← Estate of Mind — The Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate
Estate of Mind — The Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate
Reaching the Right Client with Video and Brand Strategy
00:41:59
In this episode of Estate of Mind, we explore how luxury agents can maintain a premium brand while remaining approachable in today’s evolving market. From defining your ideal client “avatar” to leveraging video, lifestyle storytelling, and even AI, this conversation dives into how to market with intention rather than trying to appeal to everyone. You’ll hear practical insights on attracting the right demographic, building trust through authentic branding, and using platforms like YouTube and social media strategically—without sacrificing professionalism or positioning.
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- [00:00]
A
Every house is different, right? So we always think about who is the consumer that's going to buy this house? What is the lifestyle like? What are they after? What are they into? Because you sell the neighborhood before you sell the house.
- [00:13]
B
It's so easy to try to be everything to everyone and then like you said, the message becomes confusing. So really narrowing in on what kind of business do you want to do. More of today's podcast is brought to you by Interlock Auctions. Your solution to guarantee competitive offers on your luxury listings with no compromise to commission. Visit InterLuxe.com today to find out more. That's I n t e-r l u x e.com. Welcome to A State of Mind, a podcast series all about motivating, inspiring and educating you in the art of selling luxury real estate. The podcast is brought to you by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. I'm Tammy Sims, lead trainer for the Institute and a full time real estate professional in St. Petersburg, Florida for more than two decades. In today's episode, we're going to address marketing to different or changing demographics, maintaining a luxury brand while remaining approachable. Joining me today is a very special guest, Institute Guild member Tanya Starkle, managing broker of Avenue Stone Real Estate in Spokane, Washington. She's a real luxury member and also a member of Realm. Tanya has won the Institute's marketing awards for her videos multiple times and I think is an ideal choice to address this topic with us. Welcome, Tanya.
- [01:47]
A
Thank you, Tammy. Excited to be here.
- [01:50]
B
So Tanya, tell us a little bit to get started about your market area and your typical clientele.
- [02:01]
A
So my market, it's not a big market, it's not a major city market. Our average price point here is around 420. I work with mostly people relocating to Spokane and downsizers and my primary target is 850-to-2-2-2 million.
- [02:20]
B
Okay, and have you seen any changes in the demographics of the people coming to your area over the last few years?
- [02:29]
A
Not really changes so much. I would say maybe not as many people that were relocating back in like 21, 22 and during COVID but we still have people that are moving here to Spokane to for the lifestyle. They're moving here for the cost of living. They can get space in their property and not have neighbors on top of them. We have four seasons and you can go outside and enjoy the outdoors and still like live a good life. We're easily accessible. We have our like 22 direct flights that Spokane travels. So we have an international airport that makes it great. Ever since Amazon came to Spokane several years ago. It literally put us on the map. So for other businesses to think about Spokane and to, to come here. So that really has opened the doors in people moving here.
- [03:25]
B
Excellent, excellent. And you know, I wonder when we often think about more affluent people. Right. So you're targeting the higher price points in your market area. I think a lot of people have a perception and maybe a misperception that, that, that they are, you know, luxury people. And I, I would assume that in your market area and you're part of the geography that you probably get more of the folks that, that don't necessarily consider themselves wealthy. So they're not looking for that, the approach of, you know, kid gloves or, or, or super brand kind of luxury. Right. Is that, am I right on that?
- [04:11]
A
That is exactly right, yes. Yes, I'd say. And you know, a lot of people are like, oh, I'm not luxury. And it's, it's not. And I always say luxury is not about a price point. It's about service and taking care of your client. And you know, being in Spokane because our price point is, you know, or because the average price point is lower, we're not in California, for example. People are, you know, it's, it's just looking for the service.
- [04:34]
B
There's a lot of data that, that supports the idea that for most of the high net worth individuals, right. Particularly in that, that general, the everyday millionaire category, that they see wealth as simply having enough to live a good lifestyle that's comfortable without, without really thinking about it as a, in a luxury space. And so do you find there to be a difference in some of the clientele based on the, the price point,
- [05:11]
A
A difference in like what they're looking for or a difference in maybe their
- [05:16]
B
attitudes, the kind of service that they expect?
