Stats are key for ID’ing international referral partners and presenting yourself as an authority

Ron Smith, co-founder and president of Leverage Global Partners, says one key to building international partnerships and referrals is by conducting research that not only helps you identify where potential clients are coming from, but which allows you to present yourself as an authority.

“If you have statistics, you eliminate a lot of the mystique,” Smith says. Last year, international buyers accounted for 7 percent of transactions, and much of that was concentrated in just three markets: New York, Dallas and San Francisco.