The World's Happiest Country? The Coconut vs The Peach!

Understanding international buyers is an important subject to delve into, if you are marketing luxury real estate to those interested in your marketplace.  Knowing the difference between Coconuts and Peaches (as absurd as it may sound) is important.  It might make a difference in selling or listing a home owned by the Coconuts.

This morning, I read an article by Chantal Panozzo, an American working in Switzerland, explaining why she had to retrain herself not to smile in the World's Happiest Country.

The world's happiest country according to the 2015 Happiness Report states that Switzerland is the happiest country because the country has safe neighborhoods, low crime rates, high levels of employment, generous vacation and leave policies, excellent public transportation, and pension and health care benefits.  Unlike us (Americans and other English speaking countries) they value privacy.  They do not believe in publicly expressing it.

In a book by Margaret Davidson, Beyond Chocolate: Understanding Swiss Culture, Ms Davidson talks about the Coconut Culture (found in Switzerland, Germany, several European and Asian countries).  In those countries, individuals draw a distinct line between the people in their outer circles defined as neighbors, colleagues and acquaintances, and their inner circle: friends and family.  They share smiles and personal information with the inner circle only.

The Peach Culture individuals (Americans) do not necessarily make the distinction between their outer and inner circles. They are more likely to call each other by their first name and share personal information freely with everyone and refer to acquaintances as "friends".  

Apparently, our happiness is expressed on our outer layer, and smiling is not indicative of happiness according to psychologists. We tend to be dissatisfied with the government, crime rate, and employment.  We do not feel that the U.S. government "inspires trust and confidence!"

Our inner layer hides the peach pit.  The US ranks 15th on the happiness scale. We are viewed as positive people with an unfriendly government.  It has been suggested, that it is time for our government to have more compassion and inspire trust, friendliness, and confidence to its citizens.

We could not agree more.  Are you a Coconut or a Peach?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

How to Achieve Top-of-Mind Status, Instantly!

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, you know you have selected a great brand name if your target market and potential referral base can remember your name after a single impression.  That is, after the first impression!

Yesterday we were cruising up the coast in Santa Barbara on Highway 101 and noticed a car covered with images.  As we passed by, we saw a clever cartoon graphic of a bunch of dogs on leashes dragging a person.  It was obviously an advertisement. The name was “Who is Walking Who?”. 

Can you guess what category of product or service this company was advertising?  If you guessed dog walking and pet sitting you are right!

Now, we are not dog owners.  But, if anyone were to ask us to recommend a local dog walking service one name would come to mind. It was indelibly imprinted in our brain in just one brief impression. And, we had do trouble recalling it the next day to write this post.  That company achieved has top-of-mind status for us in this category, instantly!  No doubt you will remember it, too.

When selecting your own personal or company luxury real estate brand name keep this in mind: It is possible to achieve top-of-mind status, instantly, with the right name.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Why Should I List With You?

Has anyone ever asked you at a listing presentation, “Why should I list with you?”  There are many agents wanting to list my home.  If you cannot answer that question quickly with certainty, the presentation is over.  What a seller is asking here, is what make you different from all the other agents, I have interviewed?

It definitely is not about being the best.  Every top agent can claim to be the best. You have to claim something no one else can claim. Words like integrity, computer savvy, top 1% in the company, mean nothing to the seller, many can say claim it also.    It does not differentiate you.  It just defines you as more of the same. 

For example, focusing on a niche that is dear to you, like historical homes, and learning every aspect of this area of specialization will make you stand out.   This increases your likelihood of getting this type of listing, because you will gain the reputation as the expert.

You have to claim something that is going to stick in that person’s mind and want you to represent their home.  One of our clients is one of the top agents in her marketplace: she regularly makes the Wall Street Journal’s top 100 list, as do three other agents in the community.  She is known for specializing in a neighborhood, which others can claim also. When she is asked, why should I list with you?  Her answer is, “I have sold more properties in this neighborhood than anyone else in town.” 