- [05:22]
A
I would, I mean, everybody's different in this service that they expect. And we always, I mean, I think that's one of our big things that we do is we focus on going above and beyond and helping our clients and providing that white glove service. And but most importantly, like we work with buyers in all price points, but we work to provide that white glove service for all price points. Because Spokane is a small community. Everybody knows everybody in some fashion. And so really leaning forward with that service, I think is what has helped serve us really well and our community.
- [06:01]
B
From the videos that I've seen, and you know that we show a couple of your videos in the training for the institute, one of the things that really strikes me is that, that there's a Down to earth approach, that there's that white glove service that you're talking about, but that it's, it's. It's down to earth. And I think about some of the areas that, that, that I experience, you know, that are. That are more like New York or Miami. E. Right. To. To make up those, those words. And, and so we really kind of want to talk about today the, the way that you can be approachable but still provide that white glove service. So I'm curious about some of the, some of the marketing avenues that, that you use. Obviously, your videos have definitely been recognized because of their quality and the, and the focus on the consumer rather than yourself. That's a big thing. So tell us your approach to your videos to get us started.
- [07:05]
A
Absolutely. So when we are every video, every. Sorry, every house is different, right? So we always think about who is the consumer that's going to buy this house? What is the lifestyle like, what are they after, what are they into and what is, you know, because you sell the neighborhood before you sell the house, right? People have to fall in love with that and the lifestyle. And so we always figure out, like, what is the best. What can we do to best sell this house? Right. I'm not for sale. The house is for sale. So it's not about me and my marketing. It's about what the house, what the house offers and what the buyers, when they buy the house, what it's going to be like, what it's going to be like to raise their family there, their friends and everything. So on the last video that we did not that you showed at the Institute was the, was the Rim property. And on that one we were able to get the sellers and some people, my husband and one of my kiddos, a niece, also in that video. And it was all about showing the lifestyle because that house in particular, it wasn't about the neighborhood. It wasn't about the location, because the location was the challenging part. It was about the lifestyle and why, you know. So we showed that when you live there, your friends and family are going to want to come visit. They're going to want to come and play, they're going to want to come and use the amazing pool and enjoy, put their feet up for their friends and the homeowners itself. So it's not. So it depends on the house as to what the video is going to be about. And we don't have people in all of our videos, although I love having people in our videos. It's very challenging to find people who want to be in a video. You know, I don't, I haven't hired actors if you will yet. Right. Not. We're not in la, but one day it might be fun. Not opposed. So we really work to show the lifestyle and in the end user and then we, and then we target and do our marketing that way too.
- [09:17]
B
So let's talk about that. How do you distribute your videos?
- [09:21]
A
So two things we do. Well, two big things. So a lot of people, when they do listing videos, we do, we do vertical for social media, right? So our main platform is Instagram. So we want vertical for Instagram, but we also want the horizontal, horizontal video which is for YouTube and we place it on YouTube and then we connect it to the listing on the MLS. But putting it on YouTube is what allows us to market, to con. To markets across the country. So I know a lot of people don't use YouTube and they use other platforms but you can't market that way. So YouTube, I always say YouTube, Google, Google rules the world, right? You gotta, you gotta play. And so by marking it in YouTube, I mean I've had so many people who see your videos on YouTube and then like their kids and their, and they share it with their parents and things like that. So it just really helps it get it out there and have a better reach.
- [10:24]
B
I'm glad that you said that because one of the things that, that is really important about YouTube in its evolution from being a, a straight up video catalog application is its shift into the, the, the realm of a true social media platform where people can follow. It's highly searchable. So if they're looking for keywords, you know, or, or features like that, they can, they can find you in a way that they can't or that they couldn't before when they had to go to your channel and look for something. So I think that's, that's really important. Everybody always asks where do you distribute your videos? And so I'm also curious on some nuts and bolts in that. Do you use the same videographers for projects like that that you would use for a regular video walkthrough? Or, or do you have different clues for different things?
- [11:24]
A
I do, I've, I've tried a different, a handful of different videographers here in our area. But I, I stick with my, my one, I stick with my people. They do amazing. They are the best. They're not the cheapest. Right. But you get what you pay for. So yeah, that's. It makes a difference. It makes a difference in being consistent we do videos on every single listing, not just the super special ones, all of them. I agree that every house deserves a video and homes with videos get like 400% more views. And I want to say it's like the stats are crazy and then like 87% more. I have to look it up. But I mean it's like night and day difference. It's crazy not to do a video on a house for the extra views and offers and everything.
