“In the world of luxury real estate, we are selling a lifestyle, not just a home. I love the ability in my real estate app built by HomeStack to customize links to all of my favorite restaurants, places to shop, and preferred vendors to truly create a digital concierge experience for my clients.”
We were lucky enough to sit down with Christophe and dig in with him on how he started in real estate, how he leveled up to work with luxury clients, and how other real estate agents can get over their fears and get out of their own way. We talk marketing, we talk tools like his real estate app, and everything else Christophe has done differently that has set him apart - besides just being him!
To Achieve Luxury, Set Your Goals Higher and Higher Each Year
When I started, I was not in Beverly Hills, I was in Hancock Park but I always knew luxury was for me. I made the decision I would work with luxury clients eventually, so each year I gradually set my goal higher and raised the price-point I prospected. For example, this year my new average price is $280K, I will not go after any listings below that price-point only above. Of course, if business comes to me I do not turn it down, but I made it my goal to make my threshold higher and higher, year by year and that is how I worked my way up.
To Stay Relevant Use Technology Like a Real Estate App to Stand Out
The key to being successful in luxury real estate for so many years is standing out. I always like to be unique, so when I heard about HomeStack real estate apps 8-10 years ago I looked at the product itself and the real estate client experience and I was like wow this app is really great, I bought it right away. I wanted someone to go to the app store, type in Beverly Hills real estate and have my custom real estate app pop up. I knew it made sense because 80% of our time is spent on our phones.
My Real Estate App Allows My Clients a Quicker and Easier Home Search Experience
My real estate app helps my clients tremendously and it helps me interact with them. I introduce my real estate app in the early stages of working together. Buyers often go to Zillow or Trulia but it cumbersome. I had a buyer who every day sends me 27 WhatsApp messages with listings. I have to go to 27 different search sites and the MLS - it was time-consuming! I always encourage my clients to download my real estate app right away because it streamlines everything. Even better, I see all properties they look at and they can send me a chat message. My real estate app is a great way to communicate efficiently with my clients. It saves me a ton of time and effort and its always well received by clients.
Level Up: Create a Digital Concierge Experience with Your Real Estate App
In the world of luxury real estate, we are selling a lifestyle, not just a home. I love the ability in my real estate app to customize links to all of my favorite restaurants, places to shop, and preferred vendors to truly create a digital concierge experience. Just last night at dinner a client asked for a good gutter guy and I am always getting asked for a trustworthy handyman or a cleaning crew. I don’t have time to go into my contacts and send all their numbers, so now I just say, hey in my real estate app are all of the best vendors in town. My real estate app is not just for home search but it is my digital Christophe Choo network.
Never Stop Building New Income Sources. The Pillars of Your Business
Be proactive, consistent, and always looking for new sources of business. I call this system Pillars, like on the Acropolis in Greece, which has held up for 2,500-3,000 years. Every column is a pillar of your business. One could be expired listings, one could be FISBOs, one is the church, or your kid's school. Your business is The Parthenon, how many pillars you have is how strong your structure is.You can’t just have one or two you have to have multiple coming in for a consistent base and a normalized amount of production.
Never Be Aggressive When Following Up with a High-End Client
I think I was the first guest on the Tom Ferry Luxury Code podcast. We talked about follow up and never wanting to be too aggressive with a higher-end luxury client as nobody wants to be sold. You need to be caring and know what is important to your clients. Sharing your real estate app with them put the search in their hands and allows them to look on their own time with you there to guide them. If you come from a place of helping your clients with whatever they need, you don’t need to be aggressive. Naturally they will come to you because they know you, they like what you do and they trust you. Just be as helpful and beneficial as you can and using my custom real estate app allows me to do just that."
Make sure to follow along with Christophe Choo on Instagram @christophechoo. Want to learn more about building a white-label app for your real estate team or brokerage? We would love to chat!