Checkmate, the game is over.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Announcing the 2015 Club e-Luxe Summit in Paris

The 2015 edition of the Club e-Luxe International Summit will place on Thursday June 4th in Paris, France. With the theme "SMART LUXURY", event will focus on the latest and most relevant digital tools, applications and platforms for luxury to thrive in the world of digital media, innovation and new technologies. 

Created in 2006 by our Language of Luxury media partner, Club e-Luxe, it is the foremost executive club for digital luxury professionals that provides luxury brands with access to the most advanced strategies, knowledge, applications, systems and tools required for a solid positioning in the context of the internet, digital media and innovation.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Do You Know Where The Bones Are Buried?

If you want to be top of mind in your luxury real estate marketplace, you have to be the most knowledgeable agent in your area.   As we used to tell our clients, when asked why they should work with us and sign an exclusive representation, “we know where the bones are buried.” 

This meant that we knew how to find buildings that could be sold that had not been listed, because we had relationships within our marketplace.  These owners would happily sign a one party exclusive.

Not long ago, we met with a local agent who wanted us to see a magnificent estate that was on the market.  What impressed us most about the agent is her encyclopedic knowledge of her marketplace.  We mentioned to her that prior to moving North from Los Angeles, we had put in an offer on a house on one of the streets nearby.  With our brief description from 10 years ago, she knew the house and gave us the history of it.  She knew the improvements that were done to it, and who owned it now.

This past week in Boston, we met an agent who specializes in one of the up and coming brownstone neighborhoods.  He was giving us a walking tour of the area.  What was impressive about him is that he knew the history of each building.  He knew what was being remodeled in the area. 

He knew every park and the improvements that were made.  He knew the people that lived there.  He could tell us the psychographics and demographics of the buyers.  He knew every retailer on the street.  He showed us the new dog park, and knew the people and their dogs. 

Later on, we went to lunch at one of his favorite restaurants, where everyone knew his name and were delighted to see him.  We even walked in to a competitor’s real estate office and everyone there was happy to see him!

Do you know where the bones are buried in your neighborhood?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

What Makes The Millennial Generation Run?

Long-term planning is important to include in one’s business plan if you want to be the market leader in your luxury real estate practice/company.  It means understanding the new agents you hire, as well as those you will be selling homes to.  It also means knowing how important spare time is to the millennial generation.

Next year, 80% of the work force will be comprised of millennials. Ten to fifteen years from today, the biggest spending group in the world will be those individuals who were born between 1980 and 1995.   After researching and reading several studies, it is evident that what makes the millennial generation run is the insistence on having spare time to enjoy their personal life.

What is notable about this generation is that in the professional service section, (accountant, actuary, architect, dentist, doctor, engineer, lawyer, management consultant, and pharmacist, for example) a significant number of the millennial set have entered and left this type of career path after a short stint. They are unwilling to sacrifice their free time to work harder for the traditional lure to advance their career by becoming a partner, or making more money. 

What is this sector of our population looking for?

A work culture that promotes and emphasizes work/life balance

Geographical convenience (work closer to home without a lengthy commute)

Technology in the workplace, focused on promoting flexibility and efficiency, such as having access to the best tools for collaboration and execution.

Having a policy of transparency regarding compensation, rewards and career decisions.

A working environment that feels like a community and emphasizes teamwork, appreciation, and support.

Even though this characterizes a large segment of the millennial generation, no one size fits all.  There are those in this generation, who do not fit these values, and there are those of us who are not by virtue of birth date in this category who have the same values as today’s millennial group.  Spare time to enjoy one’s life is definitely a high priority for many of us.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Market Yourself Like Fine Chocolate

Being at the top of your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional requires being consistently remarkable and this includes your presentations materials. In Boston, on our first day there, we went on a walk revisiting the area where one of my best friends (Alexandra) lived.

When we returned to the hotel, we took a different street and discovered L.A. Burdick Chocolates.  They are known for their Single Source Collection showcase from different countries where chocolate is produced. 

