Luxury Clues

I don't do referrals...

I recently interviewed Donna Lee Laue of UniqueGlobalEstates.com. Donna's company aggregates and posts lisings over $1,000,000. (Think of this as a free MLS for million dollar properties). Listen to her interview. Here's one of the most important tidbits to take from her interview:

I make introductions-I don't do referrals

Donna Lee Laue has a long, successful history working with ultra high end sellers and buyers. UGE is a free listing service for properties priced at $1,000,000 or more. They currently have over 50,000 listings in 41 different countries. Donna shared one of her major secrets in terms of courting the luxury market: "I make introductions. I don't make referrals. I like to think of our company as the Match.com for the top five percent of the wealth of the world. When I introduce an agent to one of our buyers or sellers, we have a relationship. I know the intent, financial capacity, and the needs of the clients. We want to introduce the wealth of the world to their new best friend."

Prior to founding UGE, Donna was extremely effective as an estates agent due to the high level of customer service that she provided. For example, many ultra high end buyers do not want their property marketed on the MLS preferring to sell their property through "private channels." When Donna obtained a listing on a property in Redmond with breathtaking grounds, see took extensive photos of the grounds. Since her clients wanted their privacy, the only interior shot she took was of the great room. She then worked with her contacts to have the listing posted on the Microsoft Intranet where she obtained the buyer. Donna's contacts allowed her to introduce the property where the greatest numbers of high probability buyers were working.

There are several important lessons from this example. First, "making introductions" is much more attractive to clients than being "referred out." Second, Donna identified the strengths of the property and carefully targeted her marketing efforts. She did not take the listing and hope that somehow the correct buyer would come based upon a newspaper ad or some other type of passive marketing. Agents at all levels need to proactive in finding buyers for their listings. Creating an ideal buyer profile and marketing to that profile is much more effective than using a shotgun approach to marketing.

Posted by Bernice Ross
RealEstateCoach.com

THE SHARP EDGE OF LUXURY: Or, Dining With Swords

New York’s Kobe Club restaurant opened to mixed reviews. You be the judge. The tip end of the bar is shaped like a Samurai sword covered in glistening black stingray skin.  The ceiling in the main dining area has 2000 Samurai swords hanging above the tables, points down. The walls are covered with chains bejeweled with pieces of black coal.  The unisex bathrooms are decorated with zebra stripes, and everything else is black. The steakhouse charges $390 for a 28 ounce porterhouse. A modest 6 ounce rib eye is priced at a mere $195. One of the New York Magazine’s food reviewers’ dinner companion summed up the evening in this way:  “Who do they think we are, a bunch of schmucks?”

Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants
Personal Branding & Marketing

Puerto Vallarta

Casa Sano y Salvo is a lovely 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, villa that sits on a 50 ft. cliff overlooking the Bay, offering you beautiful whale watching and romantic sunsets.

Listing provided by Point2Homes.com

Punta de Mita (Nayarit, MX)

This 7,000 sq. ft. home includes infinity pool overlooking the bay and Marieta islands on a pristine white sandy beach.

Listing provided by Point2Homes.com

You Are Asleep? Is Your Car Safe? Does Your Dog Need a Massage?

Luxury hotels are continuously looking for ways to outdo their competitors. Here is what two Florida hotels came up with.

Regent South Beach Hotel in Florida has announced their new “Car Turndown Service” for guests.  However, not every car qualifies for this car sitting service.  Only Aston Martins, Bentleys, Ferraris, etc, need apply.  Application for service is available at check-in. Prices start at $200 for a wash and wax, and a daily front seat gift for the driver. Having a car body guard watch over your vehicle overnight in the parking garage can cost upwards of $500.

Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants
Personal Marketing and Branding

Sea Island, Georgia

Meticulously landscaped, this property overlooks the constantly changing marsh and Village Creek as does almost every room in The Villa.

Listing provided by Point2Homes.com

Walk and Rock Like a Masai

New shoe technology has been developed by observing how the Masai walk.  The Masai warriors in East Africa are known for their lean bodies and superb postures.  By studying their style of walking, Swiss inventor Karl Mueller replicated the movement by creating a shoe whose sole looks like a rocker.  He was suffering from back, knee and Achilles tendon problems.  “But, whenever I walked on soft ground, the pain decreased.”

It took ten years of research and development to create the unique sole technology that would enable the body to walk naturally. The MBTshoes run from $225 to $245, and come with an instructional DVD.

Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants
Personal Marketing and Branding

The Four Secrets "The Secret" Didn't Tell You

Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) is sharing "The Secret" on Oprah Winfrey's show tomorrow, February 8, 2007 Oprah.  Yesterday, I had two people who told me I absolutely had to see this movie The Secret that would change my life. The movie is about the Law of Attraction, something that I was first introduced to in 1996 by Coach University and the late Thomas Leonard. The formula in the movie is "request, believe, feel (my addition), and receive. An important point the movie makes is to visualize having what you want to attract and feeling the experience.

I have found the power of attraction to be a powerful force in my own life. For example, my husband and I were talking about going to Hawaii in January of 2005. I had a brief opening in my schedule. I told him, "Wouldn't it be great if I could get a speaking engagement in Hawaii during that time?" Two days later, the speaking engagement appeared, complete with a stay in a beautiful house 20 feet from the water.

The movie gives you a powerful model, but it is missing four "secrets"  that I have found to be critical. First, the law of attraction as I have experienced it, is that you begin by making space for what you want to attract. There's no room for a new convertible if your garage is filled with an old junker. Make no mistake about it: it is no accident that today's Oprah show is about "decluttering your life." Oprah understands attraction and she's pointing you in the right direction. In fact, I have given this assignment to hundreds of coaching clients over the last 11 years. If you want something new and wonderful to come into your life, you must first make room for it. Clean your closet, clean your desk, get rid of the old--it makes no difference where you start. Sometime clients think you've lost a few marbles when they hear this. Nevertheless, when they try it, it works. If you want increase your business, it's time to clean out the clutter.

Second, you must have clarity about what you want to attract and how it will come to you. A fellow coach had a client who needed a $100,000. She saw herself attracting the money. What she didn't specify was how she was going to attract it. She had a major car accident where she was injured and received a $100,000 settlement. When you work with attraction, specify not only what you want, but that it will come to you in a way that creates joy and happiness for both you and for everyone involved in the process.

Third, like attracts like. If you want a fabulous relationship, you not only have to create space and be clear about what you want to attract, you must have the same components in your own being. People are attracted to those who share similar characteristics. If you want to marry a good cook, become a good cook.

Fourth, while the film talks about gratitude, it misses an important point about creating abundance. Take a penny and clench it tightly in your hand. When your hand is clenched, there's no room for a stack of new $100 bills. To create abundance, you not only have to express gratitude for what you have, you also have to be willing to give back. When you have enough to share with others, even if it's the gift of your time rather than money, it always come back to you with interest. In virtually every case, the more you give, the more you receive.

The steps above work. I've experienced them personally as have many others who have used this approach. If you're ready to attract the life that you want, this is how to do it.

Puerto Plata

Located in the exclusive Sea Horse Ranch, Caribbean ocean front villas don’t get any better than this! A huge double lot parcel, sprawling grassy yard, private beach and spectacular views exude fabulous Caribbean living.


Listing provided by Point2Homes.com

Blending Health and Luxury, but at What Price?

In the luxury investment arena, the two new hottest opportunities are in the field of longevity and wellness.  Based on the statistic that Americans spend over a trillion dollars a year on medical care, the investment pundits and entrepreneurs have decided that delivering wellness, in a luxurious and peaceful manner can be profitable.

Leading the pack is billionaire David Murdock, owner of Dole Foods and the island of Lanai.  His Next Age clinic is the California WellBeing Institute (CWI), which opened in December. CWI combines a Four Seasons hotel and spa with a high-tech medical facility on a 20-acre property in Westlake Village, northwest of Los Angeles.

CWI’s three-day Longevity Package (price tag: $2,800) promises that guests can experience the potential benefits of longevity science in a spa setting. Prior to check-in, guests are asked to fill out a Life Quality questionnaire that poses such provocative  questions as, "If you continue living as you currently live, how many years do you feel you have left?"  For more information, visit their web site.

Steve Case former AOL chairman has partnered with Dr. Andrew Weil at Miraval Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Weil has become the Director of Integrative Health & Healing.   

Another former AOL chairman, Gerald Levin, has partnered with his wife Laura Perlman, in the Moon View Sanctuary.  For an annual fee of $175,000, they give celebrities, corporate executives and other high rollers a 360 degree view of the latest in new age healing.  This includes shamanism, acupuncture, yoga, hypnotherapy sessions and brain painting, which uses the brain's electric signals to create designs on a computer screen.

Privacy is paramount. Patients never see each other, and they can be escorted from an underground garage via private elevators.

Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants
Personal Branding & Marketing