- [12:17]
B
Yeah. And because, you know, a lot of what we talk about in the institute training is leveraging. Right. Every dollar that you spend needs to be leveraged to earn future business. And, and while you're, you're absolutely spot on in that you're not selling yourself, you're selling the house, but you are discreetly selling yourself. You are building that video catalog, you are building all of that Google juice, if you will, that allows people to be able to see you. And also I imagine that there's a great deal of respect for the fact that you do that for all of your properties and that it's not just reserved for the super high end. So you said it's not inexpensive. So tell me what your average spend is on a property video and then maybe on your personal marketing video, which is of course award winning, whether you have a different type of budget for that.
- [13:23]
A
Yeah, so I think our videos that we do, I'm usually between maybe a thousand on the low end to 1500 for the couple for the two videos that we do and then for the property videos and then for like personal videos that we do, those are a couple thousand dollars somewhere in there. It's, there's different scopes of it based on all the extra stops and it's probably actually higher than that since it's been a few years since I redid my personal video. But we do, we do a lot of videos and we do different community videos too. So we find it really important with that to not just sell the houses and showcase the houses, but showcase the neighborhoods. And what it's why some, you know, because people moving here don't know any. A lot of times they don't know where they'd want to live and where they'd fit in and what feels like homes home to them. So we, we'll showcase videos, but that's like another element of videos that we would do with and then share and then collaborating with local businesses and things like that. So yeah, we spent a lot of money on, on marketing and on video, but I would say it pays for itself. It's literally how I've built my entire business through video and through marketing. I would say, you know, you have all this, the hype. You have a lot of people doing the social media. You have like, you know, some older Realtors that have been in business forever. Maybe they're not doing social media and they've done print forever. We do all. We do both. We're really big on doing both.
- [15:00]
B
Yeah. I was going to ask whether, whether you, whether you use other channels as well.
- [15:05]
A
Yeah. You know, I've marketed with real marketing for years. Love them. And, and we tie it all in together. Like we have QR codes on our print marketing that ties it to our website and ties it to the featured property website of listings and brings it all together because people are. It's all intertwined. Right. And being consistent on all the marketing, I would say, is really key to. So you're not sending a different message on different platforms.
- [15:39]
B
Got it, Got it. And I think that is. That is absolutely key. The consistency that you mentioned. And as I'm thinking about it, listening to you talk about the various different videos, I'm thinking in my mind, having seen your, your most recent personal marketing video, that you've probably leveraged pieces of other videos that you've shot to. To be edited into a comprehensive situation. Right. And. And the, everything from the lifestyle to various different homes. And, you know, I can hear in my head, tell me if I'm right on this at the end when you talking about you got to love where you live and Spokane. And I know I'm. I think you say Spokane. Right, Right.
- [16:30]
A
Am I Spokane?
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B
Spokane. Okay, so I'm right guessing myself, but you say Spokane. Near nature. Near perfect.
- [16:38]
A
Near perfect. Yes. Right. It's a Spokane slogan. Yes.
- [16:41]
B
Right. Oh, is it? Oh, man, I was gonna give you credit for the whole thing. Right.
- [16:45]
A
It wasn't. I know.
- [16:47]
B
Yeah, but. But that's perfect. And it, and it resonates, you know, I remember it.
- [16:52]
A
So
- [16:55]
B
what do you have in mind? Do you want to try something new? Is there something that you want to, that you want to jump on next?
- [17:04]
A
I mean, I think like on a different platform or on a different video or.
- [17:08]
B
I don't know. I don't know.
- [17:11]
A
I mean, when it comes to videos, I'd say we're always, we're always watching, we're always thinking, and we're always thinking of different things, things we could do for a video because we're always trying to make an inter. Not like entertaining, but, you know, entertaining in the sense we want People to watch it. We want people to watch the whole thing. We want people to share it with their friends and their family and people that they think might should buy the house. Right. And part of me like hate social media and I want to go back to the 90s, right. Because social media is so overwhelming and it's just so much to do. And the other part of you loves social media because it's literally our digital business card and a resume for our sellers and our buyers out there. And it's amazing in what it does. So people can see us out there, they know and love us before they even come to us. And it shows and it builds trust. So that's kind of a side tangent there, but like, go ahead.
