This week on SalesTV.live we welcome Ricardo Garcia, a luxury real estate consultant specializing in international clients. Sales success requires more than just a strong pitch - it demands precise execution, deep client understanding, and a tailored approach to niche markets. In this episode we’ll explore how Ricardo creates trust, fosters emotional connections, and builds lasting relationships in one of the world’s most competitive markets.

We’ll ask questions like:

* How do you identify and own a lucrative niche in a crowded market?

* What does it take to build trust and loyalty with clients unfamiliar with your market?

* How can you foster emotional connections to create repeat business and referrals?

* How does personal branding elevate client relationships and drive results?

With a remarkable 90% lead conversion rate and a reputation for delivering unparalleled client experiences, Ricardo’s track record speaks volumes. His approach blends consulting expertise, luxury marketing strategies, and a sharp focus on understanding client goals. Gain actionable insights on how to stand out in your field, build lasting relationships, and execute with precision for transformative results.

Facts, the latest thinking, chat, and banter about the world of sales.

Come and join us for some lively discussion and debate.

This week's Guest was -

• Ricardo Garcia, a luxury real estate consultant specializing in international clients

This week's Host was -

• Helga Saraiva-Stewart, Founder of SalesShaker

Transcript of SalesTV.live Early Edition 2024-12-17

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:00:00]:

Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Good morning, everyone, sales shakers and valuepreneurs. This is your host, Helga Sarajevo Stewart. I'm joining you today with lots of, you know, holiday spirit with Ricardo Garcia for, a show that will no doubt leave

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:00:20]:

you, very entertained, informed, and inspired.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:00:24]:

That's what we aim for. Right, Ricardo?

Ricardo Garcia [00:00:27]:

Yes. Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Helga.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:00:31]:

Good morning. Today, we're gonna be talking about nailing the niche, the execution and client connection, and I know we're gonna make it fun. Ricardo joined us from Madrid. I think that's where you are. Right? And, you are in the luxury real estate sector. Tell us a little bit about yourself from the point of view of who it is that you serve and what do you do for them.

Ricardo Garcia [00:00:57]:

Okay. So first of all, Helga, again, thank you very much for the invitation. It's a real pleasure to to to be here. Yeah. So I I basically help international clients, buying and selling real estate in the Iberia space, Spain in Portugal. I'm based in Madrid, and but I also do and I do a lot of business in Portugal. And so, yeah, basically, my typical client is an international person that lives in US or in London or or elsewhere and wants to buy a property or sell a property in in Madrid, in Lisbon, in Porto, and comparta in in the south of Spain, and I help them navigate that process. So, normally, they never did a transaction in this region, and so that's where I enter.

Ricardo Garcia [00:01:44]:

And I I I provide my expertise to help them navigate that that transaction.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:01:49]:

I love that. I love that. And I know that there's a lot more to you than just that, but we're gonna find out. We're gonna find out. Tell us something. What does your prospecting look like?

Ricardo Garcia [00:02:02]:

Yeah. So, basically, my my client base, is is, came 95% from my, sphere of influence, repeat clients, referrals from clients. So I work a lot on on my database, to make sure that I'm close to my existing clients and that they refer business to to me on a on a regular basis. So I I I I I say this and and I sometimes, there's a lot of, information and and strategies about, marketing and and and and trying to advertise your services. But for me, my my my best marketing tool is the the quality of my service. Every time I provide a good service, every time I deliver a good service to one of my clients, I I a 100% I'm a 100% sure that I'll get more clients. And that's what's been working, very well for for my business. So I have constantly calls from someone that, look, my friend is wants to talk about real estate and he wants to buy.

Ricardo Garcia [00:03:07]:

I talked about you because we you helped me a lot in the past. So that that's the type of of prospecting that I constantly do, connecting with my existing clients and connecting with people that I know.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:03:18]:

And so so do you think nowadays, in order to get referrals I I you know, I hear so many people talk about how important are referrals within the prospecting cadence. But I'm not sure if all of us are, you know, potentializing it as much as we could. Right? Do you think that referrals nowadays is still about being nice or just being available or there's more to it? How do we do it really well?

Ricardo Garcia [00:03:49]:

So that's a very good in interesting question. So from my point of view, the referrals came because someone had an experience with you and your service that's really stuck with their mind, and then and then they want to, they trust you so much that you refer to someone that they care. Right? And that's what that's everything about, what I do. So, if if I I really like this this sentence, which is people never forget the way you make them feel. And and for me, this is this is the the key point. So every time I'm with a client, I make sure that, 1, I'm adding value and, 2, that they have a a pleasant experience. And that will, give me business back. And and for the last 2 years that I've I'm working on my own, Again, I get so many so many.

