4 myths about working with international clients

With the major chunk of people moving overseas in search of jobs, the percent of cross culture homebuyers is on a rise, worldwide. It requires the agents to move on from the myths that surround the real estate market when we talk about dealing with international clients.

There comes a time in every agent’s life when they have to deal with clients who belong to a culture different, who use a different language and have a different mindset. It’s only a matter of time until you too will encounter a multicultural client, if you have not already.

For your first time or the next, whatever might be the case, be wary of some myths that do rounds in the real estate market when it comes to dealing with multicultural clients. Here are some of them:

1. Cross-cultural clients insist on no negotiation once the contract is made and signed.

It has nothing to do with the culture. Some clients are just low context, and they see the signing of property deal as the last step. Others are high context, and they believe that a contract is only the beginning of a long-term relationship that can change when they get to know the agent better.

For those high context clients, the agreement might change any time until the best possible deal is established.

Pro tip: The only way to tackle this is by specifying from the start that the contract cannot be changed once signed. Being adamant on this front will only save the discussions later and will help you be on the same page.

2. It is next to impossible to get financial information out from the other culture’s clients.

This myth might actually be true. For the people who are new to a country, you will find that some of your clients are not very comfortable sharing their financial information.

You have to know that they are unfamiliar with how the legal and financial system of a particular country works, which can make them apprehensive about whom to trust.

Pro tip: One of the ways to get the financial information out of them without making them uncomfortable is by giving them options. List down a series of down payment options with the possible financial implications of each. The choice they make will give you an idea of their budget without having to ask them bluntly.

3. Clients from other cultures are difficult to work with.

This myth cannot be any further away from the truth. Yes, it might take the time to adjust, but once you reach to a point where you understand each other’s requirements, it becomes impossible to tell the culture. In fact, if handled with patience, you are more likely to get many prospects’ references.

Pro tip: One of the ways to make it easy for you to understand your cross-culture client better is by reading about their culture, and information that is easily available on the Internet.

4. Cross-culture clients are most likely to work with cross-culture agents

In the majority of the instances, this is not true! In fact, people prefer to work with agents who are of a different culture. They are aware of the possibility that the same culture agent would possibly share their preferences with his or her other clients belonging to the same culture.

Plus working with a cross-cultural agent would only help them in knowing about the country’s real estate market much better.

These are only a few examples of the myths that hover around the real estate market when you try to enter the territory where you deal with multiculture clients.

The only way to master working with your cross-culture clients and opening the door to the clients that follow is by having a little patience to learn about how their culture works.

Before starting the process, make an agreement with them: every time you teach him or her about your culture, he or she should teach you about his or her culture. It is the easiest way to create long-term relations with your clients.

Tripti Rai writes for 99acres.com. You can follow her on Google Plus and LinkedIn.

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