- [18:10]
B
That makes me think of, you know, you said the word trust there and I think as we're talking about appealing to, to a higher end client, but that isn't stuffy. Can use that word for it. That transparency, that trust, the ability to send that message ahead of time so that they feel like they already know you and trust you by the time they reach out to do business. Tell me about that kind of experience.
- [18:47]
A
Well, I would say like we're really big on being real and authentic and being like I'm the same on camera as I am in person. You know, I talk with my hands on the camera and I talk with my hands in person, body language, tone, like all of that stuff. And so we're not somebody else on camera than we are when we meet somebody in person. So it's just being the same and being real and authentic, having fun and yeah, we just, we have fun with our clients and we just, you know, and we're always looking to stay on brand. You know, we're not doing what's like all the new trends out there, although some might be really entertaining and great. If they don't align with our brand and send the right message to our clients and our avatar, then, then we're not going to do them.
- [19:41]
B
Yeah, I see a lot these days of real estate agents that are doing that kind of the shock and awe thing and you know, it's as if they, they, they, they're more interested in being social media influencers than they are being real estate professionals. So that's, that, that's important to, to maintain that authenticity.
- [20:03]
A
I think it is. And I think, you know, it's, it would be amazing to go viral and all the things but like at the end of the day that's not going to happen. Get you more clients. That's not Going to build more trust, and that's not going to help you or your clients at the end of the day. And so I think being more consistent and sending the appropriate message and sharing that value, because we always think about what value can we share with our clients, what don't they know, what are the questions that they're asking and what can we share, you know, on social media that is going to be valuable to them to build that trust is always what it comes back to. Yeah.
- [20:39]
B
Super important. So as we talk about the difference between really being a real estate professional rather than a social media influencer, how do you mindfully try to appeal to the types of clients that resonate with you? Right. So you can have followers, you can have an audience, but if you're really trying to attract the right type of client that you'd like to work with, either either as a buyer or a seller, you know, are there, are there things that you have in mind about your, your messaging and your brand?
- [21:20]
A
So yeah, so when we are working on our social media, for example, like we're, we're always, we're always thinking about with our avatar in mind and what would appeal to them and things that, for instance, that they would like to do in Spokane or maybe places that they would like to escape to when they live here. And so we really. And that's part of, you know, the, our avatars, what, what they're going to do, where they're going to spend their money and being that go to person that knows those locations and knows where to send them. And sharing that information in our social media is really what helps build the right relationships. So like we'll have clients that are moving to, that are relocating to Spokane or thinking about it and then they'll tell us, oh yeah, we're coming here. We, we marked off these, these things that we're going to do here. And, and they loved it because it was like it gave them their to do list of some fun stuff to check out Spokane and then different restaurants to try when they're here. So we are really big on showing. We don't want to show everything. Right. We want to show the places that we love that we think our people are going to love and that's going to give them the best experience. Experience.
- [22:35]
B
So we positioning yourself as a resource beyond.
- [22:39]
A
Right.
- [22:40]
B
Real estate, right?
- [22:42]
A
Yes. And you know, we're busy selling houses, so we're not doing that every day. But we definitely sprinkle that in because we find that valuable because people want to know what it's like when they live here, they want to make sure that they're going to be happy here, that they have the, let's say the shopping and the restaurants and, and that they can do all the things that make them feel happy and at home. So we definitely share that. And, and I would, Yeah.
- [23:07]
B
I am sure that I am not the only one that is stuck on the word avatar. Right. So I think, I know, I think what an avatar is, but can you explain maybe what your avatar looks like, what it actually means and how you, how, how somebody might find their own avatar?