Ricardo Garcia [00:04:42]:

It's like 95% of my business. Someone that work with me and that is comfortable enough to to to refer me to to a friend or a family member or anything. So, yes, going to your question, I think it's not being nice at all. Being nice is just, has to be there, because you are you are working with someone and it's very if you are nice. But but then the value that you really add, how well how how well prepared you are and and, that you know your market, that you, make your client feel that you are in control of the whole transaction.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:05:19]:

Wow. And, you you know, I love that you talk you are one of the very few people I know who navigate beautifully between the world of emotions, reason, value, and marketing and sales, and I love all that. How do you you know, due to the nature of what you sell, your buyers are always very emotional, which is something that we often forget in the world of b two b's that our buyers are essentially, you know, at an emotional state. Right? And then we're just focusing talking about products and services and features. And how do you handle emotions and even shall dare I say, control emotions? Yeah. Not just your own, but others in order to develop this trust and gain this confidence?

Ricardo Garcia [00:06:15]:

Yeah. That's very so I'm I'm a very emotional person, and and and it starts with controlling my own emotions. Okay? And I've been, developing, my own skills to make sure that those emotions are controlled during the transaction process. So my clients feel that, I'm in control. Okay? Because in during a real estate transaction, a lot of things happen. A lot of things happen. I can give you tons of examples. Like, for example, I'm now negotiating a a house and and, the seller is very ill.

Ricardo Garcia [00:06:50]:

So it's very difficult to to navigate that, and you have to make sure that the buyer is informed that you are, giving all the information, be patient, and and make sure that things progress. And so first, control my own emotions. And secondly, inform your your clients as much as you can. Sometimes not inform too much because that can give stress. But just be on a on a balanced type of mood that you are always, made them feel, that that everything is gonna be okay. Because in the end, everything is gonna be okay. And and that's also very important for my business is the controlling the execution process in a way that the end feel that, okay, Ricard will take care of that. Okay? And and and that's very important for my business.

Ricardo Garcia [00:07:42]:

So, that's on the transaction side. Then on the on the on the relationship side is is is who I am. So you cannot control who you are. And and I I don't I don't control my emotions in the relationship that I have with my clients. I I I'm I'm a very, so I like to to spend a lot of time with my clients. I I like to express what what I feel. I like to to share my my my personal information with them so they know that I'm married, that I have a son, that I have a dog, what I like, what I like to eat. So I I don't hide that at all because I don't think that that that makes people connect.

Ricardo Garcia [00:08:26]:

What makes people connecting is is that that, openness about who you are. And so for me, it works very well that I build the trust that I have with my clients by sharing my my own personal stuff, my my emotions, and who I am. So, it's it's it's very, very, very frequent that my clients became my friends. And and, and so and I'm very pleased for that. I'm very happy, and and and and that is really part of the success of my business is that my my clients became my friends.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:09:03]:

And and and so how does marketing kind of catapult this? How does it kinda take you to the next level? So you're talking to me about trust, authenticity, being genuine, being emotional, at the same time learning to control one's feelings and understand having the emotional intelligence to understand others' feelings and emotions. So how do you then bring marketing into this equation?

Ricardo Garcia [00:09:33]:

So, again, my my my my my type of marketing, strategy is basically very personalized. I I don't, advertise as much on on on the on the online, tools or any type of, mainstream type of marketing. So I have my own channels. My own channels are

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:10:08]:

So, folks, I think that we, have just lost Ricardo. Ricardo will no doubt join us again. I think he's still here, and I can see him. Here we go. Let's bring him back on.

Ricardo Garcia [00:10:25]:

I'm here. I'm here.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:10:26]:

Things okay. Yeah. Perfect.

Ricardo Garcia [00:10:27]:

I was saying We

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:10:28]:

were just we were just talking about channels, and then something happened. I wasn't sure whether it was your Internet or my Internet, but there we go.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:10:35]:

We are back live. This is show business, guys.

Ricardo Garcia [00:10:38]:

So my my my my I was talking about my marketing, strategy. It's basically very personalized. So I I try to be innovative, but it's I also, I also communicate in the way that I believe it's important in my niche. So I I last year, on my 1st year of activity on my own, I I launched a magazine, the book of RG, which is basically stories that I that I that I know and that I've been discovering during the year about my

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:11:10]:

Show us show us again, please. That book looks amazing.

