The Young and Empowered Real Estate Investor

Today's young and Empowered real estate investor's are very internet savvy. Some refer tho them as "Internet Empowered Consumers" (IEC). This group, born no earlier than the 1980's are also known as "Generation Y". They have a different mind set than older generations. They were born and raised on computers and the internet. They do their research ahead of time. They educate themselves ahead of time. They appreciate you if you take the time to share your knowledge and expertise with them, but they do not like the "hard-sell" approach. They like to be in control.

IEC's want control, so let them have it. Due to the anonymity factor, the online customer is in control and enjoys that position. The more you attempt to control the situation, the more you will push them away.

IEC's value their privacy. Make sure that you clearly reinforce that client privacy is top priority within every member of your team.

Few IEC's are ready to buy or sell. Some have estimated that 19 our of 20 internet leads are from consumers who are in the information-gathering stage. They are not ready to clearly define their needs. You can win their trust and their business, but you must nurture them through the process to completion of the transaction.

The Generation Y group is tomorrow's home buyers. As a real estate professional, you must learn to adapt to their needs in order to reach them. If you intend to rigidly stick to your old "tried and true" marketing methods, you will attract and hang on to very few of these clients. They expect instant results. They are used to text messaging, IM's, and emails through various avenues, so they expect instant communication. They use social media networks, like MySpace, Facebook, Squidoo, and Twitter. They use Blackberry's, IPHONE's, and various other similar communication devices that provide real time connections. They read blogs, they research homes online, they are always connected and do not want to hear "pitches".

To entice and deal with this type of customer, you must think outside the box. Stop being so concerned with the immediate "sale" This is your long term play. They will also communicate to all their friends how good or how poor your service is...they can build you a network of business referrals and clients that will bring your business residual income for years to come...Empowering Your Life.