We selected the Venezuela region, because it is one of our favorites.  The cacao content is 80%.  Single source chocolate is akin to estate wines, where the wine is made from grapes grown on the estate.  This is a growing trend in chocolate production.

Like estate wines, it is priced higher, because it is not blended with other chocolate.  It retains the essence of its terroir, (the natural environment in which the chocolate is grown, and the taste resulting from the soil composition in which it is produced).

We were also impressed by the packaging, which differed from all other chocolate packaging we have seen.  This one was remarkable as was the taste! 

Are you marketing yourself like fine chocolate?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Earn More by Expanding Your World Beyond Real Estate

One of the characteristics of an excellent luxury real estate marketing professional is having a broad base of interests.  Those who can engage in discussions on topics beyond real estate have a greater chance of connecting with high net worth individuals and also of earning their business.  Embracing the fine arts can offer you an entire spectrum of potential topics that can help you differentiate yourself from the typical “one-dimensional” agent (We lovingly call them “uni-dems”).

In a world where we find ourselves spending way too much time in front of TV screens, movie screens, digital device and computer screens it is refreshing to go to a stage play.  Here, instead of being spoon-fed imagery, we actually need to engage our own imagination to fill in the details.

Recently we saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which received 6 Tony nominations (including Best Play of the 2014-2015 season).  The play was so good that I (Ron here) immediately read the mystery novel by British writer, Mark Haddon, upon which it was based. 

The entire story was told from the point of view of the main character, a 15-year-old boy, a genius with functional autism who is a mathematical savant. The staging was absolutely brilliant as it blurred the line between what was going on in the kid’s head and what was actually going on in the real world of the story.

Alexandra and I happened to be seated next to a woman who has an autistic boy.  During intermission she shared her own experience of coping with and ultimately embracing the gift of raising her son as a single parent. Her stories moved us to tears and enriched the experience of the play.  We wanted to give her a standing ovation like the actors received that evening.

Expand your horizons beyond your real estate expertise!  If you do, you will certainly see an increase of business and referrals.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

How to Avoid Becoming a “Go-for” for Your Clients

From time to time we hear about luxury real estate agents who think that offering “concierge” services will endear them to their clients and generate more referrals.  These “above and beyond the call of duty” services (for which the agents are not paid) include personally orchestrating service workers for such tasks as yard clean up, painters, plumbers, stocking the fridge, etc, etc.

We believe that kindness and good deeds go a long way. However, you may want to consider shifting your role from actively doing these things to becoming a resource, a communication hub, a switchboard to refer your clients to service professionals you can trust.  Do not fall into the trap of becoming a “go-for” or an interim “majordomo” (a person who makes arrangements or takes charge for another).

If you live in a major city you could even give your clients a list of the latest smart phone apps that can help them with their chores, shopping, cooking, cleaning, packing (and unpacking), shipping and more.  There is an entire “concierge economy” emerging. For example, there are services that will deliver liquor or flowers or meals in 10 minutes. Some offer pick-up and delivery from any shop in town.  

If you order goods via Amazon or other e-commerce sites there is even a service that provides a proxy shipping address, where they receive your goods so nothing is left at your doorstep. Then, they deliver the goods when you are home.

Think of placing a higher value on your own time and redirecting that good energy into drumming up more business for yourself.  Besides, you will gain more respect from your clients (and more referrals, too), by respecting your true worth as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Know Your Local Schools

In marketing luxury real estate to buyers it is important to tune into the concerns parents may have for living in proximity to the best schools for their children. The more you know about the schools in your marketplace the more able you are to help your clients make the right decision. The right school can sell your clients on a neighborhood.

You should also stay abreast about the latest innovations in education.  Here is an exciting example of the most leading-edge schools in the country.(Be sure to watch the video too!).

If you work in San Francisco, or Palo Alto, CA or Brooklyn, NY you definitely need to know about AltSchool that just received a $100M in VC funding from the likes of Facebook’s Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, and also an organization founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.  AltSchool brings together top experts in learning development, in technology and also in design that create best-in-class personalized learning experiences that prepare kids for their future in 2030.

