Real Estate Blog - Have you experienced working with "celebrity" clients?

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Have you experienced working with "celebrity" clients?

If you stay in this business long enough, and specialize in the luxury real estate market, sooner or later you'll encounter the celebrity client.

I use the term "celebrity" in a generalized manner, to describe a client who is highly-visible, perhaps very wealthy or a public figure. People in this category might include professional athletes or coaches, "Fortune 500" executives, entrepreneurs, television, radio or film entertainers, politicians, media figures, or people with ties to well-known families.

Some agents may find it a bit shocking to encounter their first highly-visible buyer or seller prospect. But working with the well-known client can be rewarding if you handle things properly.

Here are a few pointers:

Google your celebrity prospects - Your goal here is to learn as much as possible about that individual. The prospect's notoriety can work to your advantage, because you're likely to find plenty of information about them on the Web.

Don't "kiss and tell" - A smart agent doesn't run around town broadcasting that "so-and-so" contacted his/her office to inquire about property. The celebrity client often desires privacy. In many cases, they have their own publicist. If they want to go public about where they're buying, let them do the talking!

Treat them as you would any valued client - It would be a mistake to go overboard, fawning all over a celebrity client. That could be perceived as annoying. Most celebrity clients want to be treated in a professional manner.

Listen - The celebrity client may have specific needs and wants that may be out of the ordinary, compared to those of most of your real estate clients. That is to be expected. Your most important role is to listen carefully and pick up on the client's personal preferences.

One more piece of advice would be to remember your role in the process. Keep your focus on listening to the celebrity client and then work to meet their needs. Your role is to act as an agent, not necessarily to book travel arrangements or lodging reservations or plan their recreation while in your area. By all means, refer them to great resources if they ask, but assuming the role of concierge could diminish your credibility.

Not all real estate answers can be found on Google.

Let us help you gather the information you need to achieve your real estate goals. Contact Wayzata Lakes Realty today at 612.670.2539.

Eric Kodner is a luxury property specialist and real estate educator in the Minneapolis & Saint Paul area with a unique perspective on the Twin Cities real estate market. Wayzata Lakes Realty LLC is a member of the LuxuryRealEstate.com broker network.

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Posted by Eric Kodner, Lake Minnetonka Homes & Madeline Island Real Estate on 06/17/2008 01:35 AM

Comments (34)

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34 Comments on Have you experienced working with "celebrity" clients?

JUN

2008

I have a lender friend who told me a story the other day of a friend she has in Malibu, CA that she is doing a refi for. He recently had a Realtor ask if he could show his unlisted house to a client. The house was not for sale but could be if "the price was right". The client ended up to be Mel Gibson and they all sat at the table talking and eating snacks after they showed the home. Too cool.

Eric,

I am now prepared, just need to wait till I get one (LOL)

When I worked as a limo driver in New York, I did not watch TV, (out of 7 days I lived 6 in a car, literally). New to the country, and not watching TV, I simply did not know any celebrities. And I was time from time driving them. I guess they liked me. Not knowing who they were, I never bothered them.

Our company had an account with Saturday Night Live, and we were taking people home after the show. I had a few times situations when people were trying to get autographs, and I did not have a clue who I was taking.

With my not best memory of faces, I am mostly still in the dark about who I was driving. I recognised Goodman, Seagul, but that was it.

Eric....These are great suggestions.

I know one time I worked with someone who had very high-profile position within my community and I was dying to tell people who I worked with.....and didn't. It's almost like, what's that called, attorney-client privilege? Or more like therapist-patient privilege.

Minor details are usually not as important to these people....they have bigger fish to fry.

David -- Fun story! You never know who you're going to meet in this business!

I think George Clooney needs a home in the beautiful mountains of WNC!

I haven't had too many luxury clients....but I keep hoping! Most of my people have been younger first or second time buyers.

Very good points. Confidentiality will commonly be even more important to them than most clients.

ERIC - I had a celebrity experience last year, but not as a listing. They were the buyers of one of my listings. It was a unique deal (to say the least). These people happened to be the parents of an A-List celebrity, so there was the challenge of dealing with layers of hired hands to getting the deal done, and some of them were on the West Coast. Having been around many celebrities in the music business before, I already know that they are just regular people that happen to be famous, so I could handle them without any fanfare.

Eric--I so agree with the kiss and tell philosophy. I was an assistant to an agent before I was licensed and she got the listing of a local celebrity...Told everyone who owned the house. It was embarrassing. Needless to say, I didn't work with her for very long.

We have many celebrity homes here in the Hudson Valley. Perhaps one day I'll be lucky!

Being in a mountain ski resort area, we have clients from all over, especially southern california since we are just a couple hours south of Tahoe and our mountain is top notch. I have a listing with a professional snowboarder. Working with him is just like working with any client except for the layers of hired hands I heard someone else mention. I deal primarily with the client's agent and everything is passed on to him. I'm very conscious to have direct contact information for the client since it is my responsibility to make sure he is kept in the loop should the agent drop the ball or not be available. My sister works for a sports management company in Santa Monica and I've received referrals from her. I'm hoping it's the start of many to come.

Eric: It's funny that Stacie mentioned the professional snow boader...I was getting a ride home from the car repair shop and struck up a conversation with the kid driving me. It turns out that he was/is a professional snow boader who happened to have suffered a major injury.

