Expectations

Affluent people tend to be very organized and have high expectations. Great luxury agents will anticipate those tendencies and respond accordingly. Profitable and successful transactions often begin with the agent’s willingness to always be ready to respond to any request, regardless of when, where or degree of difficulty.

“I work seven days a week and my personality is very ‘type-A.’ I never let up,” says Lisa Trace, an agent with Griffith, Grant and Lackie. “I think you have to always be available, and that people cannot sell to this clientele on a part-time basis. It just doesn’t work in a market that has been challenging and difficult.”

Judy Greenberg, a luxury agent with Coldwell Banker, has developed a technique that has proven useful for anticipating her clients’ needs.

“They want you to not only be available, but they want you to know what they are going to ask next,” she says. “Those of us who have a lot of experience have a checklist so that we can demonstrate that we know their needs before they even ask those questions.”

When dealing with a luxury home, an in-depth comparative marketing analysis comes into play. Knowledge of not only the home’s value and amenities, but also the neighborhood, community and how it demonstrates its upscale value, is important. That can include a firsthand knowledge of nearby schools, country clubs and churches. Each neighborhood or town that is further away from the city also comes with the expectation of attached garages and acreage; anticipating a client’s expectation of those features before showing them properties is a given. Furthermore, once clients buy a luxury property and move in, they may have nowhere to turn to find respected landscapers, plumbers or other necessary contacts. Nowhere, that is, except their knowledgable and proactive Realtor.

“You have to be their ‘go-to’ person, whether they want a handyman or painter … you have to know what they want and anticipate their needs at all times,” Greenberg says. “If they are buyers, you need to make sure they are settled in after the sale and that they know about the doctors, dentists and beauticians.”

Again, attention to detail and anticipation of needs can go a long way in ensuring luxury clients leave a transaction satisfied and ready to give referrals.