EXPERT VOICES: BRESI CEO and Founder Jason Payne puts the questions to Kevin Wash Partner at VOS Consultants. VOS Consultants offer on-site and online sales training, brand strategy, branded residences consultancy, brand design, and marketing management.
Discover how VOS Consultants maximise performance of internal sales teams, and help businesses boost sales and revenue while minimising costs.
JP: Kevin thanks for doing this. Before we dive into business, I’d love to know more about about yourself?
KW:I have been active in sales for multiple decades across multiple continents, it is in my DNA, I love to help people achieve things they never believed they were capable of, training is my passion along with writing.
I am a multi published author with topics covering, sales, wellness, leadership and also tales of everyday life, written with my unique tongue in cheek humour.
I have lived in South Africa, Thailand, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Dubai (twice). Today I live in Valencia with my wife Dayiana who is also my Partner at VOS, and our three fur babies.
JP: You’ve been involved in branded residences for two decades. How has the market changed since then?
KW: The branded residences market has evolved from a niche luxury concept into a highly sophisticated, globally competitive sector.
Early on, attaching a luxury brand to a property was often enough to attract buyers, but today clients are more discerning, well-traveled, and knowledgeable about luxury and real estate, equally today they have multiple options in same destinations, so developers and sales teams must go beyond branding to deliver immersive experiences, tailored marketing, and ongoing engagement.
JP: What are the core services VOS Consultants provides to clients in this sector?
KW: We provide developers and Brands with an efficient cost effective alternative, to the passive Global Master Broker sales route, designed to protect the integrity of both Developer and Brand and enhance the buyer journey.
We build and train sales teams who deliver exceptional client experiences, turning buyers into lifelong advocates for your brand.
JP: Your “Four Pillars” methodology focuses on Developer-Centric Value Creation, Brand Stewardship, Enhanced Buyer Journey, and Sales Strategy. Can you break down what makes this approach different from standard sales training?
KW: Typically sales training in Real estate ranges from non existent to incredibly basic, in certain geographical areas there is more focus on legal process, registering a sale etc. than actually being trained in making sales, any training is predominantly based around fact sheets, inventory lists and price per m2.
Our focus is based more upon “discovering” your client, appreciating the entire concept of sales, understanding the style and ethos of the Brand you represent, and also the history of the developer, presenting knowledge with confidence and competence, also learning how we can impact and significantly enhance the buyers journey, these may seem basic but they are essential factors.
JP: VOS provides a “cost-effective alternative to the tired passive Global Master Broker sales route.” What’s broken about the traditional master broker model?
KW: There are numerous areas that are not efficient, cost of sales, pace of sales, control over information given to the client regarding the developer and brand, promises, etc. there is a gap between the Developer, Brand and the buyers journey
With a Master Broker, the project just becomes one of hundreds on a supermarket shelf, mixed with many lower priced key ready alternatives which brokers will divert a clients interest towards, offering “similar projects” in the same location usually at much lower quality.
JP: On cost of sales versus pace of sales, which challenge do developers typically underestimate more, and why?
KW: The pace of sales of Dubai and Miami are incredible and unique, both being highly competitive developed markets for Branded Residences, Dubai specifically will sell to investors based on brand value and limited supply, with a high forecast of ROI. Outside of these two areas that pace will not be matched,
Developers are sometimes led by these figures and can have unrealistic expectations of their own sales pace.
JP: What’s the biggest mistake you see developers making when they enter the branded residences market?
KW: Many Developers assume that simply attaching a luxury brand to a project will automatically drive sales, they believe that the brand alone does the work, then they hand over the sales responsibility of the project to brokers or an untrained sales team.
The irony is that many developers don’t realise how much they’re losing when they delegate the first human interaction to external sources. They lose brand momentum. They lose referral power. They lose the emotional continuity that links one project to the next. An internal trained sales team prioritise these facts from first contact, they are the focus of their daily interaction.
JP: What are luxury buyers looking for today that they weren’t five years ago?
KW: Exclusivity, connection to the property, wellness, security from both an investment and personal perspective, and most importantly they want a to be surrounded by like minded people.
JP: You emphasise UHNWI engagement as “the subtle art of attracting and converting elite buyers.” What’s the biggest mistake salespeople make when approaching ultra-high-net-worth individuals?
KW: Underestimating their sophistication and assuming a standard sales pitch will work.
UHNWIs are deeply knowledgeable about luxury, investment markets, and the nuances of value, they can buy anything, but they choose what is unique and meaningful, they are not impressed by high standards, they expect them.
