SEATTLE – (March 20, 2008) – “The Internet has changed the way we market real estate,” said Donald D. Pearson, an international businessman and entrepreneur, who will speak on “Cross-Border Marketing” at the 6th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat. This event will be hosted in San Diego from April 15-18, 2008.Pearson is the president of Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty. Since purchasing the company in 1991, he has overseen its growth from a small firm with 10 agents and one location in Bucks County, Penn. to its present size with 75 agents covering Bucks County, the Lehigh Valley and Greater Philadelphia. He also markets and sells homes in Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian cities and resort areas.In his discussion at the upcoming Luxury Real Estate conference, Pearson will address the need for agents to target domestic and international buyers as well as the importance of responding quickly to their inquiries. This can pose a challenge because of the time differences, but Pearson said he hopes to work with his listeners to develop creative solutions.Pearson has many stories of online marketing in action. “We had a buyer in Hawaii who, upon seeing a New Hope, Penn. home on our website, purchased it without ever seeing the home personally,” he said.He also described an experience in which a buyer in New York City visited a $4 million property online and called to say she wanted to purchase the home only if the furnishings were included. The sellers and interior designers agreed, and the buyer arrived by limousine the following day to close the deal. “These instances could not have happened before Internet marketing,” he concluded.In addition to Pearson and several other discussion leaders, the 6th Annual Spring Retreat will feature two main speakers: Ben Stein, the famous actor and economist, and Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, president of Real Living, Inc., one of the fastest-growing real-estate franchises in the United States.For more information on Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty, visit www.kurfiss.com. For more information on the 6th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat, visit www.luxuryrealestate.com/conference.About the SpeakerDonald D. Pearson is an international businessman and entrepreneur with business interests in the United States and Brazil. A Harvard Business School graduate, his interests range from real estate and finance to marketing and international communications. He travels frequently to Brazil, Europe and across the United States. He has a daughter in London and a son in Rio de Janeiro.About LuxuryRealEstate.comwww.luxuryrealestate.com is the most-viewed luxury real estate Web site in the world. The Who’s Who In Luxury Real Estate network currently represents 1,641 of the world’s finest real-estate companies in more than 65 countries (representing luxury properties in more than 100 countries). Participation is strictly invitation-only by CEO/Publisher John Brian Losh. The network provides superb marketing and networking tools, including: global reciprocity, Web support and design, a globally distributed magazine, referrals, PR and several of the most-dynamic networking events in the real-estate industry. The Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate network is governed by the Board of Regents.