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Luxury Real Estate Company & Personal Branding: What Is Your Claim to Fame?

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:44 +0000

Ariana Rose holding up an Amaranth,
Team Member of B.D's Earththrine Farms, Ojai, California

One of the most common mistakes that luxury real estate marketing professionals make is trying to be all things to all people. Focus is mission critical in marketing luxury real estate and in company and personal branding as well. If you can focus on a specific niche, whether it is a neighborhood, or a demographic or a type of property and also be the best in your marketplace in that one niche, your chances of success will improve exponentially.

The idea is to become the first luxury real estate marketing professional to come to mind in that specific category of business. When you select the category that is best for you must:

Select something about which you can feel passionate.
Select a niche that is virtually uncontested, something that you can do better than anyone else in your marketplace.
Select an under served niche that you can dominate and demonstrate your expertise

Here is an example of niche marketing that ties all three of these points together. At our farmers market in Santa Barbara, California, there is one farm that stands out as the best in class for organic herbs. Although, BD’s Earthrine Farms, from nearby Ojai, also grows and sells fruits and vegetables, in our minds, and in the minds of many local restaurants, Eartrine stands for the best herbs in our area. We never miss a stop at their stand.

On our last trip there we noticed a rather remarkable “flower” that looked like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book, called amaranth. In talking with Ariana Rose from Earthrine, she explained that the amaranth is actually the oldest cultivated edible vegetable. We suspect that most people would buy these fascinating vegetables as ornamentals but people around the world also value amaranths as leaf vegetables and cereals.

Are amaranths a big seller? Probably, they are not. But, growing them and selling them at the farmers market speaks volumes about the breadth and depth of Earthrine’s knowledge and expertise in lesser known organic foods which is their claim to fame. Their passion for what they do is palpable. Everyone who works there smiles and they do their best to make you feel good, too.

What is your claim to fame?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: It's All About Moo!

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:00:45 +0000

Instantly communicating your extraordinary promise of value as a luxury real estate marketing professional is the goal of strategic branding. It is a challenge to distill your marketing message, the benefits that will be derived by working with you, into just a few words. If you can do this through humor you have the opportunity to hit a home run. If you can do this with video, you can hit a grand slam home run because video offers the opportunity to spark word-of mouth advertising and trigger viral marketing through social media channels.

You will remember the highly successful “Got Milk?” campaign. That expression hit a chord and became a “meme” A meme is a concept that gets passed from one person to another like a virus. In just two words, and some very humorous situations where milk as a thirst quencher was unattainable the Got Milk? ads conveyed the promise of value that only milk could satisfy.

Today, at the bottom of the Wall Street Journal Online was a curious miniature advertisement with a call to action that said “Visit Mootopia. Roll over to explore.” The ad was only two inches wide by ¾ inch tall. And, the idea of scrolling over an ad was intriguing.

It was an hilarious 30 second video that extended the Got Milk? advertising campaign. In fact there were two additional, must see, 30 second videos that were also available to view adjacent to the video player. Each video communicated in a humorous manner three benefits of drinking milk:

Shinier Hair
Stronger Muscles
Healthier Teeth

Check out the Mootopia Videos for yourself and you will see what we mean.

These videos were very funny and they were easy to recall which makes it easier to share with others. Distilling your marketing message and succinctly communicating your extraordinary promise of value is paramount in the game of marketing luxury real estate. Tapping into this powerful opportunity of “Sharing” that social media offers can help you build your reputation more rapidly than ever before.

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Dare to Dance to the Beat of a Different Drum

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:00:44 +0000

Personal branding in luxury real estate marketing is all about setting your own tone, listening to your gut instincts, finding your own rhythm and dancing to the beat of a different drum—your unique brand signal. Conforming to the norm will not get you very far. Distinguishing yourself from your competition, stepping out, and making a statement will help you reach top-of-mind status in your marketplace.

Standing out from the crowd sometimes takes fortitude. Blending in is often times considered to be safer. But, it is important to understand that a weak brand signal will not attract very much business.