AltSchool believes that all children have their own unique path to learning.  They truly honor their curiosity. Here are some highlights:

1. Rigorous academics
2. Personalized learning plans
3. Project-based learning
4. Digital learning tools
5. Low student-teacher ratio
6. Social & emotional skills
7. Foreign languages
8. Yoga, sports & physical education
9. Real world learning experiences
10. Engaging and inspiring teachers

In terms of “customer satisfaction”, here is a testimonial from a 10 year old AltSchool Student that says it all: “This is the best day of my entire school life”

Help your luxury real estate buyers with young children make the right decisions. Know your local schools!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Luxury Real Estate Branding: Finding the Perfect Brand Name for You

Finding your perfect brand name is essential to having a successful luxury real estate practice or firm. Ideally, your name should be is easy to remember and also be impactful.  Here is an example from the shoe industry.

The comfortable shoe industry is a $300 billion a year trade. It is continuing to grow rapidly. Women and men over 35 have been asking for a shoe that has both style and comfort.   Gentle Souls by Kenneth Cole is one of the latest entries in this industry.  The brand is a play on word: souls vs. soles. The word “gentle” evokes comfort and ease.

In just two words Gentle Souls communicated this brand’s entire value proposition.  The precision of communication is what makes it perfect. Not only is it easy to remember, it is also easy to share with others, thus facilitating word-of-mouth advertising.

What is the perfect brand name for you?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable,and Reflective of Your Strategy?

Being at the top of your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional requires being consistently remarkable which includes your presentation materials.  These need to stand out and communicate your identity and its congruency with your target market.

This morning we took some time to do various errands, and some shopping for our upcoming trip.   We were delighted to see that one of our favorite stores from New York, Henri Bendel, had opened a small boutique in the Westfield Center in Woodland Hills.  We were both attracted to the bright display of merchandise, and the striped white and chocolate walls, which was even carried out on the chandelier shades.  Notice the display table with the polka dot border in the photo above.

We bought a gift, and the wrapping was delightful. It shows the congruency that this luxury brand has and maintains beautifully. P.S. The service was superb!

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable and Reflective of Your Strategy?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Are You Easy to Work With, And Easy to Refer?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you make it easy for your clients to work with you and you make it easy for them to refer you, you will see a dramatic increase in business. Ease is the antidote to stress and it accelerates word-of-mouth advertising.

Virgin Airlines understands the power of EASE in remarkable customer service. Their brand stands now for EASE. After booking our flights for an upcoming project via phone on Virgin, (the site was wonky at that moment) I stayed on the line to review the person that assisted me. The survey’s first question was “how easy was it to work with our team member?” on a scale of 1-4 (four being the easiest).  The other three survey questions revolved around the ease of my experience, also.

Being competent is not enough.  You need to be easy to talk to and well organized to ease the way for clients to work with you. And, like Virgin, you have to be well branded to empower your clients to easily refer new business your way.   

Are You Easy to Work With, And Are You Easy to Refer?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Thinking Outside The Box You May Find A Lemon Meringue Tart

Finding a niche in your luxury real estate practice where you can dominate is a daunting task, especially if your marketplace is crowded with competing agents.  It requires thinking outside the proverbial box. Here is an example of out of the box thinking

If you were to open a bakery/pastry shop in Santa Barbara knowing there were 19 bakeries catering to a population of less than 150,000 people, you would have to come up with a niche within this business category that is uncontested or serves a target market that is under served.

Lilac’s Patisserie a dedicated gluten free bakery and café opened recently to fill this niche market in Santa Barbara.   Since we have several gluten free friends and relatives, we have been open to trying gluten free desserts.  Some were good like Thomas Keller’s (renown chef of The French Laundry) brownie (made from a mix), and some we tossed at first bite. While I was shopping Ron walked out of the store and discovered Lilac’s a few doors up on State Street.  He bought a lemon meringue tart to test.

