Luxury Listing Specialist - Dominate High End Listings In Any Market

Choosing A Home Warranty Company

This episode is all about home warranties. For example, if the A/C goes out, or your garage door opener stops working, or have a plumbing issue… if you have a home warranty, you could save thousands of dollars in repairs. One particular home warranty company that I recommend in Illinois is one I used for my home. They're called Achosa. In addition to Illinois, they’re located in 15 other states. I have one of the co-founders of Achosa Home Warranty, Harry Keifer, with me today. You’ll learn more about home warranties and how they are beneficial. Listen for more details.

To learn more about Achosa, visit their website at https://www.achosahw.com

Setting the Stage for Home Sale Success w/Barb Schwarz

I’m a big believer in home staging. It’s a widely used and respected strategy in the real estate industry. It’s recognized as a very effective technique in selling a home in less time at a higher price.

You already know that every property needs to be clean and in as good repair as possible. But what's equally important is the staging and how you communicate it to the seller. 

I'm so honored to have Barb Schwarz as my guest. Before getting into real estate, her background was in theater and this gave her a unique perspective as an agent. This lead her to creating the home staging industry. 

Prepare to be inspired by her vast expertise on the subject. You'll hear incredible tricks for the trade, her analogies, as well as some great "Barb sayings".

You can contact Barb on her website or send her a message on her Facebook page.

This podcast was originally recorded on Michael LaFido’s Luxury Lunch & Learn series.

 

“Most agents don’t understand the importance of staging or they don’t know how to articulate it to the client.”   - Michael LaFido

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

There is no “I” or “you” in team:

A surefire way to get your client on the defense is to address them with “I” or “You”... You need to shift the dialogue to “we”. You and your client are a team. If you do this, the client will value you at a higher level, and be more open to accepting whatever you tell them.

Honor the client’s home and their possessions:

Take an active and sincere interest in the client’s possessions. Compliment what you later want them to put away. It will be much easier for the client to put away that ugly, day-glow painting or creepy taxidermy polar bear so that their house stages well.

Visualization is key:

Many times a home can be painted cool gray, have perfectly bare counters and floors, but still have overly personalized items. They make buyers feel like they're intruding into someone's life, which is the opposite of what you want. It’s the agent’s job to position the home so that the vast majority of buyers can visually see themselves moving in, so they'll pay the price you want in order to make it their home!

 

Guest Bio-

Barbara Schwarz is the creator of The Home Staging Industry®. She has personally trained over a million home stagers and real estate agents through her courses, training, and seminars. She is the founder and builder of The International Association of Home Staging Professionals, The Staging University, The ASP Courses and Designations, and Stagedhomes.com.

 

Recommended books:
Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money

Staging to Sell: The Secret to Selling Home in a Down Market

Building a Successful Home Staging Business

Staging The World 

 

Leveraging Price Per Square Foot

Did you know you can leverage price per square foot for all your high-end luxury properties? It’s true, and today I’ll tell you how. The Marketing Luxury Group recently leveraged the price per square foot of three properties to help their sellers get a great deal.

Embracing Diversity: A Preview of The Certified Diversity Specialist Designation (CDS) w/Julia Lashay

The Certified Diversity Specialist Designation (CDS) is launching with its first live virtual training on March 30, 2021. 

For details and to register for the Certified Diversity Specialist Certification Designation, visit www.DiversityDesignation.com  

For $50 off, use the promo code: Luxe when signing up.

America’s population is changing, and so is the ratio of homeownership in the country. As the United States becomes more diverse, embracing diversity will help you gain clients, but failing to pay attention to it could lead to client loss. 

I’m very excited to have the co-founder of CDS and one of the instructors, Julia Lashay. In this episode, we talked about diversity, why there’s been a void in real estate diversity when it comes to training, and briefly preview the seven modules covered in the CDS Designation. 

To get in touch with Julia, visit her website at www.julialashay.com

 

“Be dedicated to building a diverse team. It leads to diverse perspectives and different approaches. When your team is representative of the community where you work, you can gain valuable consumer insights that can give your brokerage a positive edge.”  -Michael LaFido

 

Three Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔ Dimensions of Diversity - More Than Race:

A common misperception is that diversity and inclusion solely refer to racial considerations. While it might be the most visible factor, a truly diverse workforce embraces all dimensions of diversity (religion, sexual orientation, language, income, gender, et al). 