Switch places! Ask yourself these questions:

If you were ready to sell your $1M+ home, who would you select to market your home (other than you)?
Who are the first three agents that come to your mind?
Who do you trust?
Now prioritize them. Who comes to mind first, second and third?
Do any of them truly stand out as unique?
If so, does that person’s brand signal resonate with yours?
What characteristics do each these agents possess that is distinguishable from the other two?

The goal of personal branding is to make the implicit explicit, to amplify what is unique, what is different about you, obvious. That way people who can appreciate your unique qualities can quickly gravitate to you because they recognize that you are a match.

The common fear, when taking a unique stance is that there will be a scarcity of potential clients who will appreciate your uniqueness when you express your authentic self as a brand. The truth is there only appears to be scarcity of clients when you appear to be like everyone else.

We encourage you to follow your heart and listen to your inner voice. Tune into your unique brand signal. Dare to dance to the beat of a different drum.

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Personal Branding: Feather Your Clients' Nest with Bespoke (Personalized) Service

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:01:00 +0000

One of the most important words in the Language of Luxury to include in your vocabulary is “bespoke”. It means tailored, made to order, personalized or custom-made. As a luxury real estate marketing professional adopting a “bespoke mindset” and offering a customized service can go a long way to differentiate you from your competition. Feather your client's nest with bespoke service. This will add another feather in your cap and give your clients a compelling reason to refer you to others.

Nothing defines your personal brand better than your own brand of clothing or your own custom-made perfume. In one of the finest men’s haberdasheries in London, Turnbull & Asser, you can find an entire department of bespoke merchandise. While it is world renowned for its bespoke shirts, a tradition for over 120 years, Turnbull and Asser now sells bespoke belts, boxer shorts, gloves, knitwear, sleep wear, socks, ties, and umbrellas.

Bespoke perfumery is an art but it is also a science. The best perfumers are usually graduates of the prominent International Superior Institute of Perfume, Cosmetics and food Aromas (ISIPCA). Perfumers who are masters of their craft can identify hundreds of smells by nose. They often spend up to one year creating a single personalized bespoke fragrance.

Some bespoke perfume artisans take on just one or two clients per year. Depending on the rarity and availability of the chosen oils and ingredients, the cost can be up to $70,000. It may take up to three or four private consultations to concoct your own signature scent. There is an artisan perfumer in California who can create a bespoke perfume for you by mail for $900.

Bespoke goods benefit not only the customers, who can freely express their individuality, but also the artisan, as they are not constrained by the commercial limitations of mass production. Delivering a customized service in marketing luxury real estate can make you stand out and also offer you a way to express your own creativity.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Cultivate Existing Relationships by Planting "Forget-Me-Nots"

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:00:04 +0000

Forget-Me-Not Flowers

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it can take a considerable investment of time, energy and often money to acquire a new client. The key is to keep that client raving about your service long after you have worked with them, to insure a steady flow of referral business. This involves creating a superior client experience in the first place. What does it take to accomplish this? In three words it takes: Client Experience Management.

Do you have a Client Lifecycle Strategy for managing a rich client experience during the transaction and also for retaining your clients? You must have a strategy for being memorable and staying "top-of-mind". Most agents are focused on “farming” their marketplace for new business, which is a good thing. But, to be a true market leader you also need to cultivate new relationship by tending to existing ones and planting perennial “forget-me-nots”.

What do clients want to experience the most in a relationship with you?

1.   They want to feel cared for.
2.   They want to feel remembered.
3.   They want to feel accepted.
4.   They want to feel uplifted.
5.   They want to feel understood.

Here are some more questions that you should ask yourself:

Have I asked them for permission to stay in touch?
How often should you stay in touch with them after the sale?
What are the best methods for staying in touch?
How can I show them that I still care?
How can I continue to contribute to them

Every one of the above questions actually presents a way to differentiate yourself from your competition, to stand out from the crowd. In marketing luxury real estate client retention is of paramount importance. Be sure you come up with answers that are uniquely your own.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Luxury of Giving Yourself Time

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:03:56 +0000

Sandyland Beach, Carpinteria

In defining what luxury means, the majority respond with one word: time. Despite the plethora of time saving devices that we all accumulate, we are still time starved. We feel that it is important at least once a day to turn off all those devices, and get away from it all. Our favorite is to take a walk to the beach, our conference room. The walk invigorates us, clears our heads, inspires us, and feeds our souls. What will you do to get away?

