Why The Emperor Will Choose You
In a moment, I will explain why the Emperor will choose you when I share a story about a boy named Ling. But first, I want to talk to those who are breaking into the Luxury Real Estate market and to those that are already there.
I am often asked by other real estate agents, “How do I break into the Luxury Real Estate business?”
Realtors often have questions about breaking into a market they’ve never sold to before. It’s disconcerting to break into a new market, especially one where the stakes can feel rather high. However, over the course of the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing some steps you can take for success in breaking into the Luxury Real Estate market.
Define Luxury
We need to first define luxury and Luxury Real Estate.
Luxury is expensive, rare, exclusive, and exudes perfection. Only a certain number of individuals can attain them. More importantly, the biggest common thread of luxury is its history. Simply put, luxury is history. Just like a Porsche or a Ferrari, the history of the race track is part of their heritage. When you sit behind the wheel of one of those cars, you feel the whole history of the race track and you feel like you’re a part of that story and history.
Furthermore, Luxury Real Estate is commonly defined as the top 10 percent of your market. In my particular area, that would be a million dollars and above. In Nantucket, that would be $3,000,000 and above. In the Hamptons, that would be around $5,000,000. In Hawaii, that would be another $7,000,000 and above. And in Kansas, that would be $500,000 and above. Indeed, luxury is the top 10 percent of the market—that’s the common definition.
Luxury Real Estate is About Relationships
In Luxury Real Estate, the people you get to meet are some of the most incredible individuals you will ever meet. I never would have met these people in any other profession. And because they are amazing, it’s important that you are amazing as well—amazing in your work ethics, knowledge, skill, service and character. If you’re not, someone else will be and you will not succeed in the Luxury Real Estate market.
Be Someone With Integrity
There is a story of an emperor who wanted to choose a successor from a group of village children. He gave each of them one seed to take home to plant and water. He then asked them to return to see him in one year with their pots. Only then would he choose an emperor.
All of the children went home and tended to their seeds. In time, all of the children grew various plants in their pots, except one child named Ling. Ling’s seed did not grow, but he continued to water it every day.
When the year was up and the time came to return to the emperor, all of the children from the village returned with their pots and plants, eager to share what they had grown with hopes that they would be the next emperor. After looking at all of the children’s pots, the emperor declared, “Last year, I sent you all home with seeds boiled down so they would no longer grow, but I see before me hundreds of plants and only one barren pot. Integrity is far more important for leadership than proud displays. I choose Ling to be my heir.”
As a Luxury Real Estate agent, we all need to be like Ling. You do not want to mislead people about the price of their house by telling them it’s worth twice what it really is worth. You don’t want to tell them you’re going to mortgage your house to pay for the marketing if you really aren’t. Thus, always remember the importance of integrity when it comes to your Luxury Real Estate clients.
A great reminder to check your integrity is to ask yourself these questions throughout the day: Did I do what I said I would do? Have I been dishonest in any way? Do I have integrity? Share on XBe the Ling of integrity. And make it a great week.
