For many Romanian developers, selling property to overseas buyers can seem a daunting task, requiring a re-think of marketing activities and an understanding of how to interact with agents. However, in reality, the philosophies of doing business remain the same, according to Tibor Fuchsel, territory manager at Overseas Property Professional (OPP).
Fuchsel says: “The shift in mindset isn’t as great as some may fear – the fundamentals of the business remain the same. You want to sell property through an intermediary and – whether you use a domestic agent, based in Romania selling to Romanians, or an overseas agents selling to their local clients – the relationship is conducted on a similar basis.”
The only real challenge is creating relationships with overseas agents – and this is a challenge OPP is helping Romanian developers meet head-on.
Fuchsel explains: “The OPP brand incorporates two trade magazines, with related websites, and the OPPLive exhibition, where agents and developers meet to learn about new business strategies and conduct business. Using the OPP platform, developers can structure a campaign that successfully uses print, online and face-to-face marketing to reach key agents.”
A typical campaign can be structured to combine the following elements to achieve maximum results:
1) Print advertising in the monthly OPP and OPPRussia magazines to build brand awareness, credibility and trust amongst agents throughout Europe and Russia. It is recommended that campaigns run for a minimum of 3-6 months for maximum effect.
2) Online activity through direct emails and banner advertising to the largest trade database available, consisting of 56,000 agents globally and 7,000 agents specifically from Russia and the CIS, in order to drive direct response and encourage a dialogue (either prior to a face to face meeting at the OPPLive event in November or to follow up after the show).
3) Presence at OPPLive 08 exhibition. This is an opportunity to meet with over 3,000 key agents face-to-face at a 2 day event in London on the 25 and 26 November. The conference and exhibition will allow you to solidify relationships, train agents on selling your development, network with top professionals and attend a range of conferences that will educate you and your team on all elements of marketing and selling your development to an international audience.
Fuchsel concludes: “Despite current economic conditions across the world, there are still many people looking to buy property in new markets. The key is ensuring they know what you offer – and the most direct way to ensure this is to establish an international agent network to do the selling and marketing for you.”