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Wealthy athletes and celebrities — a group of real estate clients highly coveted by luxury agents — are often tough to land because they surround themselves with a trusted inner circle of managers, financial advisors and PR professionals.
But that same inner circle — organized in part to keep people out of the celebrity’s business — has often proved to be the way into the celebrity’s real estate activities for a panel of successful luxury agents who addressed the Inman Luxury Connect audience on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
“That inner circle — that person who’s very, very close to them — you treat them as well, if not better than, the client themselves,” said Kofi Nartey of the Real Brokerage. “And that’s how you win because they also have a database of additional clients.”
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Ben Belack of The Agency said that he often finds the celebrity’s business manager is the key to unlocking the client.
“Anytime someone calls me and says, ‘I’m working with my business manager,’ … I’m in the business manager’s face the second they’re introduced,” Belack said.
Belack makes a point of forging personal relationships with business managers through golf and meals at high-status private clubs, he said. In time, he works to demonstrate that he can be a useful resource for the celebrity’s business manager — one who can take tasks off their plate.
“If they feel like they can trust you and they can essentially delegate a responsibility to you, you’re going to go far,” Belack said.
Michelle Griffith of Douglas Elliman said the celebrity’s business contacts — managers, financial advisors and attorneys — are often a great place to start when wooing a potential client. But in other cases, the client’s most trusted advisor might not be a professional contact.
“There was one athlete that I was working with, and the person he trusted the most was Al the barber,” Griffith said. “And if you could get in with Al, then you could get in that inner circle.”
Mahsheed Parsons of Mahsheed Real Estate said that she’s even had success contacting celebrities or their representatives with a simple social media message.
“A lot of times I’ve reached out to people through social media, actually,” Parsons said. “And it’s worked.”
Nartey said that the athletes, actors and other celebrities often value anonymity in their real estate transactions, and it’s important for the agent to help provide that. But there are ways that the agent can still market their connections to high-net-worth clients, even if keeping a low profile is a top priority, he said.
“If we can’t talk about the client, then maybe we can talk about the neighborhood where we’re showing properties,” Nartey said. “If we can’t talk about the neighborhood, post that you ‘just signed NDAs, off to do some exclusive showings,’ and then just show your car driving down the freeway.
“That lets people know that you work with exclusive clientele, but you also have discretion,” Nartey said.