Ricardo Garcia [00:11:13]:

Yeah.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:11:14]:

Yeah. Go so it there's stories.

Ricardo Garcia [00:11:17]:

No. It's basically people that I that I really admire, people that I personally know, places that I have, gone to eat, cities that I discovered during the year, and then you have also a portfolio of houses. So, again, this is an annual magazine that is a 100%, investment from my point of view. There is no advertising. There is no, it's not it's not a marketplace. It's basically the way I want to communicate with my clients. I send them I I try to, more than 90% of the times, to deliver the magazine, face to face. So I when I meet my clients, I I I I give them the the magazine.

Ricardo Garcia [00:12:04]:

And, also, I was I was I was explaining that I have a, a weekly newsletter where I communicate with my clients. But, again, that database where the the the the newsletter is sent to is very, very, very small audience. It's not for everyone. It's not that I have thousands of of contacts in my database. I have my clients and a few more prospect clients, and that's it. And my my newsletter sometimes is not even showing houses. It's just telling a personal story of mine that this year, I start exercising to be fit again or that I discovered this city or or that I completed this transaction. I had this difficulty.

Ricardo Garcia [00:12:47]:

So it's very something very, very personal personal and personalized so so my clients understand what I'm all about.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:12:55]:

Do you know? I I I you just you you keep reminding me of why I love how you do this so much because I just can't imagine AI replicating that.

Ricardo Garcia [00:13:10]:

Yes. Very interesting, Yolg. I don't know. I I I saw a podcast a couple of weeks ago, the diary of of CEO. Uh-huh. And the the host was interviewing I don't remember the name, but he was saying so the question was asked. So if it was today, what would he invest on? And they they said everything AI and everything completely the opposite to AI. The human and the personal relationship.

Ricardo Garcia [00:13:42]:

And that's why, really, I believe. So I believe that my business, it's it's this part. It's the part that no no tool, no computer, no AI will replace at all. And and and I see it as a community that will grow. We will not grow very fast, but we'll grow in a way that one day we are all together in the in the Christmas dinner enjoying because we've been built this trust in this relationship that has been lasting for a while. And that's all my business is all about.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:14:12]:

Wow. And, you know, let me remind the folks joining us that, you know, you do manage and handle very large sums of money. I mean, this is you you you serve you know, your circle of influence and buyers and sellers are high net worth individuals, ultra high net worth individuals. So, you know, we're not we're not talking pennies here. And I know that you have a particular relationship with the word luxury.

Ricardo Garcia [00:14:46]:

Mhmm.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:14:47]:

Tell us about that. Yeah.

Ricardo Garcia [00:14:49]:

So that that's very interesting. So, there is a lot of, noise in the in the in the market in the real estate market about luxury real estate. Okay? And let luxury real estate is very interesting because, in fact, the majority of time, we are we are selling and and buying, properties that are luxury properties. They are the high end. They are real really well done properties with, highest standards of materials and craftsmanship and everything. But for me, I'm in the, service the luxury of services market. So my the the biggest luxury on my on my business is the service that I provide. The properties are can be higher, lower, can be high end, can be a small apartment.

Ricardo Garcia [00:15:39]:

It doesn't matter. The the the service that I provide is the little luxury that I that I that I identify in the market. It's the the way my availability, how well I'm informed about the market, how well I manage the transactions, which sometimes has a lot of emotions, has a lot of pros and cons, and you have to manage all of it to make sure that the deal happens. And and and the clients really, really appreciate that. And and going back to your question, I I I didn't, answer it properly. I have 2 types of clients. I have the clients because normally real estate, you are either fulfilling a pleasure, thing or a pain thing. Because you got divorced, because your family is growing, so you have to act fast because you need a bigger house or need 2 houses or whatever, or because you have enough money to have a second home, a beach home, and that is a more emotional, transaction.

Ricardo Garcia [00:16:39]:

And so for this type of, 2 transactions, these 2 type of transactions, if it's a more informed one, more investor type, they just need data and then make sure that I'm providing the best deal possible. For the emotional part, type of client, it's completely different because they can go to a house and sometimes it's even over their budget, but they they feel they can buy and they just make a move and they buy a property. Okay? So these these two types of clients also have two different types of attitudes when I'm dealing with them. Okay? And so yeah. So the and and I have a funny story. I I I was telling you offline before we we joined. So for example, Starbucks is not a luxury brand, but every time you go to a Starbucks so every time I go to Starbucks in Madrid here, the the person that is, there, she said, good morning, Ricardo. And that makes me feel very, very welcoming.

