Real Estate Firm Creates Strong Mix of Local and International Expertise

RISMEDIA, April 15, 2008-How does a real estate firm expand its expertise for international buyers while staying boutique-sized and locally focused? By hiring agents who have networking connections around the world with a variety of business skill sets, says one Scottsdale broker.

This business practice has propelled Sandra Wilken, designated broker and owner of Sandra Wilken Luxury Properties, into the premier luxury real estate firm in the Valley, foreseeing this as a hiring trend when she founded her company 13 years ago. Creating a team with worldwide knowledge has proved beneficial, especially since foreign buyers are coming to the Valley in record-breaking numbers.

“With these international buyers, you have to take your level of expertise to another level,” Wilken said. “This demographic is becoming savvier by scheduling set times to visit the Valley and targeting specific neighborhoods with intentions of purchasing a home.”

To gain a competitive edge, Wilken employs agents who not only have a specific neighborhood focus in the Valley, but also who are connected in some way to the global market. Wilken’s team includes agents who have lived abroad, received academic degrees from Canada and Spain, fluently speak foreign languages and participated in international business deals in previous careers.

In addition to scouting team members who are well rounded on the international level, Wilken’s agents are cross-trained professionals, meaning they have worked and succeeded in a different professional industry before stepping into real estate with various careers. The background diversity includes financial planning, international banking, lawyer, marketing, sales, design, architecture and general business management.

“We find that agents can better serve our clients by tapping into their unique niche of services,” Wilken said. “Sandra Wilken Luxury Properties has the ability to match our clients’ individual needs with the agent that will best suit them, therefore, giving our clients a world-class buying or selling experience.”

For more information, call 480-596-0001 or visit www.sandrawilkenhomes.com.

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