empty nesters

Ride the “Silver Tsunami” of Baby Boomers

Jun 24, 2020

COVID-19 has changed much of what used to be considered “normal life.” In cities that have relaxed restrictions, dining out may involve having your temperature taken at the door. Shopping may require that you wear a mask and follow arrows pasted on the floor, directing traffic.

The future is at the top of many minds. Even if the world recovers from this pandemic, and gets back to normal (or something close to it), the lessons we’ve learned will be forever ingrained in our consciousness.

Home, family, taking care of our health – have all become even more important.

While the real estate market appears to be very much like it was before the pandemic’s outbreak, with low interest rates luring buyers into the market and home values holding steady, attitudes of real estate consumers have changed.

We are told to expect an exodus from the cities to the ‘burbs and perhaps even rural areas. The downsizing craze is over, we’re told, and homebuyers want more square footage. Outdoor spaces and specialty rooms (office, gym, etc.) are on the lists of those buyers who can demand them.

Most of all, many Americans who were isolated by distance from family during the lockdown, crave closeness.

*Life Event Series, Changing Needs* postcard

Especially older Americans and most especially those who live alone.

While one of the primary reasons baby boomers sell their homes is so that they can move closer to their adult children or friends (23.5% according to the NAR), we think the social distancing we’ve endured will see many, many more choosing this option.

Boomers in the real estate market

Older homeowners naturally have more equity in their homes, according to NAR’s 2020 Generational Trends report. The average equity earned of sellers age 22 to 54 is nearly $45,000. Baby boomer sellers, on the other hand, have, on average, $74,300 in equity.

The homes they will sell have at least three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (many, however, boast three bathrooms). While on the market, boomer homes experienced far fewer price reductions than the homes of younger sellers.

More than one-fourth of younger boomers have lived in their homes for 21 years or longer, while 35% of older boomers can say the same.

Younger boomers who purchased another home after selling their current home chose a slightly smaller home, while older boomers, on average, chose slightly larger homes.

Finally, baby boomers make up nearly half (46%) of the seller’s market.

How to reach this group of home sellers

Boomers love YouTube. But, before you race out to create real estate videos for this demographic you need to understand that they probably won’t watch them.

Their use of YouTube is as a sort of TV-on-demand platform. According to data from Think with Google, the most-watched categories by boomers include “… entertainment, music, and news.”

The best way to reach this cohort and engage with them is on Facebook. Pursuing organic reach, however, may be futile, according to BigCommerce.com.

*Life Event Series, New Memories* postcard

“With organic Facebook reach hovering somewhere between two and four percent, many brands struggle to gain impressions and engagement on the platform,” according to the site’s Ethan Giffen.

The solution, he says, is Facebook ads. Yes, they cost money. But it’s one very effective way to reach the group that has a higher net worth, is most likely to want to move and sells more homes than any other.

OK, so maybe Facebook ads are a bit pricey for your budget right now. Consider direct mail as a budget-friendly, highly effective alternative.

This is a generation who grew up with mail as a major form of communication to friends and family. They still enjoy receiving mail and are more likely to read what they receive than the younger generations.

But you need the right message

To send the right message requires that you know your audience. Earlier we gave you a bit of insight into their real estate habits. But to effectively market to the group requires digging deeper. Baby boomers, by and large are:

Active
More internet savvy than they’re given credit for
Independent
Not “old”

In fact, dump the word “senior” when referring to this group. Use “baby boomer” or “older American” if you must. While not all are offended by the term “senior citizen,” many are.

Overall, they value useful information. This might include local market activity, a CMA, news on mortgage rates and helpful home maintenance tips.

Get to know baby boomers’ interests by visiting aarp.org, nextavenue.org, and everythingzoomer.com.

*Life Event Series, Time For Play* postcard

Send the Time For Play postcard from the Life Event Series to your Baby Boomer Prospect List.

Need help targeting this specific niche of sellers? Use our Demographic Search Tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are some Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

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The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

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Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here

6. The Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

What real estate agents can learn from hospitality workers

Jan 8, 2020

Ellen DeGeneres, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lady Gaga. There is something oddly similar about those three. Love them or despise them, they all have great-big personalities.