While he was healing, he was helping his uncle out at his shop! Talk about them being regular people.

When I got back to the office, I googled the kid and he was indeed big time!

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

Jon, you were probably in the same vehicle with some big names.

Todd -- I especially enjoyed your comment comparing agents observing confidentiality to "attorney-client privilege"!

Just as an attorney's clients have a right to privacy and confidentiality, so do all our real estate clients. And of course, that holds true regardless of whether they're celebrities or not.

That is so true Bob! Snowboarders and skiers are very down to earth and easy going. Sure, they like to party and alot of hotels won't rent to them.....but I find they are easy to work with and reasonable. I guess they are not like your typical celebrity, but I consider myself lucky. I see Tara Dakides from time to time at the local deli, Shawn White in the lift line at the mountain, and Danny Kass in the grocery store. It's definately not like hollywood up here.

Actually, I work with a producer in Hollywood who is originally from the mid-west. Talk about genuinely nice people, he and his partner were such a pleasure to work with and I keep in touch with him. I find that the young 'celebrities' love using email and the internet and that is a perfect fit for me since the technical aspect of real estate is my forte.

Susie, if ANYONE could persuade George Clooney to buy, it would be you!

Ruthmarie - I've encountered most of them in our Lake Superior office. The Apostle Islands area draws tourists from all over the United States and for some reason, that includes quite a few high-visibility individuals.

I've also had a few of these in our Minneapolis & Saint Paul office. If you're patient, it will happen to you too.

Randy -- The desire for comfidentiality and privacy seems to be in proportion to wealth and notoriety.

An agent in one of my CE courses at our Board of REALTORS told me she had worked with a well-known business exec whose wife had been kidnapped some time ago. Fortunately, she was found unharmed after a ransom was paid. To a high-profile client, the confidentiality issue is a safety issue as well!

Adam, your story reminds me of a lady who walked into our office last summer. She is the mother of a fairly famous rock musician and she lives in the Chicago area. I think she was hoping to get a "deal" on something because of her son!

Teri -- With a celebrity listing, you'd want to make very sure you had the owner's permission to spread that information around. You could wind up with tons of showings with people who just want to snoop & browse!

There ARE some celebrities who want to be in the spotlight. You will occasionally encounter the high-profile client who has no problem with the public knowing they're buying or selling. But again, I'd rather ascertain that beforehand.

Carol, it helps to work in a popular resort or recreational area. That's how I've met most of the celebrity clients I've encountered.

Thanks for the info, unfortunately Halle Berry sold her condo a few years back after her last divorce. But hopefully Scarlet Johanson gives me a call. (like she would move to Milwaukee)

Seriously, I think it wwould be a blast working for a celeb clients, I'm great at always treating all my customers the same, and usually have a good time through out the process.

Eric, I've had a few famous Americans, and the ones who really were celebreties didn't act like they were. Well, maybe one of them did. He made it into my book - though I didn't mention his name!

JUN

2008

Stacie, working with a third party (such as a celebrity's agent or personal manager) can certainly be part of the process.

Some wealthy families have a family trust manager or designated representative who signs on their behalf in real estate transactions.

Bob, I've never dealt with a pro snowboarder as a client! I have worked with an individual in pro football, but that's the extent of my experience with athletes.

Andrew, maybe you could sell something to Edo de Waart (the newly-appointed Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony). He used to own a very nice condo in Minneapolis!

Patricia, I imagine your area is a good place to find highly-visible clients!

I thought every client was a celebrity client! Great post...

Susie, you can have George Clooney if I can have Keith Urban. :)

JUN

2008

LaShawn, that is the very best way to treat all our clients!

JUN

2008

My dealings with "Celebrity Clients" has been increadibly enjoyable.

I recently sold a house for a Celebrity in the Hollywood Hills and she was a pleasure to deal with.

She's become a friend and emails me & text-messasges me just to chat.

The secret is treating celebrities in the same way you deal with every other client that you value and appreciate.

Stuart, your last statement is the soul and essence of how to work with a celebrity. In my past experience also, the highly-visible client wants to be treated as you would treat any other valued client.

JUN

2008

Hi, there! I learn a lot from reading your posts -- appreciated!

Because of our prominance on the web we often get clients searching in the high end. A great idea is to Google anyone who is looking in the $750,000 and above price range. There is a good chance that you can learn a great deal about them online.

The true celebrities that we have worked with had someone else doing the initial searching on their behalf. In Nashville we had generated a lead that led to a major musician who ended up buying a home from an agent on our team there... $3.2 mill. In Phoenix a major football player who had played in the Superbowl is currently one of our clients and his girlfriend found us. Currently looking in the $5 - $7 million price range.

There are plenty of examples of others looking in more moderate ranges for second homes who run major companies or sit on boards of companies. Because of our presence in Seattle we have worked with a number of senior execs from Microsoft... They are usually easy to check out and often have their own blogs or press about them...

JUL

2008

Li, I'm so glad you find something here that is helpful to you!

Glenn, it's fascinating to learn how a highly-visible client finds you, isn't it?

I've had such clients who just walked into my office, or called off a sign. One was a member of Congress.

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