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Luxury Real Estate Websites: Heidi Bintz - Vail, Colorado

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Luxury real estate marketing is a high stakes game. Today's luxury real estate websites must be designed with a rich graphic user interface that immediately engages the senses and holds the visitor's attention. They also need to be designed to offer a high level of satisfaction on multiple devices including those with touch screens--think iPad and Smartphones.

Here is the luxury real estate website case study of Heidi Bintz, Forbes Sotheby's #1 highest volume produce in Vail Colorado: www.VailMountainLifestyle.com.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Command the Competitive Edge—Follow Through!

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:00:44 +0000

Roger Federer has 16 Grand Slam titles, Photo by Mandj 98

Today, marketing luxury real estate involves a much more expanded scope of activities than ever before. Following through on details is more challenging now, especially with the added arena of social media which can be quite daunting. Yet, to be a champion and command the competitive edge it is imperative that you devise and execute systems that allow you to consistently follow through on all of the luxury real estate marketing fundamentals.

In sports, such as golf, tennis, and baseball, coaches insist that their athletes follow through with their swing. From a logical perspective, it seems odd that one should continue the swing long after the ball has hit the sweet spot of the club, the racket or the bat and sails away. However, it is that follow through on the swing (in empty air) that makes the difference between a great shot and a mediocre one, between a foul ball and a home run.

Have you ever visited a real estate agent’s blog and found that the last time they published a post was several months prior to your visit? This is a major clue! Even if some people do not notice this details there probably are other clues that betray this agent’s lack of follow-through and inattention to detail.

It may be unreturned phone calls, or unanswered emails, or lateness to appointments that demonstrate the absence of a championship mindset. If you are neck-and-neck with your competition, while going after the same listing, it is neglecting these details that can cost you the listing.

Follow-through in marketing luxury real estate may require that you delegate as many details as possible to a trusted assistant so that you can be freed up to do what you love the most. If a championship season is on your horizon, cover all of your bases, consistently follow through and you will be triumphant!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Mind Your Own Elephant

Ron & Alexandra Seigel — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:00:57 +0000

Seizing control of what you focus your attention upon, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, is mission critical in a challenging economy. Your personal economy is actually the result of where you place and hold your attention. Those who seek out and consistently focus on the positive opportunities of their marketplace experience an entirely different set of financial results compared to those who “rubberneck”, i.e., continuously fixate on what is going wrong.

Have you ever heard the story about a group of people who are blindfolded and asked to describe a different part of an elephant that they are touching? One reports that it is a spear (while touching the tusk). Another describes a hose (obviously touching the trunk that is spraying water). Each can say that they are touching the same animal but have entirely different experiences, and thus different realities. None are right or wrong in relationship to the others. They are just reporting their experience from their personal vantage point.

What is exciting to know about focus is that you actually have the power to choose where you place your attention. However, if you do not exercise this power the results, by default, will be detrimental to your practice. Rubbernecking is the sure way to bring your luxury real estate marketing practice to a screeching halt.

Have you ever driven in the furthest left lane of a freeway in bumper-to-bumper traffic and noticed up ahead that there were flashing lights of an ambulances and fire trucks on the opposite side of the freeway in the lane closest to you? Why did your side of the freeway come to a complete stop when the accident happened on the other side of the freeway? The people directly in front of you were rubbernecking. There was no traffic jam on your side.

If market leadership is your quest it is imperative that you practice the art of staying focused your own positive outcomes. Mind "your own elephant" and mind your own business. If you find yourself rubbernecking, be sure not reprimand yourself because that prolongs the fixation on the negative. Just do your very best to gently redirect your attention back on track. After consistent deliberate practice without self condemnation, your attention will shift. You will stop rubbernecking and start bouncing right back! We commend those of you who have achieved this important feat, those of you who have triumphed over your personal economy.

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