And, they were all, at one time, employed in the food and beverage industry (DeGeneres and Ocasio-Cortez bartended and Lady Gaga waited tables).

If you’ve ever worked in the hospitality industry, you know that there is a direct correlation between building rapport with your customers and your tip income.

After all, do you tip the grumpy waitress, the bartender who ignores you or the bouncer who makes you wait until the “important” people are let into the club?

Like real estate, many of the jobs in these industries have a low bar of entry. Let’s face it, waiting tables is easy to learn. Waiting for them with elegance, with class and with customer service top-of-mind is a bit harder.

The House Feeling a Little Empty postcard is available under the Life Event Series in the Postcard section.

Being personable leads to the bigger bucks

Even the bartender who mixes a mean Manhattan won’t build a following without a bit of personality. It’s the same in real estate.

An agent can have an expert-level understanding of contracts and marketing but, without the ability to build rapport, will fail to build a referral base. Without that, he or she will be forever chasing after new business.

Think about the waiters and waitresses you’ve over-tipped – it was their personality, their ability to interact that compelled your generosity, right?

Sure, you can be a ho-hum agent, do the minimum required and still make as much on a transaction as an agent who goes above and beyond in providing customer service.

And, if you don’t want or need repeat business and referrals, go ahead and be that agent otherwise read on.

The approach

“When greeting a guest I always approach the table with a smile,” Jenna Paul, server and assistant general manager of The Peached Tortilla in Austin Texas tells Jane Ko at Seasoned.co.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But the advice also applies to real estate agents. Whether you’re knocking on doors, schmoozing at community events or greeting who you hope will be your next listing client, a smile is imperative.

Smiling puts a potential client at ease and builds that first step toward genuine rapport. “People like that warm and inviting welcome,” says Chance Ramsey, assistant general manager at Contigo, also in Austin.

Step two to blissful rapport

“Don’t worry – he’s one of us.” You know that feeling you get when you’re sure you’ve just met a like-minded individual and everything clicks?

My “one of us” may be vastly different than yours. But we know, instinctually, whether or not someone is like us or not like us.

The Ready to Sell the Lawnmower postcard is available under the Life Event Series in the Postcard section.

“Rapport is established by creating a common ground with your guests that enable them to put you in the “like me” category,” David Hayden explains to food and beverage employees at TipsSquared.com.

He goes on to explain that being perceived as one of your potential clients’ “good guys (or gals)” … “puts them at ease” and builds trust.

So, how do you become a member of their tribe? Consider mirroring. Tony Robbins suggests that mirroring is the ideal technique to help you learn something new, be it a new habit or strategy.

Author, trainer and business speaker Jeff Mowatt, takes it a step further by applying the technique to building rapport in sales and uses food and beverage workers trained in the technique, as examples.

“Match your customer’s style,” he begins. “Pay attention to how your customer prefers to communicate and get in step. Does your customer prefer to get right down to business, or warm up by engaging in small talk?”

“If your customer talks quickly and loudly, make an effort to match that energy,” and “if the other person talks softly, then you talk more softy,” he suggests.

“If they lean forward, then you lean forward … In other words, you ‘mirror’ the other person’s tone of voice and body language.”

Think about DeGeneres today. Aside from the big, bold personality, she’s someone with whom people connect. The same can be said for another one-time hospitality worker, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

A one-time nightclub bouncer in Buenos Aires, he is known today as Pope Francis. “The People’s Pope,” to many, he has made it his mission to build rapport across the globe.

Being personable in the hospitality industry leads to immediate gratification in the form of higher tips.

The Want More Time for Play postcard is available under the Life Event Series in the Postcard section.

In real estate, the gratification is delayed. But, when it comes, it pays off in big bucks.

Go after the Empty Nest niche market by sending the Want More Time for Play postcard from the Life Event Series.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan – NEW 2020!

2. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan – NEW 2020!

