Employee Talks with Deirdre Miller | Property Advisor

Born in Ohio, USA, Deidre was raised in Philadelphia, Louisville and Israel and finished college in Santa Fe. After gathering more than 25 years of experience in Sales, a valuable experience in the restaurant business, Deirdre also opened a B&B business with her husband.

Now living in Portugal, moving with her family from California to live a new adventure in the Algarve’s paradisiac beaches and landscapes, Deirdre is happy to help Portugal Homes’ clients to find the investment of their dreams in this beautiful and exciting country.

In her free time, Deirdre loves to travel in search of adventure, swimming in the sea, relaxing in beachside yoga classes or cooking gorgeous food!

What is a regular day of a Property Advisor at Portugal Homes?

So a regular day here is based on calls, lot’s of calls and emails and constant follow through to be able to make sure that you touch base with as many clients as possible in a day.

As an American expat working in Portugal, how do you feel about marketing the country to US clients?

My family and I did 5 reconnaissance trips here to make sure we knew where we wanted to live, so being able to have the knowledge that we have as to moving over is really lovely when talking to American clients, and other clients, as well - South African and even from Australia - and to be able to express to them how we did it and how we’re still doing it.

During the pandemic, what techniques did you use to build trust with your clients over the phone?

During the pandemic, ZOOM and Teams were fantastic for us. They’re gigantic and people love to be able to put a face to a name - it’s very important - and I was at home so there was definitely a comfort level in my home office, in that sense. One of the biggest things is that we can do remote buying and people couldn’t really believe that every single step could be done remotely, and to be able to put comfort in someone when they really wanted to be able to go with the Golden Visa or even just buying a property and being able to do it 100% remotely with all of the people we work it, as for as lawyers and our After Sales teams is quite brilliant and I wish that I had it when I moved over.

What’s the process of establishing successful relationships as a property advisor?

Number one, when I get onto a call it’s very important to listen because investing is a major step in people’s lives. So I try to hear 100% as to what they’re looking to do - be it to move here, be it for the investment or even simply for a mission to just come and check out Portugal.

How did you feel about the company’s decision to adopt certain measures during the pandemic?

When we were at home due to covid, thankfully we kept our job which was beautiful and we were able to connect to our manager, Kate Goucher, and she made sure there was a daily Whatsapp call, and as a matter of fact, I relied every morning at that 9 o’clock to be able to have that “Good morning!” from the whole team as we were all in our homes, and every once in a while we sent little pictures of our home office which made that experience quite lovely. We also had ZOOM Meetings to be able to make sure we were up to date with everything, because we fully trained at home for a few months and we always felt connected and supported so that was very thankful.

Do you think that the varied cultures and backgrounds we have at Portugal Homes add value to your professional experience?

It’s brilliant to be able to hang out in the office for a short time and to be able to notice our differences and to laugh about them as to people from different countries and how we speak and in our inflexions, and it makes it wonderful, it really does - it’s lovely to be able to have a team from all around the world and to connect truly. 

Facts and curiosities about Deirdre:

• Her husband, Bart Miller, is also part of the Harland & Poston Group.
• She opened a B&B business with her husband after moving to Portugal which is now very successful.
• She’s very family-oriented and goes out their way to help others.
• Loves nothing better than a good relaxing Spa holiday.