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The Middle Eastern and South Asian HNWI has seen the
world, and should not be dealt with in any other way. They
probably speak several languages and have children pursuing
higher education in the United States or Europe. There
are, however, some cultural formalities to be aware of when
marketing to the Middle East and South Asia. The following
list is not comprehensive, but is intended as a primer for
considering cultural and business norms in the region.
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Read a little. It wouldn’t hurt at all to do a little reading
about the history of the country to which you are marketing. Indians and Pakistanis are not the same. Kuwaitis and
Lebanese are not the same. Do your homework – it will go
a long way.
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3
4
Along those lines, Do not patronize your potential clients’
home country. Just because they are looking to immigrate
does not mean that they are not extremely patriotic. There
are hundreds of political parties, dialects and religious beliefs
across the Middle East and South Asia. Any commentary
on domestic politics or religion may not only turn off your
potential investor, but very well may land you in local prison.
Do not assume anything. If you are dealing with a Jain
Indian client, do not go ahead and make a lunch reservation
at Peter Lugers. Most Hindus do not eat beef; however, some
do. Respect your clients enough to learn their family’s customs.
That is, not necessarily their general religious customs, but
how they practice within their family. We have dealt with
clients who will not touch or prepare meat in their home, but
absolutely partake outside of their home.
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these clients does not at all end when th eir forms are filed.
They then depend on you to be their immigration liaison for
everything from opening bank accounts to buying real estate.
To properly service these clients you must have either access
to or actually have an internal concierge service. Make no
mistake, this service is not for free, but they would rather do
these things with you as opposed to a third party.
Prepare for a long close. Financial decisions are consultative in nature for these investors. Before making the final call
your potential client will most likely speak to friends and
family members and may even go silent on you for months.
Be patient. Culturally, hasty decisions are looked down upon.
Also, these cultures consider saying it indecent to outright
decline an offer. Instead they will avoid the topic. If you feel
that you are experiencing undue delay, you need to start asking
smarter questions to see the big picture.
Pick up the phone and call, but not excessively. You
cannot solely rely on email interaction with these clients. Even
with the most astute and sophisticated businessmen, very
rarely will you get a reply to your emails. In proportion to how
close you are to sealing your deal, check in with your client
with a friendly call.
Expositions and large conference type settings will not
attract real investors. It is considered très gauche to discuss
wealth in public. The circles at the higher levels of wealth in
these countries are very small, and people like to keep their
wallets under their vests. Smaller, more intimate events are a
much better route to begin dialogue.
Significant others and family elders play a huge role as
influencers in the investment process. If and when you
get to meet these family members, do make sure to be generous
with your time as well as extremely respectful and kind.
At the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing. To live a
safe, fulfilling life in a land where their children and children’s
children are free, with boundless opportunity. And that should
be our main focus and understanding when dealing with all of
our clients, regardless of where they hail from.
★
Gender differences. These cultures definitely prefer doing
business with men. That does not mean, however, that as a
woman you have no chance. You will however have to prove
yourself at every step, while men may get that respect from
the beginning. On another note, when meeting your client’s
family – do be respectful of their wives. Do not go in for the
hug or, god forbid, a kiss on the cheek. Some women of these
sub-cultures will not even offer a hand to shake. Take your
cues from them.
Heightened level of service. My team has come to notice
that our clients from these particular regions require an
exceptionally high level of pampering. Even to the extent of
having their forms filled out for them. Your relationship with
Abbas Hashmi
Abbas Hashmi is the CEO and Founder of Green
Card Capital LLC, an EB-5 consulting firm, which
serves High Net-Worth Individuals from offices
around the globe. He is a licensed registered
representative with a U.S.-based FINRA member
broker dealer. Hashmi is a Private Equity and
Institutional Placement expert with vast experience and an unparalleled network in the Middle
East and South Asia. He has headed institutional
PE placements for Royal Family Offices from
Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Hashmi is based out of
New York City, and speaks internationally on
topics such as Family Office, Emerging Markets
and Entrepreneurship.
Capgemini, 2015 World Wealth Report, accessed December 7, 2015,
https://www.worldwealthreport.com/u/ew4fmszi8s.
2
Ibid.
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