3. Get the ALL-NEW Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted mailing list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Capture the Baby Boomer Market – Here’s How

May 7, 2019

Twenty-six million, is the number of homes owned by U.S. baby boomers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. To put that figure into perspective, consider this: They hold more than half of all owner-occupied homes in the country.

And, in some cities, that number is even higher.

The invisible cash cow

The Baby Boom segment of the population is one that is almost completely ignored by the real estate industry. Yet their combined take-home pay is $2 trillion dollars a year and they can take credit for half of all discretionary spending. That’s not all:

They control 70 percent of all wealth in this country
Boomers represent half of all credit card use.
They own almost 80 percent of all financial assets.
They purchase 50 percent of all luxury cars and 73 percent of all hybrid cars sold in the U.S.

Baby boomers are a generation whose birth spanned the years between 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently, boomers range in age from 54 to 72 years old.

The new and improved baby boomer

The baby boomer generation has turned everything we used to think about the senior housing market upside down. Gone are the days when the real estate agent that specialized in the niche sold two types of homes: those of the deceased or those of the frail elderly moving into long-term care or other facilities.

Members of the previous generation, the so-called Silent Generation, are now beyond retirement age and represent those we use to think of when we considered the senior real estate niche.

Boomers, on the other hand, represent a mixed bag of folks: some are still raising families, many are still working and the older members of the generation, who should be in the early stages of retirement, have, for the most part, decided to postpone retirement and continue working.

Even more intriguing for the real estate industry, however, is that 41 percent of leading-edge boomers – a group with over $500 billion in spending power, according to Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers – say they will definitely purchase another home.

Agents considering working with boomers as they buy and sell real estate into their retirement and beyond should understand this segment of the population and what they seek in their new home.

What do boomers want?

If you want to work with boomers, and you don’t count yourself among them, the first thing to understand is that most of them are not frail and they don’t consider themselves elderly.

In fact, boomers are far healthier than their predecessors and don’t take kindly to being talked down to and “they will not tolerate typecasting, stereotypes, pandering or ageism,” says Green.

Assumptions – we all know what they are, right? So, step number one is to throw out all the assumptions you might have about older Americans.

And if you don’t think the real estate industry has assumptions about this generation, read some posts at ActiveRain: “Baby boomers are still grabbing real estate guides in the grocery store while everyone else is looking online first, researching second and then picking up the phone,” posted an agent old enough to know better.

Let’s take a sledgehammer to what is arguably the most common myth about this “older” generation: Boomers are tech-averse.

What these agents and others fail to realize is that “tech” didn’t drop from the sky the day they turned old enough to use it. In fact, we can thank baby boomers for the invention of the PC, mobile phones, and the World Wide Web.

It was boomers who invented the Apple II in the 70s, which ushered in the home computing revolution.
Today, 53 percent of boomers are on Facebook, according to a recent Nielsen survey: “Introducing Boomers, Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation.”
They are five times as likely as the general population to own an iPad or other tablet.
Boomers spend more money on technology than members of Gen X and Gen Y, according to Forrester Research.

Finally, and this one is important if you are considering boomers as a real estate niche: 82 percent of adults age 50 and over use the Internet to research real estate.

Their ideal home location

Again, throw all of your preconceived notions out the window. Despite what you might read online, boomers don’t really care how far away the nearest medical facility is and aren’t at all interested in being located on public transportation lines.

In fact, a full 60 percent of adults 55 years of age and older want a home in the suburbs, in close proximity to walking and jogging trails, according to a survey by the National Association of Home builders (NAHB). Fifty-four percent want a park nearby and half find an outdoor pool attractive.

Golf communities have fallen out of favor with today’s older Americans but a community fitness center is a hot feature.

In-demand home features

Older home buyers overwhelmingly want a single-story home, and most of them are seeking to downsize, in an effort to save money on their ongoing home ownership costs, according to a 2017 study from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Last fall’s Del Webb’s Baby Boomer Survey asked which must-have features boomers want in their next home and here are the top five responses:

Multi-car garage with storage
Open patio or deck
Open floor plan
Eat-in kitchen
Small and private yard

From Woodstock to inspiring the World Wide Web, baby boomers have left their mark on the world and will continue to do so. Ignore this huge segment of the population in favor of focusing on young, first-time buyers at your peril.

