Being Extraordinary: How Branding, Relationships and Education Impact Luxury Real Estate

Lyn Drake began at RE/MAX in 1989.

Prior to that, she had her own brokerage for more than a decade. All told, Drake – a broker associate with RE/MAX Masters Millennium in Greenwood Village, Colorado – has spent more than four decades in the real estate business.

But on this late October day, Drake is pounding a pen to paper, filling pages and pages with notes. She doesn’t have to. She’s won three RE/MAX Career Awards. She’s earned plenty of other recognitions and is consistently recognized as a top agent at a top-producing brokerage.

But as a successful luxury agent – and with a new multimillion-dollar listing in hand – Drake was more than eager to take in everything at The RE/MAX Collection 9th Annual Luxury Forum.

“It’s keeping up with my education. That’s what I’m wanting to do right now: expand my education even though I’ve been doing this for so long,” Drake says. “I want to stay on top of my game.”

In essence, that’s what brought more than 230 RE/MAX affiliates in the luxury market together in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Oct. 27 and 28 for two days of networking and industry insights for excelling in the luxury space.

The event highlighted providing world-class service to customers by building personal brands that have lasting power.

Building a Brand

Tamara Day, a featured speaker at the Luxury Forum, joked she knows there is a younger, prettier and more talented TV host waiting. But as the star and host of HGTV’s “Bargain Mansions” and owner of Growing Days Home, Day told those assembled that her brand isn’t just about turning rundown mansions into eclectic and beautiful homes.

Her brand, and her ability to add unique touches to the homes and designs she does, makes her more than a host: It makes her business a sought-after commodity.

“My brand will outlast the show,” she says. “Creating a brand that lasts has always been my goal. I’m most proud that we’ve been able to turn something into more than just being on television. Like most luxury businesses, we’re taking the right steps. We’ve made some mistakes, but I’ve built a great team around me. What we’ve done is something to really be proud of.”

Day, who got her start selling vintage furniture she’d refurbished out of her home, said the hot market and increased cost of building materials has forced her to pivot. While purchasing homes for real life versus television is much different – she’ll help renovate 14 houses in nine months for her television show – she said staying on top of luxury trends is key.

A big part of that is the real estate agents in attendance.

As her show has progressed to renovating homes across the country, Day says she leans on the expertise of local luxury agents.

While there aren’t many bargain mansions out there now, Day’s relationships with her real estate agents help her and her team stay ahead of trends.

“That’s huge,” she says. “I lean on them and trust them for their knowledge. I look at them to help with comparables. To help find mile radiuses and see what the trends are. Real estate agents know those neighborhoods. That’s a big piece with how far we will go when we’re investing.”

Be Extraordinary

Baris Kilicarslan, who also spoke at the event, is an expert trainer, best-selling author, noted speaker and agent with RE/MAX Turkey.

He says what sets luxury agents – and specifically those in attendance – apart is being able to  recognize their “vital fews” that can help them become extraordinary.

It’s doing less action, more often and much better, he says. Specifically in the luxury space, Kilicarslan says agents need to recognize that being average isn’t enough. It’s finding ways to get rid of the stuff that doesn’t matter, focus on what does and provide that extraordinary experience.

“One word for The RE/MAX Collection: Extraordinary,” he says. “We can all do the same business at different levels. What you need to ask is, ‘What extraordinary gifts do I have that I can start using?'”

That thinking is what brought those like Drake to The RE/MAX Collection Luxury Forum. The veteran agent says she was ready for a refresh. And when it comes to her new listing, she was looking for more creative and unique ways to market the property.

She was looking to be extraordinary.

“No doubt it’s exhausting at times,” she says. “But right now, it’s also exhilarating. I still feel that care for my clients. The home I have listed right now, I’ve known the owner since she was 2 years old. I helped her parents first when she was a baby. And now we’re on our fourth transaction together. If you do it right in this business, it just expands and becomes family.”

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