Engel & Völker, real estate, american market, subprime crisis, real estate market, luxury market, luxury real estate, competitors, competitive environment, Lan&Foster, Christie's, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, Airbnb, Hofstede model, Globe model
This internship report summarises months of work and impressions in the Engel & Völkers branch located in Long Beach, California.
It especially highlights the context of this internship in terms of macroeconomic perspectives as the US market is recovering from one of the greatest financial crises of the history. What is more, the luxury real estate market is very likely to experience several decades of growth as the number of millionaire and billionaire is strongly increasing especially in emerging countries such as China or India. In that regard, the opportunities on this market are skyrocketing and ensures a high level of activity in the future which drives me to consider it as a strong career opportunity when I finish school.
[...] Furthermore, this internship made me realise the importance, especially on the sale sector of the first impression you give to a client. As a consequence, being a good professional in that sector also includes a certain capacity to reflect the quality that are the most valued by the client and especially a certain degree of efficiency and initiative. Technical skills This first experience in the real estate environment taught me many elements about the technicality of the jobs that is required from employees in that sector. [...]
[...] By showing with a calculated discretion my interest for the job, the notebook turned into a non-verbal communication tool aimed at my professional environment. Las but not least, this notebook appeared to be really useful while writing this internship report as it defined certain milestones and helped me remember some important aspects of the job I probably would have forgot to mention otherwise. Going further: learning to become a professional Now that my internship is almost over, I realise that my expectations as regard the internship were true to a certain extend but incomplete. [...]
[...] Last but not least, this risk appetite can also be seen in the professional trajectory of many members of the company. It is interesting to see how much experience they have earned by changing their company and doing their career regardless of the stability and with the absolute capacity to accept challenge and to face risks. Interest of the internship Before I entered the Engel & Völkers I had several objectives in order to apprehend with the highest level of efficiency the opportunities I'd be given. [...]
[...] Sales technique During this internship I especially learned the importance of being positive for the client and appear as professional and friendly as possible. While observing my colleagues, I realised that the sale depends on several elements that I would summarise as follows: The perfect understanding of the client's desires. This point is very important as this sets a first base to work on for the client. As the company works for very rich clients, the level of competition is strong and so is the requirement level from the client. [...]
[...] In fact, in California, the two offices are very well situated (in long beach for instance). This chic location aims at attracting the right part of the clientele that fits the goods that the company has to offer. As mentioned before, Engel & Völkers in California mostly offers rental and investments in luxury residential. Those rentals, expensive, are only available for people with a high level of revenue. The obstacles I faced Overall, most of the obstacles I faced were due to the language in the beginning. [...]
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