Ricardo Garcia [00:17:43]:

I went there, last week, and I have been away for almost 2 months. And she said, Ricardo, I haven't seen you for a while. That's that's that's amazing. And because you just feel like, look. This they are really taking care of their clients. They are really taking care they literally pay attention to what they are doing and not just because they are searching coffee. No. Coffee is part of it, but the experience that you feel when entering a store is really, really important.

Ricardo Garcia [00:18:10]:

So, yeah, all this together is basically what I what I'm all about.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:18:16]:

Wow. I I you know, it's I I'm hearing you, and I go back in my mind thinking, oh my gosh. You know? Am I doing this? Am I doing this? Am I doing this? Because there's really no excuse, to not provide that kind of service. It doesn't even have to necessarily cost money, to make the other person, to help the other person feel like they're valued. Right? And just on this kind of frame of conversation when it comes to, like, customer experiences, you know, share with us some really great stories about customer experiences, maybe where you've gone above and beyond, maybe where the customer was a little bit loopy, maybe, you know, something funny, something crazy, something odd.

Ricardo Garcia [00:19:05]:

So I so I have first, I I want to to share that something that I do about customer experience. So I often do and and when I say often, it's almost every week on a Friday. I go to Buenavaca Salamanca, which is basically, center of, luxury real estate, if you wanna call it, but also luxury brands and luxury everything. And I often spend 3, 4 hours walking on the streets, entering different stores, and experience the way they treat me. I do that very often because I feel that's very important for my for my job. And sometimes so, my wife sometimes, where are you going? You know? I'm going to Salamanca, and I I spend there. I have lunch in different places. I I speak to different people.

Ricardo Garcia [00:19:55]:

I I enter luxury stores, and I and I see how much time they they take to to to to say hello and to and to ask me if I if they might help me, and all that helps me, improve my customer experience service. Because and, again, it's very important when you go to a restaurant. You go to a restaurant, for example, you go to Ginu Sequoix, in Lisbon, which is mainly the the main luxury restaurant, brand, and you see that how many employees they have. They have too many, but they are not too many. They just want to make sure that their clients, because their expectations are here and they still want to be surprised because they have everything, they want to make sure that they don't wait too much time that when they ask, someone will be there and someone is taking care of their needs. Not needs, but their pleasure. Okay? And so that's very important. So I can give you an example, a recent example.

Ricardo Garcia [00:20:58]:

So I do this very often because I'm based in Madrid. I had a client recently that had an issue with the property manager, and I flew, from Madrid, no transaction related, just to be with them, just to spend the day with them, having lunch with them, to make sure that they find a new property manager. I found a new property manager for them and to to to to to to be with them and and and give my face to see look. I know that we've been through a pain situation here painful situation here, but we're gonna overcome this. We have a new person, and and they really appreciate, and they gave me amazing Why do you come here just for this? And then because it's important for for you that you feel and you are a different country, that you not know anyone, and someone that is Portuguese that speaks the language that will be here with you that make sure that you have a better experience every time you go to come to Portugal.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:21:50]:

So here's, what I'm thinking now. I I can I can understand why it is that you get referenced? Right? Because people have felt so safe and, you know, the level of professionalism, the service felt like luxury. The experience was seamless. You know, everything worked to perfection. I I think people empirically understand that the world is not perfect, and, you know, and they don't expect things to be perfect. But I think our expectation is that the person that we're talking with, the seller, so to speak, are are, you know, is going to be able to help us to overcome those obstacles. Right? But do you have any advice? And and I'm and this might be a little bit different from you, but I would love to know how your head's thinking in this space, which is pretalking to someone. Let's just imagine that, you know, you were talking with, a potential client, and you just you just met them in one of your, you know, wondering, walks in the Badrios Salamanca.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:23:06]:

Uh-huh. And, you know, it's a potential client, and they've never heard of you. They have never heard of you. Mhmm. And you are in the business that could be commoditized. In many ways, it is commoditized. Right? Not not right at the top. Yes.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:23:23]:

It can be commoditized. And so do you have a way of approaching a conversation with someone like that where that can you know, that's peppered with, ways in which the person cannot see you as a commodity? Like, how would you talk so that the person doesn't see you as another one, as one more person in real estate? Do do you have one more?

