084: Networking to Expand your Global Business with Ginni Field

Our guest for this episode is a long-time REALTOR^®, trainer, and world traveler. Do you have a dream to travel somewhere? Is there a place that you already love in the world? For example, have you been to Cabo San Lucas eight times? Wouldn't it be great if you could be a connector with buyers and sellers with agents in Mexico? In the Caribbean? In Europe? In Asia? You can do that with your favorite areas in the U.S. and the world! In this podcast, Ginni Field talks about selling real estate and expanding your business in new ways. We also talk about international buyers and sellers in the United States with a focus on the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation. Join us on this podcast and expand your vision beyond your local area.

[6:10] Monica asks the audience to stick with this episode to hear the interesting stories Ginni and Monica will share with consideration for the huge and growing influx of international immigrants, residents, and investors.

[7:53] Ginni discusses what she learned from experiences in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, and Germany.

[11:56] When traveling the world, you have the opportunity to visit small towns and explore their history. Find people in your community from these areas and connect with them. You may be able to help them buy a home.

[14:14] In most of the world, business is based so much on relationships. In America, relationships are huge and you need that network, but overseas, relationships are crucial.

[15:18] In the Americas, the process of buying a home is a family affair. If they don't know you, they're not doing anything with you. When they know you and begin to trust you, business happens.

[17:36] Where Ginni was teaching, there were good universities and schools everywhere, providing a place to build your business.

[18:08] Find your niche and get connected to it. Be a part of those market areas and people. What businesses bring people into your market area, that hire people from other countries?

[18:34] Foreign resident buyers may become citizens and still may be very connected to their foreign community.

[21:42] When Ginni talks to people with work visas, they tell her they want to stay when their visa is over. Parents of foreign students in universities also will buy a home for their student in the U.S. with the hope of the student staying and the parents moving there because they own a home.

[22:44] The Open Doors fact sheet says foreign students spend over $5 billion. Ginni gives estimates for several California universities. Do outreach at universities.

[24:05] Look at the industries in your local community and where folks are coming from. Then begin to do outreach. Go where they are and network with them.

[24:31] Refugee groups that settle in an area don't have the money to buy a house at the time, but as they become established, they work and build businesses, and become qualified to buy houses.

[26:00] Ginni tells of a man who immigrated to the U.S. with next to nothing, wanting to build his life. Now, he is a millionaire, owning multiple buildings and worked hard to get there.

[27:21] CIPS talks a lot about non-resident foreign buyers. These are investors buying houses more as investments than as homes. California attracts more than $1 billion in foreign direct investments from Japan, the UK, France, Canada, and Germany.

[30:07] The fluctuation of exchange rates plays an important role in these investments. Fluctuations can cause a buyer to cancel.

[32:14] The CIPS designation course teaches about the global market. If you're not paying attention to global opportunities, you're leaving profitable business on the table.

[35:55] The world is more connected now than it ever was. Inflation is happening around the world. Pay attention to the world economy or you will miss out on tremendous opportunities.

[36:33] There are investors for commercial properties, condo communities marketed internationally, college students, and refugee communities. There are many ways foreign investors purchase American real estate.

[37:19] When you grow with these communities, learn about their visas and their needs, and connect them with lenders, you can help them.

[38:22] Go to the HR departments of hospitals and colleges. Find out at the source how you can be a resource for their students, staff, employees, and medical professionals.

[44:32] Look for international real estate conferences in a search engine and you will get a list of conferences you can attend. A list is also provided in the back of a CIPS manual.

[48:11] Ginni notes that when you get your CIPS designation, you are part of a Facebook networking group. You can find an agent in the target country in minutes through the networking group

[52:15] It's such a powerful thing that you can create a relationship no matter where somebody is in the world. We're all so interconnected.

[52:38] Ginni's final word: "The most important thing is don't discount the global community. Don't discount the fact that the world really is a marble, that we are all so interconnected. And build that business and get the CIPS designation. It's such an important designation.

Tweetables:

"I want to share with you and your listeners the importance of global real estate, paying attention to it, and getting their Certified International Property Specialist designation. Don't miss out on opportunity!" — Ginni Field

"It's all about the relationship and trust. … When you look at the Americas, it's a family affair. The process of buying real estate is often a family affair with a hierarchy. And if they don't know you, they're not doing anything with you." — Ginni Field

"The fluctuation of exchange rates — you have to be paying attention to that. It matters more for the investor buyer than it does for the person who's going to live in the house. ... If the exchange rate fluctuates just enough, that deal might be gone." — Ginni Field

"When you get your CIPS designation, you're now part of a networking group through social media, as well." — Ginni Field

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