Become A Celebrity Agent

Courtesy of Daniel Boulud

Luxury real estate marketing professionals who seek market leadership should take a lesson from famous chefs and become a celebrity agent in their marketplace. Here is an example of a French celebrity chef who has created a wonderful buzz-worthy story with his masterful take on the all-American hamburger.

A while back we happened to catch Martha Stewart mentioning her favorite burger, the DB burger on TV. When we were in Las Vegas we felt compelled to check it out at Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn Hotel on the Strip.

Celebrity chef Daniel Boulud has created a version of the classic ground beef burger that is stuffed with red wine-braised short ribs (off the bone) and foie gras. It was a good thing it was not truffle season when we shared the DB burger ($35 at the time--it is now $47) because the price of DB Burger Royale, his pièce de résistance, with a double helping of fresh black truffles on top, goes for $150.

The DB burger is served on a homemade toasted parmesan bun. The bun itself was worth the price of admission, as chef Boulud imports the flour, for his breads and pastries, from France. The side of pommes soufflé was so delicious that we considered waiting for a return trip before ever ordering French fries again.

Daniel Boulud selected an uncontested market niche, the “luxury burger”, and created an inimitable offering with extraordinary value. This process of identifying a niche where there is little or no competition and dominating this market space is a key step in becoming a celebrity as a luxury real estate agent.

If a competing chef offered another version of an extravagant burger as a way to gain recognition, he or she would be considered a “me-too” which is considered old news. Chef Boulud staked his claim first in this category. It has helped him to become even more famous for his catering in New York and also for his restaurants. But, the buzz created by the famous DB burger has made chef Boulud famous in the minds of potential customers outside of his immediate marketplace—those who may never have heard of him before.

What can you do, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, to stake claim to an uncontested market niche and offer extraordinary value? What can you do that leverages public relations to create buzz? What story can you create that will enable you to stand out from the crowd and become a celebrity agent?

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Go for the Gold Part 3: How to Discover Your Unique Golden Voice

World's Largest Gold Bar,250KG Toi Museum, Japan Photo

The gold rush is on for luxury real estate marketing professionals. Be sure to read Part 1 of this series called, Go for the Gold! It is about leveraging the new media tools to tap uncontested market niches. And, also check out Part 2 where we cover the importance of being “follow-worthy” when blogging.

Here, in Part 3 we focus on how to discover your unique golden voice. Your unique voice distinguishes you from your competition. It attracts followers when you report on the subject about which you are most passionate, i.e., your expertise. When you are consistently “in” your golden voice you unique brand of communicating resonates with your target market and you are more likely to convert your audience into clients or referral sources.

How do you find the unique voice? First, ask yourself these questions:

1. What could get you fired up about each and every morning that you could report on (for inspiration , go see the movie Julie & Julia)
2. What aspect of your marketplace are you passionate about?
3. What subject can to be you become know for as an expert that would generate strong interest from those within your marketplace?

It is time to stake your claim to an uncontested market niche and cash in on your passion. Discover your unique voice. Become a master in the use of the new media tools that allow you to reach your target market easier and faster than ever before, Sure they are daunting at first. Just get over it! Go for the gold!

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Go for the Gold! Part 2: Becoming Follow Worthy

Luxury real estate agents have been hearing, for a couple years, that they need to blog. They have been promised that Google will magically send traffic to their sites if they just spew “content”. Never mind that the content that they are writing about or the stories they are reporting are of any interest to a target market. Forget the idea of original content. After mindlessly regurgitating other people’s information, most agents abandon their blogs within 60 days concluding that it was a waste of time and was of little value in terms of generating immediate leads, let alone transactions.

What an awesome tool the blog is for those who have discovered their unique “golden” voice, a voice that is “follow-worthy”! Blogs offers anyone the opportunity to become a syndicated columnist because followers can subscribe to their “column”, keep up on the latest installments and also engage in discussion with the author and other followers. Plus, it is virtually free! So, is the help you can get from your silent marketing partner, Google. Google wants to help create a perfect match between you and your potential audience, your ideal potential clients because they sell more ads when users experience better search results.

Right now, there is an abundance of unexploited marketing niches right under your nose, where you can become the undisputed market leader. But, you will not perceive these untapped “gold mines” if you do not know your own mind. You first need to discover your own golden voice.

Follow us on Part 3 of Go for the Gold! We will cover specifics methods for discovering your unique golden voice.

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Go For The Gold Part 1: There Is A Gold Rush Out There

While most luxury real estate marketing professionals are still reeling from the downturn in the market and working harder than ever just to keep up, some are seeing the enormous opportunity that the new era of the internet has to offer and they are starting to reach for the gold ring. Yes, there is a gold rush out there. But, what may not be obvious is what the new gold looks like and how to find it.

The new gold is all about identifying an uncontested niche in your marketplace where you can add extraordinary value; then staking your claim to ownership of that new market space. It is about cashing in on who you are, what you are most passionate about and leveraging the new media tools to reach and connect with your ideal clients in a focused manner.

What is the catch? You need to know who you are, what you stand for, what you are passionate about what you can do better than anyone else in your marketplace. You need to discover you unique voice. Only then will the new media tools make any sense to you in terms of their potential to tap the gold reserve that awaits you. The tools are meaningless otherwise. Only when you become “follow-worthy” will you attract and retain your audience, and also convert that audience into cash flow.