- [23:29]
A
So I would say an app, everybody can have a different avatar. An avatar is who, like in social media you don't want to talk to everybody. If you're talking to everybody, it's very confusing. And then you're talking to nobody. So you really want to know who you're talking to in your messaging and talk to that person. And so my avatar, they're really people that are relocating to Spokane and then it's downsizers too here in Spokane. And so we're, we're talking to those people and in everybody's avatar could be different out there. It could be the same. It could be different. It's, it's the group, it's how old are they? What's their price point, what are they into, how old are their kids? Or you know, or maybe their kids are out of the house. Maybe they're retired. Right. So it's, it's those little details that really help segregate the clientele out there so we can talk more specifically and be more valuable to them.
- [24:28]
B
Got it. And you know, that makes me think too when you talk about not trying to speak to everybody, even something as basic as your bio. Right. And members of the institute have public facing directories in addition to all of the bios that we have everywhere else. And it's so easy to try to be everything to everyone. And then.
- [24:54]
A
Right.
- [24:54]
B
Like you said, the message becomes confusing. So really narrowing in on what kind of business do you want to do more of? What kind of, what kind of individuals do you relate well to that you would like to do more business with and not going down that fair housing path. That's not what I'm talking about at all. But it's like, do you like to work with doctors? Do you like, do you like equestrian? Right. All of those things.
- [25:21]
A
So yes, go ahead, go ahead. I was going to say I know a lot of people are concerned and focusing too small and that they're going to lose clientele. I would say it's the opposite in that the. The tighter you get on who you're talking to, you'll help those people more and you'll draw in the right people.
- [25:40]
B
Yeah.
- [25:41]
A
And have more clients than you can manage.
- [25:44]
B
Yeah. And. And a lot of folks, particularly in the luxury space, a lot of real estate professionals that want to do more luxury are just terrified that, that if they, if they reach out for that in their branding, that they're going to completely alienate what we refer to as the bread and butter business. And.
- [26:04]
A
Right.
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B
You know, it is a challenge, but I think that, you know, we can overcome that just by offering that level of service, like you said, to all of our. All of our clients, regardless of the price point.
- [26:19]
A
Yes, absolutely.
- [26:21]
B
Absolutely. Do you have any advice for anybody who's listening on how to kind of sit down and identify their. Their avatar?
- [26:31]
A
I would encourage somebody to look at who they're. Who their ideal client is, and really, really dive deep on that person. And maybe it's somebody that they, you know, if they've been in the business forever and who do they gravitate towards? Is there. Is it a certain. Certain age demographic, or are they people that are upgrading, you know, selling their smaller house and upgrading to a bigger one? How old are their kids? And in an area town, too. So age, their income, their. Their job, even their location. Just all the information. Right. You can't get too specific. But then. And then having that category of that kind of demographic as to who. Who your ideal client is and talking to them, and then you'll just be amazed at, like, how much that helps you grow your business and get referrals and. Yeah.
- [27:29]
B
And. And then that makes me think about also, when you know that space that you're working in, you also can identify the types of vendors and service providers that, that fall into those same categories. And by building your relationships with them, that's a whole nother avenue to, to build your clientele and to provide great resources to. To your avatar. Because you've. You've already made those alignments.
- [27:56]
A
Yep, absolutely.
- [27:59]
B
And I think you were gonna mention the fact that you, You. You try to watch what people are doing, what changes might be coming along.
- [28:08]
A
Yeah.
- [28:10]
B
Is there anything that you're keeping your eye on right now? Anything that you're saying?
- [28:15]
A
No, not necessarily. Like, we're always keeping our eye on what's going on. Different things that we, like, we try to tweak it and make it our own. You know, it's hard to come up with, you know, just new Stuff all the time. So it's always. Then we always, you know, if it's a listing video, we're always coming back to the house and what's going to be best for this house when it. One thing I didn't touch on when it comes to listing videos is, is the use of AI and using it correctly. Not overusing it, but using it to showcase, to really sell the house and to really show the lifestyle. We've had some really great success with our videographers doing incredible AI to show the lifestyle and so doing that on certain videos.
- [29:05]
B
Tell me more about that. Tell me more about that. How does one use AI to show lifestyle in a video?
