Donna Lancaster is the managing broker of Prudential Florida Realty in Miami.

Every week, we ask a Miami real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before.

This week, we talked with Donna Lancaster, a 42-year veteran of the real estate industry who, as managing broker of Prudential Florida Realty, oversees 42 agents and an office sales volume of more than $68 million in 2012.

Miami Agent (MA): Miami is well known for its international clientele. How do you make sure that your office is appealing to foreign homebuyers?

Donna Lancaster (DL): Most of my agents are from foreign countries, and if they’re not, they’re so used to dealing with people from foreign countries. Most of our business is coming from Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina, and my agents are very versed in handling those customers, even helping them set up their business, or their LLC.

We also have a concierge service to help them set up their phone and electric. There are some really great articles in Florida Realtor magazine on who you hug, who you kiss on the cheek, who you don’t shake hands with – all of that. And I always bring it up in our office meetings.

A lot of [Miami’s appeal] has to do with the geography; they love the warmth. We have the Brazilians who love the downtown and the shopping, and they speak Spanish, so they are absorbed into our culture very easily. The Venezuelans love the beach. And then we have the Europeans, who also like the beach and the hot weather.

MA: When you have new agents joining your office, what advice do you give them on how they can achieve top-producer status?

DL: Knowledge is power. That’s an old saying, and it holds true. It’s very important that agents educate themselves on our inventory and on what’s going on in our market at any given time. And we also teach and give them scripts. We have classes in technology – we’re very heavy on technology. Everyone is walking around with their iPhones and iPads.

And you have to be available pretty much 24/7, because of the time difference. If you’re dealing with European customers, you’re dealing with an eight-hour time difference. If you’re dealing with Venezuela or Argentina, there’s a big difference there, so you have to be very aware of that.

MA: Inventory is also extremely tight in Miami right now. How would you recommend agents work effectively, when the supply of homes is so low?

DL: It’s extremely important that they educate the buyers they’re working with on what’s happening right now in our market, whether it’s because you can’t get financing or the inventory situation. A townhouse right next door to me went on the market, and within an hour, there were two full-price, all-cash offers. So you really have to educate the buyers and say, ‘You’re not going to steal any properties right now; there’s a multiple offer situation going on. You’re going to have to make you first offer your very best offer. So no playing around; no negotiating; it is what it is.’

And it’s important that the agent understand what the market is, and be able to relay that to their customers. The good news is, there’s not a whole lot of negotiating going on; the bad news is, there’s not a whole lot of properties to negotiate on. But I think the buyers have to understand that – but you know, it’s a culture thing too. A lot of South Americans don’t believe you when you say that. So they find out, after the first couple of low-ball offers they submit, that they’re going to have to get real in our market today.