When Ron rejoined me, the salesperson started raving about Lilac’s telling us she tested her several desserts on here father who is not a gluten-free fan and he has loved every one of them.  Even though she is not a Celiac (not able to digest gluten), she is an ardent fan.  She was right.  Every bite was delicious including the crust.  We are looking forward to trying more of their dessert items, and having lunch there.

Will you take time to find your niche and look outside the box?  You may find the perfect way to dominate your marketplace.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Twisted Tales or Trust and Truth?

The two governing principles in running any successful company are trust and truth.  These principles are applicable to the business of real estate, if market leadership is your quest as luxury real estate marketing professionals. 

“When they trust you, you'll get truth. And if you get truth, you get speed. If you get speed, you're going to act. That's how it works.” Jack Welch, (former CEO at GE who during this 20 year tenure increased the company’s value from $14 billion to 500 billion). 

In your listing presentations, be sure that you can pass the “no-spin” test.  Twisted tales about market value, eyewash or any sugar coated facts will most definitely come back to haunt you.

Your relationships with other agents in your marketplace should also follow the same principles if you expect to be in the business for the long run.  Be accessible and insure that your trusted assistant helps to get things done ASAP.

What will be your choice?  Twisted Tales or Trust and Truth?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Are You In It to Win It?

Your Competition

Why on earth are you in the game of luxury real estate marketing if you are not in it to win it? Sure, there are plenty of agents who just want to eek out a living. But, they are missing out on all of the fun because they do not know the secret of winning the game!

The sweet spot in marketing luxury real estate is making the shift from being what we call a competent “transaction engineer” to being a true market leader. When market leadership is your quest, you become a strategist in a game where power, personal power is the biggest prize and the lion’s share of business follows naturally.  

As luxury real estate brand strategists we advise our clients to look at their competitors as if they were cartoon characters. Do not take them seriously. Factor them out of your mental equation completely and stay 100% focused on your strategy for winning the game, the inner game.

It really gets to be fun when you identify an uncontested or under served market niche that you can dominate, a niche that you can become passionate about.  Then, the competition really becomes irrelevant.  You are not out to “get them”.  You are out to achieve your personal best!

So, what is the secret to winning? Keep your eye the prize of the inner game of luxury real estate marketing-the game of self-actualization! Be in it to win it!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

When Google Says, “Jump”!

When Google says, “Jump”, do you say how high?  Or, do you question their authority?

We are referring to the new edict Google has put forth that websites should be “mobile friendly” before April 21st, 2015, or else!  Or else, what?

If you are concerned that your luxury real estate website will no longer be accessible on mobile devices because you do not comply with Google’s newest algorithms, that is not true. Your site will still be accessible, but your page ranking may be lowered, eventually. 

Since more and more people are searching while on the go, Google is now using their famous carrot and stick methodologies to reward “mobile friendly” website and penalize those that are not. By mobile friendly, it is generally meant that your website design readily adapts to the screen size and functionality of the devise being used and is not just a desktop design shrunk down on a smaller screen.  This is often referred to as responsive design because the page display responds to the device being used.

Since over one-half of property searches are now conducted on mobile devices we can understand Google’s own motivation here.  Real estate search may be a good barometer indicating that mobile web use across the board has become dominant.  Google wants to be the best at serving mobile ads and help keep the mobile customer satisfaction high.

Does this mean you have to jump right here and now into a new website? If you are dependent on buyer leads from Google search, a quick response to deploying responsive design on your website would be advisable.

But, we have been saying for some time now that it is better to be the Google of your marketplace (in terms of top-of-mind status vs. your competition) than to rank #1 on a Google search page.  In our opinion, luxury real estate agents are wasting too much time competing in the shark-infested waters of Google page rankings these days. Instead, we advocate focusing on gaining LISTINGS within an under served or uncontested market niche, and let the buyers come to you!  It is time for you to become the dominant player in your marketplace using your own wits and wean yourself off of Google dependence.