- [29:14]
A
So I actually have it. One of this. I have one listing. It's pinned on my Instagram account right now at the top. It has the lifestyle of a house, how the house was ordinary house, nothing fancy, but we showcased the life. So the house was nothing fancy, but the neighborhood. We're selling the neighborhood. The neighborhood. Great community neighborhood. They do Easter egg hunts. It's great for trick or treating. Just really very community oriented. And we did the video in what, November. And so it's like kind of ugly and brown outside. Right. And so we had the videographer showcase the house and the neighborhood throughout the different seasons and showed, like, kids running through on an Easter egg hunt, kids trick or treating, the lights up, Christmas lights on the neighborhood and the houses. And then we. And. And then. And we showed the house. Right. So selling the neighborhood first and then the house.
- [30:17]
B
Oh, my goodness. See, that's. That's eye opening. Because Jack and I have talked a lot about making sure that we have a catalog of actual photographs of different neighborhoods at different times of the year, places that are like that with, like, Easter egg hunts or. Or trick or treat. And so you're telling me that you got the photo of the house, the video of the house, and you ask AI to show this house at different times of the year. And they showed it.
- [30:41]
A
They did it with video. Yes.
- [30:44]
B
Wow.
- [30:45]
A
Yeah. You'll have to look at it.
- [30:47]
B
Absolutely. I'm gonna look at it. And for those in the audience, I think that is. That is an absolute gem, particularly as we struggle to figure out how we can utilize AI in a way that is authentic, if you will.
- [31:03]
A
Yes. We don't want to, you know, be misleading in our marketing. Right. But we want to show the lifestyle and we want to show. Show it as real as possible.
- [31:15]
B
Wow.
- [31:16]
A
And so I would say one thing that I am excited about doing on an upcoming listing video would Be really showcasing the life, the milestones of like a family that lives in this house. Whether, you know, from celebrating birthday parties to like coming home for prom and homecoming and having it be the gathering place and, and everything throughout the lifestyle of this property that would be probably.
- [31:40]
B
Oh my gosh. Like that, like the measuring a growing kid's height on the, the door frame, right?
- [31:46]
A
Yes. And then like all the things.
- [31:48]
B
All the things. All the things.
- [31:50]
A
All the things. So. Yeah, but yeah, you know, we live in four seasons and so it's not, you know, the winter time when the leaves aren't on the trees, it. Trees, it doesn't look as pretty. Right. So. And it's when this, it's very pretty when the snow is out there. So if you can show the different seasons. Yeah, I think it's really great.
- [32:09]
B
Wow. Wow, that's a, that's a fantastic takeaway and I think hits the nail on the head of talking about addressing, you know, the, the idea of marketing to, to a different or changing clientele. There's something in that kind of approach that's going to hit everybody you mentioned, meet people where they are. They're gonna, they're gonna find themselves in that kind of, that kind of marketing that is, I think that's brilliant. You know, I want to go back to comment that you made early on about, about businesses relocating. That's bringing a, maybe a different clientele than. Than previous with your relocation clients or downsizers or that sort of thing. Are you finding that, that those businesses that are coming in, is that bringing a younger clientele to your market?
- [33:07]
A
I'd say it's kind of across the board, actually. We have a good. You know, when I was in my 20s, it was. Everybody was like wanting to leave Spokane. Spokane was not the place to be. But it was years ago that Spokane was rated one of the top places for people to live under 30. So it's, it's come a long ways and so it's, I mean there's definitely people that are younger moving back here. I'd say, you know, people in their 30s that are moving back here. People. We have a lot of people downsizing and relocating here for retirement too because of the lifestyle. Forties, fifties, all of it.
- [33:45]
B
So let's, let's dig into that a little bit because. So you've got the 30 somethings and then you've got the older clientele. Do you find a difference in how you interact with them or the messaging that appeals to either end of that spectrum?
- [34:05]
A
Not really, no. It's really like this. I will say some are on different platforms. But the biggest difference I would say in most recent, the last year or two is that the older generation, more of them are on social media and as years before and so they're like they're soaking it all in and they're looking at everything. Whereas years before I would say it was more of the younger generation sharing it with maybe their parents and, and people who weren't on there as much. And so it's, I don't know, I, for me I talk the same to a client whether, regardless of how old they are, I'm very direct and very straightforward, like no BS approach and in real. So yeah, you know, you know, I guess little minute differences probably with everybody because I kind of mirror, mirror people. Right. But you know, it's all about being who we are in real and sharing the value and in Spokane, sharing the lifestyle.
