you tracking them?
Both Carrie and Ryan emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships with the people in your personal and professional life. Here are several ways they recommend creating and maintaining a CRM system from a relationship mindset.
How Are You Leveraging The Relationships In Your Life?
Ryan challenged us to, “Look at your phone book of contacts and determine who your top 100 advocates are.” Then, make a plan for how you’re going to maintain those relationships. What do you have in common? How do you like to communicate with each other? These people will be the greatest source of referrals, like brand advocates for you as a REALTOR®.
Even if you’re experienced in the industry, lean on second opinions from top producers, brokers and other real estate experts. Carrie stated, “Set your ego aside and be willing to accept help.” Leverage relationships with other brokers by reaching out to them and asking for advice. This is especially important for your first luxury real estate transactions where you can partner with an experienced broker. This person will bring the knowledge and the expertise, and you can use that base to promote yourself and get better.
In the end, people want to work with (and refer to!) the people they trust, and they trust those they know well and have a great relationship with. Creating a consistent process to maintain both your personal and professional relationships will set you up for long-term success.
Get Involved With Activities You Love & Network Within Those Communities!
What’s your favorite activity or hobby? If you don’t have one, we challenge you to try something new this summer!
If you’re doing something you love, then it won’t feel like work. Ryan loves to golf, so he has a large database of clients and referrals from his country club. Carrie loves art, so she has built out her network by going to art exhibitions and more. Be intentional about where you’re showing up.
Ryan shared that, “Some of my best clients come from people I haven’t done business with.” Funneling conversations through genuine interests and consistent communication can unveil opportunities. “It all comes down to trust and finding a commonality.”
While networking in the spaces you’re active in, present yourself as an expert! Carrie admitted, “I use to be too shy to tell people I was in real estate.” If you’re already doing the research and cultivating your market expertise, talk about it. Over time, people will naturally think of you when life events involve buying or selling real estate.
Be Knowledgeable About The Market & How It Relates To Your Clients
Take time to do the research! Understand what kind of homes get your clients excited, and be an expert on what’s out there.
Carrie emphasized the importance of, “Keeping up with the product knowledge because every seller or buyer will want know that. Whether it’s the new faucets, lights, or the latest green features.” These details will help you tell the story of the home which in turn elevates the sell.
As Ryan said, “I look at new listings constantly to understand what’s selling in the market.” The more aware you are of what’s available, you can recite the things that people want to know. He asks his clients: “If you were to live in this home for 5 years, what would you change?” Their answer paints a better picture of your clients’ ultimate priorities.