They will have their own personal check list and the quality of the sales representative and presentation is an important factor on that list, they need to trust the sales person and this connection is created via intelligent conversation, not monologues about features or price and personal preferences.
Success requires curating a professional relationship from the very first contact, listening actively, and guiding the client subtly, ensuring every interaction reflects exclusivity, insight, and personalised value.
JP: Your expertise covers fractional ownership, vacation ownership, and branded residences. How do you adapt the training for these different real estate sectors?
KW: Its an interesting question, there are several common denominators across the different product types, the basis of structure and knowledge remain a constant, we would then tailor the training to understand completely the mindsets and differences between the potential purchasers, for example with Fractional ownership, the focus is on educating teams to articulate shared value, usage flexibility, and long-term investment benefits.
In vacation ownership, training emphasises emotional storytelling, lifestyle appeal, and creating memorable experiences that resonate with families or repeat visitors.
For branded residences, the priority shifts to luxury positioning, brand alignment and connection, and delivering a consistent high-end experience, ensuring sales teams understand that the brand is not just a name—it’s a promise that must be reflected in every client interaction.
JP: You say it typically takes 3 months to start seeing results with existing teams. What are the most common resistance points you encounter when training established sales teams?
KW: It can be faster depending on the mentality of teams concerned, the old adage about “teaching old dogs new tricks” comes to mind, typical examples would be over reliance on fact sheets, a lack of commitment to increase product knowledge on a daily basis, learning more about Brand benefits and where they will have the most impact within a presentation, also actually learning and delivering a tailored structured presentation, can be a huge challenge.
JP: Your website says engaged employees can increase productivity by up to 63%. What’s the number one thing teams need to engage that most companies get wrong?
KW: They treat engagement as a set of perks, surveys, or one-off initiatives, such as pizza’s and dress down days, rather than embedding purpose and connection into daily working routines.
Truly engaged teams will understand their own personal responsibility, they appreciate how their individual roles contribute to the organisation’s mission, the company targets are shared and everybody contributes to them.
When this alignment of purpose, goals, and daily practices exists, engagement levels increase, productivity will increase dramatically, turnover is reduced, todays employees become tomorrows leaders, and the buyers will benefit hugely from a far greater purchase experience.
JP: VOS claims to have delivered record-breaking sales periods for clients. Can you share a specific example and the results you achieved?
KW: We worked with a client, who agreed to a short term sales incentives we wanted to use to motivate their team of 80 agents, and to prove they were capable of far more, which the team brought into, in the following quarter we doubled the company targets, we then consistently increased sales volume by 100 % for three consecutive years.
JP: You’ve worked across Dubai, Spain, Thailand, South Africa, India, and Egypt. How do cultural differences affect your sales training and business approach?
KW: In each market, buyer expectations, communication styles, and decision-making processes vary, so when we are working with sales teams our training must be adapted to local nuances of both themselves and the clients, you cannot simply train a one size fits all, you must engage the sales team and show them that you understand the cultural differences, and this will allow them to engage in the training methods that we utilise.
For example, in the Middle East, relationship-building and trust are paramount, while in Europe or South Africa, clients may respond better to data-driven insights and transparent negotiations. American clients want knowledge not only of the project, but the locality in both lifestyle and political terms.
In Asia, respect for hierarchy and subtlety in communication is essential. Understanding these cultural dynamics ensures that sales teams approach clients in ways that resonate with the clients.
JP: My final question, you can live in any branded residence in the world past or in the future, where would it be and what one luxury amenity could you not love without?
KW: The amenity is easy, it would have to be Pet friendly, the location is a challenge, having lived around the world, I think Zurich would actually be our chosen destination, ideally overlooking the Lake.
JP: Thanks so much for your time is there anything else you would like to add?
At VOS Consultants, we are incredibly passionate about the extraordinary potential of branded residences. We have seen the issues that have damaged past concepts, and are concerned to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen in this sector.
Our commitment lies, where ever possible, in safeguarding the integrity of this evolution, we believe that branded residences should not only carry a logo, but a legacy, one built on consistency, excellence, and emotional resonance.
In this spirit, we dedicate ourselves to training, and helping our partners create developments that inspire trust, elevate living, and honour the rarefied promise that true luxury represents, always sold with complete honesty and integrity.
VOS Consultants – proven expertise in global sales performance
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Images supplied by VOS Consultants are projects that the company has provided services to, all rights reserved
Launched in May 2024 as the world’s first marketplace and media company for branded residences, BRESI is where the branded real estate industry gets its news.
