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Global Business Council

Understanding the Needs of Your International Clients

By: Daniel D. Jittu, Global Business Council Chair and Broker-Owner 27 State Realty LLC

As you review your budget for this year, I want you to consider how a $25 investment on your part may pay dividends for your personal business in 2021. Oprah Winfrey would occasionally promise her audience “You get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car!” Oprah prided herself on her preparation she gave to each guest she interviewed.

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS INVEST

As the 2021 Global Business Committee Chairman, I get to say in my Oprah voice, “You get a customer, and you get a customer, and you get a customer!” According to NAR’s 2020’s International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate (www. nar.realtor) publication, international customers are willing to purchase their primary residence for 21.3% more dollars than a typical domestic customer. International clients have higher probabilities of making an all-cash offer. Here’s a key takeaway to this statement - remember, you are selling your time as well as a real estate investment.

International customers look to earn higher returns outside their own countries and need to find investments quickly. The U.S. provides an easier path to owning property. Some countries will not allow private property ownership for their citizens. What does this mean for you? If you win the trust of an international customer, I believe your customers will introduce you to their friends who have the same needs. You understand the logic, and you wash, rinse and repeat the process.

UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONAL NEEDS

Philosopher Marshall McLuhan, said “The Medium is the Message,” and coined the phrase “Global Village” in the late 1960’s, reflecting the necessity of understanding the needs of the global customer. I believe your membership in the Global Business Council will be one way to increase and protect your wealth in 2021.

Last year, the Global Business Committee shared a class on Global Risk. Every participant received a book by Condoleezza Rice and Amy B. Zegart entitled Political Risk: How Businesses and Organizations Can Anticipate Global Insecurity. Have you done what you can to protect your future? What’s in your pipeline? •

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