I’ve been talking a lot lately about working with New American homebuyers. This niche of people from a diverse array of cultures represents a tremendous opportunity for the new home sales professional.
I’m going to wrap up this series by giving you a few tips on how to find these multicultural homebuyers.
Your first instinct is probably to surf the Web. But where do you look? Internet information provider comScore says the Internet is your best connection to multicultural and multilingual customers, particularly Hispanics. The site’s 2008 study found that more than three million Spanish-speaking users visited a real estate website in the month of September 2008. Three million in one month—how many did YOU connect with? Is your website inviting to someone from a different culture?
Here are some tips and techniques for getting the word out to New Americans:
- Include a message in your website that says you welcome homebuyers from other countries; include a map of countries where your clients come from; blog about your efforts, knowledge, and experience with multicultural homebuyers.
- Advertise in the media that caters to specific cultural groups.
- Provide brochures and flyers in different languages at your open houses.
- Take a foreign language class and let the teacher (and others) know of your interest in this culture.
- Volunteer at cultural events.
- Target a specific cultural niche and launch a referral program to show that you welcome their business.
- Learn about the financing programs that might be of interest to your New American homebuyers (and refer to them on your website).
- Present a homebuying seminar for New Americans.
- Recruit Realtors from other ethnic groups to join your team.
- If you’re interested in reaching out to a particular culture, travel to that country and learn about it first-hand.
As with any marketing niche, connect with your potential homebuyers in the way that they receive their information—whether that’s through social networks, your website, word of mouth, advertising, or the community. You’re not in the business of selling, but in relationship building. That means you need to create a foundation to build on. Start somewhere!
For more information about selling in our multicultural society, download my ebook, “New Home Sales Training: Selling New Homes In a Multicultural America”.