✔ Fair Housing Do’s and Don'ts:

Every year, real estate agents make unintentional mistakes and violate Fair Housing laws by poor advertising of a property. The CDS Designation will cover advertising as it relates to Fair Housing, ensuring that your advertising isn't only just Fair Housing compliant, but also reaching a broader audience. 

✔ Become a Social Equity Leader in Your Community: 

Learn about social equity and making sure that there's fairness and housing for everyone. The CDS Designation will also cover all of the different things you can do to be a leader in your community. Being a social equity leader will give you a little bit of a social capital edge. 

 

Guest Bio: 

Julia Lashay is a broker in Minnesota and Texas. She currently serves as the Director of Training and Career Development for the Keller Williams Central 75 office located in Dallas, TX, and is a managing partner of The Signature Group located in Minneapolis, MN, and Dallas, TX. Over the past 20 years, Julia Lashay has trained and coached thousands of real estate professionals. 

In 2017, Julia was nominated for the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS’ REALTOR of the Year award and received the Exceptional Service award conveyed by the Minneapolis Area REALTORS in 2020. She has been featured on several news and radio stations including Fox 9 News, Kare 11, the Star Tribune, and guest appearances on HGTV.

The Making of A Luxury Lifestyle Video

Marketing a luxury home takes creativity. One great vessel to show your creativity is through a luxury lifestyle video. We made one recently for a $7.25 million listing we have right outside of Chicago. We highlighted the pool and all of the entertainment space, which is really going to entice buyers.  

Wade Hanson Interview - What Makes for a Successful Agent

Being an agent in the luxury market is hard work. Not only are you dealing with some seriously discerning clients, but you also have huge commissions on the line, so impressing them and bringing your A-game is key. 

This week, Wade Hanson, #1 estate broker in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, shares his story behind his successful Remax Results agency. Wade has taken the Luxury Listing Specialist Designation course and is a certified LUXE Agent. 

Wade and I also share insights on what defines luxury, as well as strategies to breaking into the luxury market. Be sure to listen all the way through to hear some actionable advice for all agents.    

To get in touch with Wade, visit his website at www.wadehanson.com

“You can't fool savvy consumers. You've got to have a strong set of core values and a high level of integrity. The client has to know that their needs are always going to come first.”  -Wade Hanson

 

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

✔ Traits of a successful luxury agent:
  Top luxury agents have strong core values and high integrity. Whether the listing is for 200k or a million, they treat every client the same.

✔ Facts, not emotions:
  Wade’s success and longevity stems from the philosophy that it’s best to remove the emotion out of the transaction, don’t sugarcoat. Stick to the facts and always do what’s best for the client.

✔ Make connections on social media: 
  Making your presence known on social media and getting your service in front of the right eyes will remind people what do you and will help with getting referrals. 

Guest Bio:

Since 1999, Wade Hanson has been creating results for clients as a real estate professional and broker. His reputation for his success mindset and dedicated effort as a high performer led him to be named among Realtor® magazine’s Top 30 Realtors Under the Age of 30 in 2005, recognized for having built a $60M multi-office real estate firm. A luxury market specialist, Wade has extensive expertise in marketing and selling upper-tier properties. He a top real estate Broker in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin serving clients from his Remax® Results office in Woodbury, Minnesota.

 

Luxury Auctions

Have you heard of a no-reserve auction? Today I’m sharing a bit about what that is with an example of one of our current ones. Unique, high-end properties with a seller motivated by time rather than money are great candidates for a luxury auction. In this example, our client’s home is being marketed at $3.5 million. Listen to learn more. 

The Skill of Negotiation - How to Win Buyers and Influence Sales w/Tom Hayman

Save The Date!  Our next live virtual online Luxury Designation Training will be on March 17th.

All the details can be found at:  www.LuxuryDesignation.com

One of the most important qualifications of a real estate agent is their ability to negotiate effectively. What makes an agent a skillful negotiator is understanding the negotiating process and being able to navigate through the multiple issues that a real estate transaction entails. It’s the number one skill clients look for. And it's not just a business skill, it's a life skill.

If you want to become a better negotiator, this episode is for you. I have some great discussions with the founder of The Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) and founder of The Real Estate Negotiation Institute (The RENI), Tom Hayman.

He has over 15 years of experience as an agent and negotiation trainer. He’s got some practical strategies on how to handle real estate negotiations that will help you close the deal.

