Luxury Real Estate Prospecting In High-Net-Worth Circles

While the number of high-net-worth individuals is growing faster than ever, many new luxury real estate professionals haven’t had much exposure to them, especially via luxury real estate prospecting. So when it comes to hashing out your luxury real estate marketing strategy in those early stages of your career, you may find yourself wondering how to go about luxury real estate prospecting in a way that both positions you as an expert, but also respects your ideal client’s boundaries and privacy.

The fact is, even if you’re not new to real estate, luxury real estate prospecting can be very different from what real estate professionals experience in the traditional market. At its core, luxury real estate prospecting marketing moves slower, is more subtle, and is often more strategic.

And it makes sense…

Most high-net-worth individuals are used to people soliciting them for opportunities of all kinds — from work opportunities to the chance to become one of their trusted advisers in one way or another. These individuals often have stronger boundaries and place a higher value on privacy than any other demographic, which means connecting with them can take a little more planning and the patience to let them set the tone for the relationship.

According to David Friedman, co-founder of Wealth X and Wealth Quotient, many professionals go about luxury real estate prospecting backwards, often trying to connect directly with their ideal clients using an “outward-in” approach. Instead, he recommends using an “inward-out” approach, which positions the luxury real estate professional as a “vetted referral” instead.

To use this strategy, here are a few luxury real estate prospecting techniques to consider:

Luxury Real Estate Prospecting Tip #1: Ask for Introductions to Specific People

Once you have certain high-net-worth individuals in mind whom you’d love to serve, David recommends connecting with their inner circle first. If you’re an Institute Member, you have access to our Online Wealth Lookup tool (OWL) and Wealth X, David’s database that helps luxury professionals gather data on prospective clients to make better connections.

Both of these tools allow you to see who’s connected to whom, which charities and organizations people are connected to, and other details you can use to help you get an idea of where and how to position yourself.

(An important side note to consider — any information protected by privacy laws will not be found. Additionally, the WealthEngine data sources are focused on “positive” aspects of people’s lives.)

Once you’ve done your research, you’ll have an idea of specific people you’d like to connect with. That means you can stop asking the open-ended question, “Who do you know?” and start asking for specific people instead when you are networking in their circles.

It might feel intimidating at first, but you’d be surprised at how much more effective this simple adjustment in your approach can be. Why? Because even if the particular person you’re asking for isn’t the right fit, or your connection can’t get in touch with them, it may jog their memory to connect you with someone else who may be just as useful.

Luxury Real Estate Prospecting Tip #2: Actively Seek Referrals

Again, high-net-worth individuals are more likely to do business with someone they know — even through a trusted acquaintance — than let a brand new adviser into their circle. With that in mind, it’s essential to actively seek referrals from your happy clients. In fact, NAR says nearly 70% of clients would refer their agent to a family member or friend — if they could remember who their agent was.

So, what happens if you don’t follow up and ask your happy clients if they’d refer you to a specific person or to someone they know who’s buying, selling, or investing? You’re leaving money on the table.

Luxury Real Estate Prospecting Tip #3: Be a Problem Solver

If you don’t want to fully rely on the “inward-out” approach, another strategy for marketing to high-net-worth individuals is simply to solve their problems.

These days, it’s easier than ever to share your expertise. Many high-net-worth individuals use the same social media and professional networking platforms as anyone else, which are great places to consistently show up with valuable information specifically pertaining to their biggest pain points. Some examples include:

• Zoning and land use;

• Legacy planning;

• Asset appraisals;

• Tax consequences;

And other real estate and financial topics of interest to individuals with lots of capital to spend, organize, and invest.

Want More Help Standing Out In the Luxury Real Estate Market?

Becoming a Member of the Institute gives you access to some of the top producers in the industry and done-for-you marketing tools that give you a tremendous advantage.

The Institute also offers a wide range of resources for you to invest in yourself at any stage in your luxury real estate career — even if it hasn’t begun yet.

• Subscribe to our Estate of Mind podcast and/or Estate of Mind video series on YouTube for monthly deep-dives into specialized luxury real estate topics with industry experts;

• Take our Luxury Livestream or Luxury Online training to qualify for Institute Membership and its many Member Benefits;

• Visit your Membership Portal for brand new training sessions, as well as our book, Rich Buyer Rich Seller: The Real Estate Agents’ Guide to Marketing Luxury Homes, which is available for free to all Institute Members and also available on Amazon.