What Top Luxury Agents Learned at Inman Connect San Diego

Lucía Torres · 2026-08-14

Last month, three of The Agency's own took the stage at Inman Connect and Inman Luxury Connect, held at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. From luxury marketing and client advisory to agent retention, our speakers brought hard-won insights to an audience of the industry's best and brightest. Here's a quick look at what they shared — and why it matters for anyone serious about the top of the market. ### Tyler Whitman: Marketing That Matches the Mansion Tyler, a top-producing agent and Managing Partner of The Agency Hamptons, broke down what separates strategic luxury marketing from marketing that just looks expensive. His core argument? Cinematic, overproduced listing videos can actually backfire when they feel generic or disconnected from what makes a property special. Sometimes less truly is more. For ultra-high-net-worth clients, he noted, privacy is often the real luxury. Being the only buyer invited to tour a home can be more compelling than any public campaign. To bring the point home, Tyler shared a standout example from his own business — a $108 million private sale that proved relationships, word-of-mouth, and access can build a highly qualified buyer pool without ever going public. ### Arushi Kapoor: Why Discretion Wins Trust At Inman Luxury Connect, Arushi, founder of The Agency Art House, tackled the shift every top producer eventually makes — from closing deals to building long-term trust. "The difference between an agent and an advisor," she explained, "is that an agent is focused on completing the transaction; an advisor is focused on whether the transaction is right for the client." Trust starts the moment a client realizes you're willing to advise them not to buy, not to sell, or not to take the first offer. She reminded the room that discretion is everything at the top of the market — a client's name, home, or transaction should never become social currency without permission. ### Juliet Clapp: What It Really Takes to Win (and Keep) Agents Juliet, Senior Vice President and Managing Partner of The Agency North East, brought a sharp brokerage leadership perspective to Inman Connect, revealing what actually keeps top producers in place once they've been onboarded. Great recruiting, she said, doesn't hinge on headcount. It's all about finding agents who align with your brokerage's unique values. Retention also depends on a brokerage investing in coaching, marketing support, technology, and business development. And while commission splits do get agents in the door, Juliet was clear that The Agency's truly connected company culture — one where agents feel known and supported by leadership — is a vital element, something larger competitors struggle to replicate. ### Craig Lotzof: Price and Positioning Drive the Strategy After kicking off the conference by hosting Inman's exclusive Luxury Connect networking event at his newly listed 1205 Muirlands Drive, Craig Lotzof, a leading agent based in San Diego, led a session on pricing strategy. He broke down how top agents create value beyond the comps, shape buyer perception, and hold the line with even the most demanding sellers. With wealth shifting, global uncertainty rising, and demand growing more unpredictable, Craig makes the case that pricing has to be intentional — bold enough to capture value, flexible enough to pivot when the market shifts, and disciplined enough to protect the number once it's set. Key takeaways from the session: - Value creation starts before the listing goes live, not after - Buyer perception can be shaped through positioning, staging, and narrative - Sellers need a clear strategy for when to hold firm and when to adjust Hats off to Tyler, Arushi, Juliet, and Craig. Thank you for representing The Agency so beautifully. We're lucky to have you.