- [35:12]
B
Got it, got it. And you also said something about anticipating questions that people might have what kind of education can you give them? I know what I find is sometimes the younger folks and they may have plenty of money but they haven't got experience with homeownership, that they need a lot of education. And then on the other end of the spectrum that some of the older clientele need a re education if you will. Right. Because our industry changes. And so I'm curious whether you find that to be true as well and how you approach that.
- [35:55]
A
The, I mean everybody always has. We don't work with like a ton of first time home buyers but I think you know, it's, it's all about meeting, meeting the clientele where they are and walking through the process every step of the way. Whether they're the first time home buyer or you know, clients I just met with today, they lived in their house for 40 years and they haven't done a transaction in 40 years. And so it's just, it's really walking them through the process of, of everything of, you know, of the paperwork, of the staging consultation of the prep work of pricing marketing. And so it's just taking the time to, to go to one, ask the questions as to where the, that buyer seller is at in the process and their knowledge, making sure we answer any and all questions and just making sure they feel comfortable and we don't miss out on anything for them.
- [36:49]
B
Yeah. And when you're talking about for example the couple that has lived in their house for 40 some odd years. Right. So I'm assuming that they may be selling for a much more significant price than what they bought in at and find themselves in a completely different spectrum. And that sometimes can require some education of people who are a little overwhelmed by, by what their property is worth.
- [37:20]
A
Yeah, absolutely. So it's going through and showing them the data and showing the nuances of the different properties out there is, is definitely important.
- [37:32]
B
Yep. And it's funny when we talk about not necessarily social media, but like Google and YouTube, so I'm working with clients right now that were a lovely couple that was referred by a colleague in Washington D.C. and these are the parents of one of his clients and they're purchasing a vacation property here and they're a little bit older and they Google everything and they, you know, Google Map everything and they do the YouTube videos for all that, but they cannot master electronic signing. And so I have found myself for the, for the first time in, in quite some time, like literally driving 30, 40 minutes to get wet signatures on things, to drive 30, 40 minutes back to scan them and do all of that. So there's like dichotomy of, of technology that comes into play.
- [38:36]
A
Yes, absolutely. And I have found that with the older generation who is maybe not familiar with signing electronically, if you can help them the first go round and actually like watch them on the back end, then you're good. But yeah, gotta help them and make it smoother and easier.
- [38:55]
B
Right. And then on the other end, some of the younger folks that are just glued to their phones and that sort of thing that maybe can't manage a long form. Right. Like email. There's tons of clients that I have that, that when, when we talk up front about communication styles and expectations will come to agreement about. Okay, there are things that I need to email you. Right. There are things that must be done by email. And so let's agree that if I've sent you an email, I'm going to send you a text message. Right. Or make sure you get it to say look at your email.
- [39:35]
A
Right, yes, yeah, absolutely, yeah. And I always ask up front too, you know, communication styles, their preferred method, whether it's text or email or, or phone. But yeah, absolutely, yeah.
- [39:49]
B
And, and I find more often than not now, some of my, some of my older clientele are, are not using email and I have to have the same approach. So it's funny coming back to the topic of marketing to different or changing demographics, that it's true for all of them that setting expectations and asking those questions up front is crucial.
- [40:16]
A
Right? Yes. You want to have a good experience. You want to give your clients a good experience. You want them to be happy with you. You want to remove as much friction as possible and, and set the standard standards in the bar up front to have a really have that smooth transaction.
- [40:32]
B
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I am having a great time with you, Tanya, but it's time for us to let our audience go on about their day. And so I want to thank everyone so much for joining us listening in on this episode of A State of Mind the Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate. So if you're interested in learning more about the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, you can find more at www.luxuryhomemarketing.com. and I encourage you to check out Tanya's Instagram and YouTube channels. And I want to to thank you, definitely Tanya, for taking the time to be with us today.
- [41:19]
A
You bet. Thanks for having me.
- [41:21]
B
All right, so out there, if you like what you just heard, please share it with a friend. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review this podcast. And if you've got a hot topic that you'd like us to discuss in a future podcast, feel free to let us know. Send an email to infoxuryhome Marketing. Thanks for listening,
- [41:47]
A
Sam.