Go ahead and upgrade your websites to be more mobile friendly with responsive design.  But, do so on your own terms! Enough already, being dominated by Google.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

The Recipe to Attract an Abundance of Ideal Clients

Even with advanced communication devices and the Internet to connect us all so rapidly, good communication, like common sense, seems to be not so common. 

One way to gain market share as a luxury real estate marketing professional is to become known as an outstanding communicator, because good communication is itself a luxury.  But, that is only half of the secret of attracting more clients. Here is a recipe to attract an abundance of ideal clients who appreciate good communication.

When we ask luxury real estate professionals to define the qualities their ideal clients must have, invariably good communication is at the top of their list.  Yet, most have fallen into the trap of putting up with poor communicators because of an underlying notion that there is a scarcity of ideal clients.

The first step to attract an abundance of ideal clients is to make a commitment to surround yourself primarily with other good communicators. This applies to your co-workers, your service providers and even your friends.

Go cold turkey and extricate yourself from poor communicators or gradually upgrade your relationships. Take it at your own pace. The bottom line is how fast you want to reclaim your self-esteem because that is the secret to becoming a magnet that attracts more ideal clients.  Good communicators uplift your spirits and continuously add to the quality of your life. 

The second step is to make a pact to stay focused upon, acknowledge and appreciate good communication in all of your relationships. Simply refuse to dwell on episodes where you encounter poor communication. 

Have fun catching yourself when you start complaining about poor communicators. It is so easy to get carried away. By staying focused on this life-giving elixir of good communication you will naturally attract more like-minded people who value it.

Good communication is truly a luxury because it is rare. But, when you amp up your insistence to have it in your important relationships it becomes abundant.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Marketing Luxury Real Estate: The Drone Syndrome

When adapting new technology in luxury real estate to your website, it is a good idea to consider the end-user.  There is no doubt that drone photography is impressive and the effects that can be created are comparable to films made for I-Max. However, will your buyer or seller want to see the effects every time they visit your site?

In viewing a real estate site with a home page that had beautiful drone videos, one of our friends remarked that he would need a Dramamine to continue viewing the site.  He would not go back to that site.

Will using drone photography in a listing video be the deciding feature that will win you the listing?   Who needs to be impressed, the buyer or the seller?

There is no doubt that the aerial view of a large estate, a ranch, or a waterfront property is impressive.  How often, does a buyer make a decision to buy a home based on aerial views?  How important is it to the seller to have his/her home photographed in this manner?  Do the sellers get bragging rights when talking to their friends, that their agent used a drone?

If you are going to use drone photography hire a professional, and make sure it is legal in your area.  However, do not get caught up in the drone syndrome just to appease sellers, and pass the Dramamine!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

The Magic of Mental De-Cluttering: The Benefit of Doubt!

In our previous post on this topic, The Magic of Mental “De-cluttering”, we advised that taking a few minutes several times a day to clear your mind enables you to see business opportunities and possibilities that you might otherwise miss. Here is a tip that can help you clear your mind so you can stay focused as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

The only thing that can stop you from succeeding in becoming a market leader (barring external circumstances that are truly beyond your control) is not taking consistent action toward your goal once you have identified your success formula. It may take some trial and error to develop your success formula, but that is all part of the game.

The number one enemy of consistent action is self-doubt.  It is self-doubts that start the process of cluttering your mind. It is you, second-guessing yourself that precipitates immobilization. 

The clutter accumulates when you allow yourself to get distracted by all kinds of people, circumstances or events.  Sure, there are some people who may try to immobilize you. But, it is only when you go into agreement with them that you use them as your excuse to slow yourself down or stop yourself from succeeding.

So, what is the remedy that can keep your mind clear, uncluttered and on track? Give yourself the benefit of the doubt! Test this out for yourself and watch how fast your mind becomes uncluttered, and clear. This will erase your uncertainty and restore your confidence. It is magic!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.