Shvo Does It Again: The W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences
Its a TOES day!!
Out of the 50+ new development sales offices I have been to, three of the four best presentations have been at buildings marketed by Shvo: 20 Pine: The Collection, The Gramercy by Starck, and the latest, the W New York Downtown Hotel and Residences. Whether you like the guy or not, his ability to create a perfect customer experience is pure genius.
When you walk into the W sales office, you feel as if you are walking into a lounge. You are greeted by a well-dressed man or woman (I'd be hard-pressed to say "receptionist," it just doesn't seem like the right term) who offers to check your bag or coat. They ask if you would like something from the bar, which is stocked with a bevy of beverages. Dim lighting, candles, and couches with comfy pillows set the mood while you wait for the sales experience to start.
I can sign my customers in on a computer instead of by filling out paperwork (how primitive!) If I have brought them to a Shvo building before, their name & contact information appears, which makes them feel special. Why isn't everyone doing this?It saves the sales office the extra step of entering customer's contact info into a database. And in the age of trying to reduce one's carbon footprint, it saves trees.
You turn the corner through a white, curvy maze. Your sales person spins a globe that is mounted to the floor & stops it on the W over Europe. A video launches into a description of Europe's W hotels. Remote controls are sooo last year!
A few feet away, after watching a video about the W's developer, architect and designer, your salesperson points their finger towards a screen where they can select various floors of the building and demonstrate what you will find on each floor. You view renderings of the amenities and look at apartment floorplans while lounging on a sofa.
You saunter over to the model kitchen and bath. After your tour of the model, you're given a Graff inspired marketing package about the building and a separate packet of floorplans and availability.
Because Shvo is selling a lifestyle, and he does it so well, you feel as if you are really getting your money's worth, no matter how expensive the product is. The W is over $2,000/sq ft, quite possibly the most expensive price per sq ft for new construction in the Financial District at this time. But if I had oodles of money, loved being waited on hand and foot and having every convenience at my fingertips, I'd break out my checkbook in a heartbeat. And when someone asked where I lived, I'd say, "Oh, I live at the W." It has quite the nice ring to it.
Posted by anon
Fri Feb 8th, 2008 08:27 PM
I can sign my customers in on a computer instead of by filling out paperwork (how primitive!) If I have brought them to a Shvo building before, their name & contact information appears, which makes them feel special. Why isn't everyone doing this?It saves the sales office the extra step of entering customer's contact info into a database. And in the age of trying to reduce one's carbon footprint, it saves trees.
_______________________
Everyone is not doing this because Shvo will market to your clients his next new building and is basically stealing your clients.
In the future when they get a direct mail sent to their house, they may feel no loyalty to you and simply go direct.
Some brokers who rep new developments don't have any one sign in whatsoever.
Posted by how much did shvo pay you?
Sat Feb 9th, 2008 01:42 AM
I've been in the sales office. It was dark and scary; like being in a seedy topless bar in the middle of the day. If that's the lifestyle that he's selling then I think it's overpriced. IMHO.
Posted by wasted my time
Sat Feb 9th, 2008 09:32 AM
Can you sound more shallow? "oh, I live at the W"
Seriously, we come here for objective information,not advertisements. Keep the standard up or you will lose your readership.
Posted by Noah
Sat Feb 9th, 2008 10:56 AM
seriously, one post from Christine about a high priced new dev doesn't lower any standards here!
Give the gal a break.
Posted by nicetosee
Sat Feb 9th, 2008 01:22 PM
To me, this post did come off quite shallow... but yeah, there's probably no shortage of rich shallow folks in Manhattan who are fooled easily.
I would have liked more info on the actual units instead of the "sales pitch"
Posted by toes
Sun Feb 10th, 2008 06:32 PM
I seem to have lost some of you - my point in writing this was to illustrate that marketing & the sales experience really matters in new developments. If you are selling $2K/sq ft apartments, you'd better have a high end presentation and be marketing to people with a lot of money. In order to do so, I think that being on the forefront of technology is very important. And no, Shvo did not pay me to write this post. I don't want to name names, but there are some sales and marketing companies where you know you are going to see a quality product and quality presentation & there are others where you know that their materials will be sub-standard. Generally, I've found that when a sales and marketing company doesn't have it together, you can expect that the building wont, either.
Posted by Agrees with Toes
Mon Feb 11th, 2008 03:43 PM
I am with you Christine. Marketing is clearly an important part of selling a new development, and as always I appreciate the timely and informative reporting.
Posted by Alen
Wed Mar 5th, 2008 12:27 AM
Isn't it funny how when someone is amazing at what they do, people tend to be envious and hate that person just for those reasons. Why? It's not his fault that you didn't come up with the idea first, you don't get to that level by being lucky, you get there by being brilliant. And Christine, "HI" you are absolutely correct when you say that "I live at the W" has a great ring to it. It has the perfect ring to it, you can't say that about many buildings here in New York. When you are paying $2k plus per sq foot, yes I better be living in a HOT building where the staff practically wipes my A#%. Shallow or not, it's a personal choice. You don't like it, walk away and don't buy there, simple as that.
:)
Posted by Niki
Wed Sep 24th, 2008 12:38 PM
Whether you're a fan of Shvo's or not his marketing and sales approach is brilliant. The reality is that real estate in and of itself can be had anywhere. When it comes to luxury residences buyers are not purchasing amenities anymore they're purchasing part of their lifestyle whether it be a spa experience, a technologically advanced epicenter to live in etc. Shvo offers that experience from the first introduction of the property that's not to be under-rated. And
Christine you always right excellent pieces - keep up the good work!
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