The opportunities for cashing in on your passion have never been more abundant than right now because of the new media tools. Read Part 2 of this series called, Go for the Gold! for more details about how to discover your unique voice and how to become follow worthy.

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Generating Leads with The Right Message

This Saturday at the Farmer’s Market, I noticed an ad on the back cover of Edible Santa Barbara, which was that of a burger that suits our exacting standards of what a burger should be. Here is the description that made me call the winery and ask for the photo, so that we can share it with our luxury minded friends.

This burger is served at one of the local wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley, which is home to outstanding wineries whose pinot noirs have gained kudos statewide and are rivaling the Napa & Alexander Valleys, our former home. Roblar winery and cooking school prides itself on sustainably grown estate wines. To differentiate itself from the usual winery with its tasting bar, they have added a restaurant serving lunch daily,, dinner every last Wednesday of the month, and a wonderful brunch on Sundays

Here is a description:.

1. Locally baked toasted bun

2. Localy Grown Organic Romaine Lettuce

3. Locally Grown Organic Heirloom Tomato

4. Local Grass Fed Ground Sirloin

5. Estate Grown Organic Onions

This description not only encouraged us to drive to Santa Ynez (45mns) for a burger, but also demonstrated the standard of excellence this company stands for. We are now looking forward to tasting the wine.

Unlike our previous post on the Burger Wars (Carl’s Junior vs McDonald’s), this $15.95 burger does not factor in competition of other wineries. It stands alone on its merit. We found rave reviews for the burger on line, and the marketing manager, Chelsea Pence, told me that people travel long distances to feast on this culinary delight. We plan to do that soon, and we will keep you posted.

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The Significant Advantage of being the “Top-of-Mind Brand”

Photo by Francesco Sgroi

Which luxury real estate marketing professional would be the first to come to mind, for the majority of consumers, in your marketplace? The “top-of-mind” brand in any category of product or service enjoys a significant competitive advantage: the lion’s share of the business. In real estate, that professional would most likely do the highest volume of business.

Therefore, an important strategy to consider, as a luxury real estate marketing professional is, if you want to gain top-of-mind status, is to discover a niche or a specific sub-category of the marketplace where you can be the dominant player. Then focus your entire marketing efforts on becoming identified with that niche or category.

Here is an example of how top-of-mind works in branding terms. In Napa Valley there are over 500 wineries (and over 500 real estate agents). If a consumer wanted to select a great Sangiovese wine only a few wineries come to mind. These wineries found a niche that was not crowded with competitors, at least in California.

Sangiovese's claim to fame is its role as the heart of Chianti, Brunello and many Super Tuscan wines though it is gaining ground as a varietal wine around the globe. When grown in a suitable location the grape's soft tannins, succulent acidity and moderately intense cherry and herb flavors make Sangiovese very easy to drink as well as supremely versatile at the dinner table.

One of the first wineries to come to mind for most Sangiovese fans who know Napa wines is Luna. Luna is one of the first stops heading north along the famed Silverado Trail and is well worth the stop.

Another outstanding, but perhaps lesser known winery that produces Sangiovese is Benessere. Many feel Benessere is the finest Sangiovese in the region. But, Luna might come to mind first because of its high visibility along the famed Silverado Trail (location, location, location). The position known as top-of-mind is what we call the prime “real estate of the mind”—a good position to own.

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The Art of Creating A Brand

Lake Itasca, Minnesota , the source of the Mississippi

In luxury real estate marketing, creating a brand is an exercise of finding your essence as an individual or a company. It must authentically reflect your core values and what you are passionate about. Ultimately, your brand must express, explicitly what is distinct and inimitable about your identity. Here is an example that illustrates this point.

The University of Minnesota (one of Alexandra’s alma maters) sends a quarterly journal which often features a story that illustrates life on campus. The latest issue tells of a fine arts student who devised an ingenious program as part of her master’s thesis. In the process she discovered her unique voice, carved out a new distinctive, uncontested niche as an artist, and thus established her personal brand. Anna Metcalfe is a passionate artist as well as an environmentalist. She combined both of her passions in her master’s thesis and created a newsworthy story that is both heartwarming and creative.

Inspired by Mark Twain’s classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on the Mississippi River [the Mississippi also flows through Minneapolis] she enrolled 50 teenagers who had summer jobs through an organization known as the Green Team, to join her on an adventure exploring life on the Mississippi.

When she met with the teenagers, they discussed the importance of the river and its function in their lives: watersheds, transportation, pesticides, the health of the river, and how it connects millions of lives in the United States. She also asked them to write their own stories about the river with drawings. These stories were silkscreened on porcelain boats that Metcalfe had molded and fired. Some students told illustrated stories about their first boating adventure with maps of the river. Others included stories about indigenous river plants that they were growing in the Conservation Gardens. One of the most poignant stories was about a student’s family escape across the Mekong River in Thailand contrasted with their crossing of the Mississippi River into a new land of opportunity.

The students met to launch their boats in the Mississippi. Later, the boats were gathered and exhibited in a studio, where the teens were encouraged to regale the visitors with their stories. Metcalfe says. “They were excited to see their drawings turn into objects.”

For the students it was a defining moment in their lives as they may never look at the Mississippi in the same way. For Anna Metcalfe it was a remarkable expression not only of art as a means of communication and enrichment, but also as a definition of her unique brand.

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