Generational Selling: Strategies for Understanding Millennial Clients

May 5, 2015

As more Millennial homebuyers enter the real estate market, it’s important to understand their buying behavior. Millennials think differently than previous generations of homebuyers. They expect more based on the unparalleled amount of resources within reach, and they often don’t understand the full process of a real estate transaction, especially first-time homebuyers.

Here are a few things you’ll want to understand and consider when it comes to managing the home-buying process for millennial clients.

3 Key Challenges

It takes longer to close the deal. Indecision is common for Millennial homebuyers. With the technology and abundance of information available, your Millennial clients will want to do their research, consider what else is out there, get a second opinion (often from their parents,) and weigh the pros and cons before signing on the dotted line.
They desire more than they can afford. Millennials are often looking for more than their bank account affords them. Their wish list may be more along the lines of someone looking for a dream home rather than a traditional first home, which means their expectations can often outweigh their reality.
They are unable to see past cosmetic updates. With their already-high expectations, some Millennials also want a move-in-ready home. First-time homebuyers must understand that they can still get what they want, however, sometimes, that comes with a little elbow grease.

Not all younger buyers will bring with them the same set of challenges. Keep in mind that they were raised in an era where everything they wanted was at their fingertips. The feeling of entitlement is often a battle faced by these young buyers that your experience as a seasoned real estate professional can resolve.

Here are four tips to help you better serve Millennial clients:

Put yourself in their shoes. The key to working with these buyers is acknowledging the full range of information they will access. Dedicate some time to begin a hypothetical house hunt as a Millennial client. Speak through the information found, rather than around it. Doing this will show respect for your clients, who, in turn will show respect for you. Plus, it will reinforce your value as an integral part of their home buying process.
Provide ample time to help your clients find their new home. Don’t rush the process. As a homeowner, it took more than two years to find my first home. Millennials will often be moving out of their parents’ house and won’t have a timeline like clients who are selling a previous home. Be patient.
Encourage them to ask questions. Then, give them lots of information. You know they’ll want to find out more information anyway, why not provide thorough property reports and neighborhood information, so your clients feel informed before they do their own research? Provide them access to information they can’t get elsewhere.
Remind your clients that you’ll be with them the whole way. The home buying process is stressful for first-time homebuyers. There are many things to consider, paperwork to fill out, and information to absorb. By being a resource and encouraging them to look to you for information, your relationship will grow strong. This often results in second-time clients and referrals down the road.

There are a variety of tools and resources you can use to engage younger clients. From interactive websites, video resources, social media engagement, listing presentations and reports, you can capture more business from them by tailoring your business to suit their needs.

Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies contributed this article. The Agent Marketing Platform (AMP) is available through Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies. AMP offers tools and resources to help you build your book of business and your offerings to clients. Visit www.agentwolf.com to learn more. This article originally appears in the April 2015 issue of the REAL Trends Newsletter and is reprinted with permission of REAL Trends Inc. Copyright 2015. Featured image credit: (CC BY-SA 2.0) Locus Research