Client Overview

Our client is a luxury real estate developer in the UAE focused on creating high-value, exclusive residential properties. Their developments feature premium architectural design and command prices in the upper echelon of the luxury property market, with units valued at multi-million pound price points. The company has positioned itself as a creator of world-class properties requiring an equally sophisticated sales function.

The Challenge

The client needed to recruit a Sales Director capable of marketing ultra-luxury properties to an international clientele. Our talent mapping revealed significant gaps in the market - candidates lacked sufficient luxury sales experience, connections to high-net-worth individuals, or relied too heavily on internal marketing rather than personal networks. Additionally, the client's commission structure was less competitive than industry standards.

Our Approach

We developed a comprehensive executive search strategy tailored to the unique challenges of filling this high-level position:

• Talent Mapping: We approached 178 professionals from targeted prime developers including leading luxury brands in the region, ultimately assessing 46 qualified candidates through rigorous screening.
• Competitive Market Mapping: We conducted extensive benchmarking of compensation structures across the region's luxury developers, providing crucial intelligence that helped the client understand its market position.
• Strategic Hiring Framework: We proposed an innovative two-discipline approach, differentiating between "Brand Relations" professionals and "Black Book Closers" with established networks of high-net-worth individuals, addressing the client's need for diverse geographical focus and language capabilities.

Leadership

The project was led by our Founder & Global CEO, supported by a specialised team including two Directors, an Associate Director, and other key professionals with extensive experience in luxury real estate recruitment. Our leadership team is recognised for their expertise in real estate talent acquisition, with our CEO considered a leading authority in the field by prominent industry figures.

Results

• Successfully identified alternative candidate profiles focused on specific regional markets (including APAC and other key international markets)
• Provided strategic recommendations for restructuring the sales team to better match the world-class product
• Delivered market intelligence revealing compensation disparities affecting recruitment capabilities
• Created a roadmap for building a multi-skilled, mixed sales function with specialised roles to maximise reach to international buyers

Key Success Factors

Our consultative approach identified that recruiting success would require not just finding the right individual, but restructuring the entire sales approach. By analysing salary structures industry-wide and proposing innovative team configurations, we provided the client with a solution that addressed both immediate hiring needs and long-term sales strategy optimisation.