Do you work with clients who have real estate needs outside of U.S. borders? As the global marketplace continues to evolve and more people purchase homes outside of their native countries, you can provide exceptional service to them by helping them connect with a broker just about anywhere in the world (“just about” being the operative phrase) through a referral.
Working with referrals outside of American borders is an education, providing lessons in geography, math (read: name that time zone) and perhaps most importantly, cultural awareness. The norm is that there is rarely a norm. Real estate practices vary from country to country, and just when you think you have one country figured out you will be quickly confused by another.
The challenge of cross border referrals is made greater by the number of people involved. In some cases, there is the client who is buying or selling, the agent who is working with the client, the relocation or business development team who is working with the referring agent and, in companies that specialize in this type of business, a cross border referral team who is working between the originating company and the destination broker. Does that make your brain hurt? Here are some ways you can ease the pain:
Set the Bar Low and Beware of Tire Kickers
At the risk of sounding pessimistic, cross border referrals have many variables and numerous points at which the transaction can derail. Caution clients that this is a difficult and almost assuredly slow process. The clients should have their paperwork, finances and basic research in order before the process begins. Is the client really prepared to purchase a €3-million-dollar chateau in the south of France, or is he having a midlife crisis and watching too much House Hunters International? Ensure that the client who is buying or selling is serious, not just testing the waters. Wasting the time of a valuable contact all but guarantees that he or she will not be interested in doing additional business in the future.
Communicate Clearly
Abandon the notion of “That’s how we do it here.” Your way of doing things is not universal; for instance, you might prefer conducting all of your communications via email. Many countries are not as email-centric as the United States. Also, keep in mind that if you are trying to establish initial contact with someone who does not speak English as a first or even second language, your email could easily be perceived as junk mail.
Contacting someone by telephone is always the best first step. Certainly this can be intimidating, even hilarious at times, but making the attempt shows legitimacy. Who would spend the money or time to make prank phone calls to another country? Anyone can send an email, and it doesn’t cost a dime; that phone call says you mean business (even if you butcher the language).
Google Translate is a huge help, even if you can only squeak out a few words in the language at hand. Occasionally you’ll get someone on the other …read more
From:: Real Estate News