I read an interesting article in Inman news this morning, written by Bernice Ross.
The article is about how to seize opportunities going forward in the real estate business based upon "speaking" to the buyers. Some interesting national statistics:
· The median age of Realtors in the US is 50 (you’re telling me!)
· 37% of the population was born between 1965 and 1994.
These stats raise an interesting question...Are today’s real estate agents meeting the needs of, and communicating properly with generations x and Y? Greg and I often talk about different ways of doing business, each coming from both sides of the spectrum. While Greg is steadfast about face to face communications and telephone calls, I am really trying to push towards blogging, email and text messaging as a way to communicate quicker and more efficiently.
There is nothing that has the impact of a face to face transaction...those are simply irreplaceable. It’s a new world though, and along with traditional methods there should be a way to inform and communicate through more efficient means, that will add to the value of being face to face. Today people are more educated. Period. If they don't know the answer to their questions they'll do a Google search. One of the topics Joe Neigo covered in the Buffini seminar last Tuesday was that there is a sociological shift that has taken place in society called "cocooning". Cocooning is isolating ourselves from the outside world. We use things like answering machines, caller ID, big dogs, and the do not call laws to filter the world...to cocoon ourselves. There was a time when everybody knew their neighbors and everyone in their immediate community well. I can tell you that while I know my immediate neighbors well, those a few houses down I don't even think I've ever seen! It’s easy to cocoon ourselves when we have Google. The new generation wants to learn things at their own pace as is evident by sites like U-tube, myspace, and the hundreds of blogs on the net. They want to be able to trust the person in front of them before you get in front of them! So, in order to reach people in their cocoon...to get face to face, get out there with e-marketing, blogs, and text messages to reach the next generation. Then don’t forget to send them a personal note!
I am happy to have the business relationship I have with Greg. He is teaching me the strengths of the old school, and I am getting him (more) hip to the wisdom of my generation. Our clients, no matter the generation, will do nothing but benefit from this type of communication.
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