How to Break Into the Luxury Real Estate Market w/Jack Cotton

For many real estate agents, the idea of selling luxury homes is intimidating. What are the critical skills required to work in this niche? What’s the difference between staging and market preparation? How do we build up our reputation to attract more luxury clients? On this episode, real estate veteran, author and luxury expert, Jack Cotton shares how to find success in the highly sought-after luxury real estate niche.

 

We don’t show property. We demonstrate the property and immerse them in the lifestyle that comes with the property. -Jack Cotton

 

Three Things We Learned From This Episode

• Difference between market preparation and home staging
  Stagers usually don’t really think about what the buyer might want. Market preparation is setting up the home for the profile of the kind of buyer you want to attract. Very often, stagers try too hard and this can actually distract buyers or make them think something is off about the property. 
  
  
• How to leverage the “gatekeepers of luxury” to meet potential clients
  The way into the world of luxury buyers and sellers starts with the gatekeepers to those people. We can start by asking who the key service providers are to the wealthy in our market, from CPAs to attorneys. Build relationships with them so we can get an introduction to potential clients.
  
  
• How to be a master at negotiation 
  Build standing and preeminence in your market because it gives you authority. Never assume, find out what buyers and sellers actually want. Detach from the outcome and be willing to walk away from the deal. 

As real estate becomes more and more generic, and the tech world tries to creep into the industry, we have to position ourselves differently. In the high end market, being seen as generic as self-defeating. We must be seen as unique, different and constantly bringing value. We must build a reputation as a real estate advisor, not merely an agent. That means becoming an expert in markets and value, pricing, market preparation, marketing and negotiation.

 

Guest Bio

Jack Cotton is a veteran Realtor, author and founder of Cotton Real Estate, now Sotheby’s International Realty.  Since 1974 and has overseen thousands of purchases and sales of Cape Cod properties. Jack’s mastery of Cape Cod Real Estate is clear, yet he never stops striving for new knowledge. In fact, he believes so strongly in the importance of continued training and education that he funded the creation of the Cotton Center for Real Estate Studies at Cape Cod Community College in 2006. Visit http://www.jackcotton.com/ for more information. 

Get Jack’s latest book, Selling Luxury Homes here.