Lisa Simonsen and Kelly Bensimon, who both star on different reality TV shows, took to the Inman Connect Las Vegas stage to talk about the intersection of entertainment and real estate.
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Moderator Gary Gold, left, Lisa Simonsen and Kelly Bensimon talked shop at Inman Connect Las Vegas on Aug. 3. Credit: AJ Canaria of Moxiworks
When Kelly Bensimon showed up for her first day as a Douglas Elliman agent, she managed to nab a $7 million deal.
Within days, she was responsible for $15 million in sales volume, Bensimon shared last week on the stage of Inman Connect Las Vegas.
She had to hustle for those deals, but she also had a secret weapon: As a long time reality TV star, most recently with a starring turn on The Real Housewives of New York City, she was famous.
On the Inman Connect stage, Bensimon, along with fellow reality TV star and Douglas Elliman agent Lisa Simonsen, talked about what fame and stardom have done for their businesses. Among other benefits, it has given them an appreciation for optics and a crash course in time management. It’s also taught them a lot about managing high-net-worth clients.
“There have to be boundaries,” Simonsen explained at one point.
Session moderator Gary Gold — the star Beverly Hills agent, who is famous for selling the Playboy Mansion — also weighed in, revealing that he’s had his own share of challenging deals.
“I had two billionaires and both of them wanted exactly what they wanted and they weren’t going to budge. And I had to get them both convinced that they got what they wanted,” Gold said. “There was a buyer and a seller and they both were impossible.”
Watch the entire session via the video at the top of this post.