Ready to capture the baby boomer market? Send the Too Much House postcard from the Life Event Series to at least 100 baby boomers.

You might also like:

Avoid These 4 Common Real Estate Agent Marketing Mistakes

Customer Service! The Best Gift You Can Give Your Clients & Yourself

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Avoid these 4 common real estate agent marketing mistakes

Marketing Success

Jan 21, 2019

Turn on the marketing “light bulb”

It’s a safe bet that the percentage of real estate agents who come from a background in marketing is quite small. Therefore, it’s understandable that marketing can be a challenge.

Fortunately, learning by example is an effective way to overcome this lack of knowledge. Let’s take a look at the following four common real estate marketing blunders so that you can avoid making them in the future.

Marketing Mistake 1: The lack of a plan

Planning isn’t as interesting or fulfilling as doing almost all things in life. So, we get it that creating a marketing plan isn’t something you put at the top of your to-do list.

But, that’s marketing mistake number one. Just as you caution your buying clients to enter the process prepared, with a plan, so too should you, when marketing your business.

Even a rudimentary plan can help keep you on track and on budget, but the more detailed the plan, the better it will perform.

The Real Estate Marketing Planner Free Download

A powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when is our Free Real Estate Marketing Planner. It includes weekly strategies for Four key market segments including, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence.

Please take advantage of this Free 12-month Marketing Planner, go here to download.

Marketing Mistake 2: Not understanding where the money is

One of the biggest myths about homebuyers is that the largest group of them are first-time buyers.

You’ll find this misinformation online on agent websites, sites trying to sell stuff to agents and even news stories.

“ … the majority of people looking to purchase a new home are first-time buyers.”

NAR tells us that first-timers make up only 33 percent of all homebuyers (and that number is down from the previous year). Therefore, diversify your marketing dollars to include target markets in addition to first-time home buyers. Some of the other top target markets include Baby Boomers, Move-Up Market, Lifestyle & Interests, Empty Nesters, High-Income Consumers, and Investors.

Notify the move-up market to turn to you for help. (Available in the Move-Up Market postcards section)

Marketing Mistake 3: And who are they?

NAR breaks buyers and sellers into generations and Gen X (born 1965 to 1976), according to the association, makes up the largest home seller pool at 27 percent.

In reality, baby boomers (between the ages of 54 and 72) in the market far exceed that number, at 43 percent. NAR, however, cuts the generation in half, making it appear to be a smaller group of consumers.

But, since both generations own homes and are likely to move, a smart agent will target both.

When you understand where the money is, and vow to strategically target those with it, everything else marketing-related, from the social media platforms you utilize to your content, falls into place.

Marketing Mistake 4: Going it alone

Assist an Empty Nester Achieve an Important Transition (Available in the Life Event postcard section)

Marketing involves a whole host of talents that most real estate agents don’t possess. Sure, you may be an ace photographer or may have studied graphic arts in college, but an agent who has all of what it takes to market his or her business would be a rarity, indeed.

There’s not a thing wrong with outsourcing your marketing needs, be it from the creative side (writing, photographing, videography, etc.) or the hands-on side (managing bulk or email lists, website work and social media management) or the design side by trusting in an industry marketing expert like ProspectsPLUS! for all of your real estate marketing materials.

Your job is to generate the leads required to make deals. Save time and frustration by hiring experts for the rest of the work including turning to industry expert marketers, such as ourselves, for marketing materials that speak specifically to the market you are targeting.

We understand the possible fear of committing the appropriate budget for this important area of your business. First, outsourcing marketing tasks is tax deductible (as are marketing materials). Second, it frees up more of your time which, in turn, means you’ll be working more on the money-making activities.

Offer decision-making assistance to baby boomers (Available in the Life Event postcards section)

Time for you to go after the “current” largest target market, Baby Boomers!

Send at least 100 Downsizing, Retiring Soon postcards from the Life Event Series to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 4 free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

4. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Also…check out these game-changing tools!

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand & achieve 20% market share

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