Ricardo Garcia [00:23:50]:

Yes. That that's that's an amazing question. So I I so I not first speak about what you do without speaking without what you do. So I like, that that's that's number 1. So I never, never start a conversation or talk to someone saying that I sell real estate. Never. I talk about the beautiful buildings. I talk about the amazing restaurant I've been last week.

Ricardo Garcia [00:24:15]:

I talk about so many different things that at the end. So what they will ask me, what exactly what do you do? And I say, look. I help international clients buying and sell real estate in Spain and Portugal. I really yeah. Life

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:24:27]:

So So give us an example. Give us an actual example, like, you know, how you would talk about a building or and it could be anything you like. We don't even have

Ricardo Garcia [00:24:36]:

to understand it. We again, going back to emotions, this is a an emotional and experience, thing. I talk about my personal life. I talk that I lived in New York, in Dublin, in London, in Miami, in Portugal. I talk about, football. I'm informed about cultural things. I I talk about, I talk about how how great my experience was, while visiting, Mallorca this summer. So it's basically talking about everything but exactly what you want to sell at the end.

Ricardo Garcia [00:25:12]:

I I don't even like that that, that that word, to be honest, because I I I I don't like the word sell. I like the the the the thing about adding value. So I help people, and I learned that, from my parents. So it's it's not it's not that I'm that I want them to buy whatever it's on the market. I want to help them make an informed decision and then eventually gonna spend time having dinner in their place when they arrive. You see? So I I don't I don't, I I don't I'm not pushy at all, and I don't like no one likes, pushy. Like, we're talking about the the telecom people that call us all the time. They are doing their job.

Ricardo Garcia [00:25:58]:

It's fine. But but, again, you you the way I I I approach my business is is basically being an interesting person that people want to deal with. Okay? And not interesting in any it's just look. I really want to work with this guy. That that's what I I try to, pass to everyone that connects with me. Okay? It's basically, okay. This guy has been all over the world. This guy has relocated a lot of times.

Ricardo Garcia [00:26:30]:

So so he understands what we've been through. He understands his business. He knows about different markets. He sold properties in Miami. He sold properties in Lisbon and Madrid. He lived in London for 8 years. So I understand the British culture and the mutual British humor. So all all disconnected makes that the conversation that I have are are are, are in this.

Ricardo Garcia [00:26:53]:

But more importantly, even is listening more than than than talking. I just want my my people that I meet to talk about themselves because that'll give me so much information, so valuable information about, I don't know you have this experience, but it's very, very frequent that you want to buy something and you end up buying something else.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:27:16]:

Yes. Well

Ricardo Garcia [00:27:18]:

With with my clients in particular, when they so I had clients I had this idea of buying a building and refurbishing everything.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:27:26]:

And then they buy something completely different.

Ricardo Garcia [00:27:28]:

And in my head, I'm already mapping things out and say, this guy is gonna buy a very simple apartment in the city center because he came here 3 times a year. He's gonna enjoy the nice restaurants, and that's it. And I'm mapping up. Yeah. Because understanding the client, understanding what where do they live in their own country

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:27:50]:

Oh my gosh.

Ricardo Garcia [00:27:51]:

Do they do? What do we enjoy? Just so I'm working with some clients

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:27:56]:

now from Oh, do you know? I I I I've got I do you know?

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:28:00]:

I can't believe our time is up. I can't believe

Ricardo Garcia [00:28:03]:

What did I talk about?

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:28:05]:

This is y'all y'all, please connect with Ricardo. Right? On LinkedIn, Ricardo is amazing. You've only got but the taste of the wonderful human being that Ricardo is. We are gonna see you live next episode. We're wishing you shall we wish them together, Ricardo? A wonderful, wonderful holidays.

Ricardo Garcia [00:28:27]:

How do we say this? Again. Thank you.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:28:29]:

My pleasure. Our pleasure. How do we say this in span in Spanish? Do you know? Happy holidays to everyone?

Ricardo Garcia [00:28:34]:

Yeah.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:28:40]:

You all come join us again soon. I've been your host, Helga Saliva Stewart. Loving you throughout this, time at holidays, and looking forward to seeing you soon. And you too, Ricardo. Thank you so much for being an amazing guest.

Ricardo Garcia [00:28:53]:

Thank you.

Helga Saraiva-Stewart [00:28:53]:

Cheerio, everyone. Bye for now.

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