To find out more about becoming a CNE, visit https://www.thereni.com 

“Having excellent negotiating skills is vital. And it’s one of those skills that doesn't always show up in your bio or listing book. You need to be able to differentiate yourself from the competition.”  -Michael LaFido

Three Things You’ll Learn in This Episode

The Influence of Culture on Negotiation: 

Different cultures negotiate differently. The one common aspect all cultures have is that they’re relationship-based. To negotiate effectively, you need to cultivate that relationship and show your client that you care about them and their culture.

The Exchange Persuasion Principle: 

The Exchange Persuasion Principle states that if I do something for you, then you are likely to feel an obligation to do something for me. An example of this would be when signing on a new listing client, you might accept a lower listing fee if they commit to a performance bonus when you deliver stellar results. 

3 Skills for Agent Success: 

The top 3 skills agents should focus on that will get the best return for their business are marketing, marketing analysis, and negotiation. You need marketing and marketing analysis skills to effectively present a home, and the way you negotiate is vital because if you do a poor job, you leave money on the table for your client and yourself.

 

Guest Bio: 

Tom Hayman spent 25 years negotiating with hundreds of companies for Proctor and Gamble (including 4 years in Japan and the Far East). He went into real estate in 2003 and has over 15 years as an active agent and negotiation trainer. In 2007, he founded Real Estate Negotiation Institute. He enjoys studying the latest research on persuasion and figuring out how it applies to real estate (and life) and passing it on to his students. 

You can get in touch with Tom through The Real Estate Negotiation Institute website at https://www.thereni.com/

 

Additional Resources:

Max Avenue website - https://www.maxavenue.com/

The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey 
https://www.amazon.com/SPEED-Trust-Thing-Changes-Everything-ebook/dp/B000MGATWG

List Segmentation

Not all contacts in your database are created equal. Certain clients and contacts require more touches, and others require less. That’s why it’s so important to segment your list. I use the “A, B, C” method that prioritizes my best clients. Listen now to learn more about how to properly segment your list.  

How to Develop a Powerful Networking Blueprint w/James Huang

Whether you’re new to the real estate industry or you’re an experienced agent, you already understand the power of association and networking. Meeting new faces and talking about your business to others is not only essential for success, but also for getting referrals.

 

However, this can be challenging due to Covid- 19 restrictions, so we have to think outside the box. Real estate is a people business. But what’s equally vital to association and networking, is the power of having global connections.

 

I’m so thrilled to have James Huang as my guest! He’s the President of The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). James is a true innovator in commercial real estate and has held leadership roles in some of the most well-known commercial firms in the US. He has over 20 years of experience in the field.

 

One of the great things about AREEA is it's open to everyone - new and experienced agents. You don’t need to be Asian to join. It’s a wealth of knowledge for anyone who wants to learn and have a better understanding of the Asian community.

 

To find out more or join AREAA, visit https://areaa.org/

 

This podcast was originally recorded on Michael LaFido’s Luxury Lunch & Learn series. 

 

📢  Save The Date! March 17th will be our next Live Virtual Designation Training.

Visit http://www.LuxuryDesignation.com for more information. 🍀

 

“The world is getting smaller with the internet and social media. You really need to be well connected, not just locally, but globally.”  -Michael LaFido

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

Upgrade your skills, be a lifelong learner:

Never stop learning about real estate. When you upgrade your skills, even if you have a specialty or an expertise… it helps you become more open-minded when you study different practices. It also makes you more knowledgeable and you’ll be more valuable to your connections and relationships.

 

It’s all connected:

Keep networking and connecting with people… not just locally, but globally. Whether you work in luxury residential, commercial, or international - you all deal with the same clients. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that nearly all businesses are connected in some way to real estate. So, when things with Covid get better (and it will get better), you’ll be prepared.

 

The power of joining associations:

Remember, you don’t need to be Asian to join AREAA. You don't need to be Hispanic to join the National Association for Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), be African American to join NAREB, or LGBTQ to be a member of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. By becoming members of these associations, we can become allies and bring awareness to their mission. 

 

Guest Bio-

James Huang has been the national president of AREAA since October 2019. He’s also the president of eXp Commercial division of eXp World Holdings. Additionally, James is a shareholder and an advisor to real estate syndications firms and start-up technology companies to help consult, raise capital, and make connections to other private equity investors and family offices from Main Street to Wall Street. 

 

To find out more or join AREAA, visit  https://areaa.org/