On the 399th episode of Mail Right Show, Jonathan Denwood, and Robert Newnan invited Gary Gold of Beverly Hills, whose name is synonymous with some of the largest real estate transactions in the Southern California luxury markets. For the first years of Gary Gold’s career, he made his mark in the Valley and then decided to jump to Beverly Hills, essentially starting anew. Collaborating with Jeff Highland, he ignited a new chapter of unparalleled success on the West Side, propelling him to even greater heights in real estate. Robert Newman is the CEO of Inbound REM, an inbound marketing firm, and has been in the real estate SEO business for over a decade. Meanwhile, Jonathan Denwood is the joint founder and CEO of Mail Right. This platform builds beautiful websites on WordPress and combines digital marketing tools in a streamlined, user-friendly package. For this episode, he shared some information and tips on what to expect in luxury-end in real estate and navigating high-stakes negotiations to help agents become top-tier luxury agents.
Differences Between Selling At The Average Price Point And Top Price Point In The Real Estate Market
There is a huge difference between selling at an average and top prices. For example, when someone moves to another place and is already doing high-priced homes, you have to change the game when you move to another side. How did the game change? In numbers. The business is getting more complicated when selling expensive homes, especially regarding paperwork. A listing agreement was usually just one page, while a purchase agreement comprised two pages. However, as property values increase, they become more complicated. According to Gary Gold, when he sold the Playboy mansion, it took three months to finalize the contract, and you wouldn’t want to make mistakes when negotiating these deals.
Things Agents Should Understand When Moving Into The Luxury Market
You have to set yourself apart from others, stay engaged in the conversation, and take some action. Get more comfortable, learn more, and understand what was at stake. Another thing that could change your career trajectory is the effort, character, and trust to develop a relationship with key clients where you can prove yourself. Be sincere and not opposed to trying to sell yourself as an equal.
Significant Mistakes That Agents Make In the Luxury Market
When you are trying to compete against agents to get the best listings, and all the time, you will be up against people with a better track record than you. One of the significant mistakes agents make is not knowing how to be the best agent for them. You don’t have to prove you are the best agent; you have to prove you are the best agent for them.
But remember that every agent will get an opportunity or more than one opportunity to sell a luxurious property and blow up your career! We all get opportunities to see something that can change it and come in many different forms.
Many also ask how they raise their price point or reach the next level. When Gary encountered a client named Paul Abdul from the entertainment industry looking for a modest apartment for $2,000 monthly, he saw potential and deemed it a big opportunity. This client was in the music business, transitioning from a promoter to a manager, and was associated with a budding artist. Over time, as Paula’s career soared, she expressed interest in purchasing a larger house, and Gary saw an opportunity to explore the market for new construction homes on the west side of town and reached out to various developers and began showing Paula these homes, many of which were not even on the market yet. Ultimately, he didn’t only sell Paula a $3 million house in 1989 but also secured several other three to four-million-dollar listings in the following year and a half. This unexpected turn of events began with a simple “yes” to helping someone find a $2,000 monthly rent.
The thing is, opportunities come in unexpected ways. It could be through a connection in the entertainment industry, a referral from a client, a club membership, or even a new geographical area you wish to explore. Seizing opportunities, even when they appear small, and strategically navigating them can open doors to success and growth in your field. But sometimes, it can also be just one scratch and one deal at a time. Sometimes, you also do the same thing, and that person happens to have a business manager who could help get you other business, and you’re doing it there. You want to look for those opportunities because that’s how it often happens.
Technology To Use That Can Make a Difference To Your Business
The difference between being a high-end agent is being a high-touch or high-service agent. But, even if you’re working with a lower price range, you can still distinguish yourself by offering top-notch service, maintaining high professionalism, and going above and beyond for your clients.
As for the technology to use, Property Shark has been a valuable tool that high-end agents and any real estate professional can utilize. It provides agents with information similar to what title representatives have. For example, you’re going to a listing appointment, and someone wants to sell a small rental property. You can use Property Shark to research it thoroughly. This tool allows you to access many information. You can find out when the owner acquired the property, check for any permits, see how much they owe on the property, and even review the history of associated documents. You can also search using the seller’s name on Property Shark, and it will show you other homes associated with that seller. Another helpful thing this tool does is it goes deeper to find more information. For example, if it’s about a company, it can tell you who’s in charge of it, giving you more details.
Devices such as iPads, computers, and phones are also convenient, especially if you do a lot of selling all over the place, as each of these gadgets has its strengths and is good at different things. For example, you can use your computer when looking at a property. You can have your iPad next to you to use Google Earth or Google Maps to look at an aerial view of the property, the street view, and see how the house you are selling looks like when it was on the market. You can utilize both tools by looking at Google Earth in addition to just the MLS and getting more information and looking at Property Shark to get more information. The more you know about why someone’s selling and why they’re buying, the better you can serve them.
Lastly is the AI. It’s good to start with when you’re writing copy, like shortening content or checking if you’re saying something offensive or off-color. AI is going to be a tool that people will be able to use.
PropTech is another high-tech tool for the top 1% of real estate agents. It’s like becoming the manager of the paperwork and legal stuff in a real estate deal without doing all the work. When you sign up for PropTech’s service, you get a share of the money from the deal, but here’s the cool part: they make everything super high-tech. They turn all those piles of paper, like the 500 pages of documents, into digital files. So, instead of sifting through stacks of paper, you can see everything neatly organized on a computer screen.
There’s also a trend among big-time real estate agents and luxury property experts where they find ways to earn money from different parts of a deal, not just their usual commission. Powered by Nile is one of the companies leading the way in making this happen. So, it’s like being a high-tech real estate wizard and getting a slice of the pie without doing all the traditional legwork.
Influencers Or People In The Real Estate Industry For Agents Who Want To Break Into The Luxury Space
Andrew Huberman is a scientist, punk rocker, and skateboarder on YouTube. He talks about human potential, human performance, and entirely scientific health. One thing he has said lately was to condition yourself. The most valuable currency in the world is dopamine, which inspires us, makes us do something, and drives us. This is so important for agents to trigger a dopamine response, not in the sale when you close a deal, but in the pursuit and the process. Because so many people hold their breath and grind through something, you hear the world grinding and then celebrate the big win. You go through this whole thing, you get this moment that lasts just for a brief time, and then the ability to recreate that, you have to go through an entire cycle again before you feel that again. Tim Smith and Andrew Kuberman are other recommended people to learn more about real estate.
