What’s Your Game Plan?
Waiting for your customer to start the conversation is probably not a great idea. Winging it is also not considered a plan. The notion that if you Fail to Plan you will Plan to Fail was never more relevant than when that customer walks through your door for the first time. What is your plan?
Now, in the real estate world, things might seem fairly unpredictable, but you will be surprised at how well a “game plan” is received when greeting a new customer.
Let’s discuss the importance of this as it relates to the 55+ customer.
Less influenced by what others think. This means that when they walk into your sales office, they are not concerned with what is popular or trending for folks at their stage in life like you might find a younger couple. They want what they want and are not too phased by the opinion of others.
Their need for specific information increases as they age. Offering generalities and anecdotes is not enough. They want to understand the specifics of things especially when it comes to Finances and Time. Their investment in both is highly valuable because they are at a stage in life where they finally start to realize both of those things are finite more so than ever before. And if you can’t show them you are helping them be efficient and intentional in the use of both, you will lose their attention and business.
They are also very emotional and make a lot of their decisions based on those emotions. It’s the most powerful piece of their journey. They need to satisfy some emotional shortcoming in their lives. Maybe it’s being closer to grandchildren or putting themselves in a community where they can connect with others at the same stage in life. Whatever the emotional motivation, you don’t have time to waste by not having a plan to address these emotions.
Time is often not of the essence with this customer. This is influenced by the fact that they don’t have a lot of mistakes left in life they can recover from. Your intentionality will respect their time and they will begin to trust your expertise and motives to help them improve their lives.
Here are the main components of a good game plan:
It needs to be easy to follow every time. If you can’t remember what step comes after the next one, you’re going to revert back to the improvisation method. Make sure it is easy to remember and doesn’t require complicated questions or goals.
Write it down. A basketball team usually has an actual playbook they study and review before practices and throughout the season. Once they’re at the practice, they know what the coach is referring to when he/she calls a drill. Writing it down will help commit it to memory.
Define a clear, achievable, and measurable goal. If you don’t quite know what you are trying to accomplish, it is going to be difficult to follow a plan. It can have multiple goals or milestones. Don’t feel like you need to set a goal of “Sell every customer a house!”. This probably violates the achievable piece. Try focusing on something more realistic in your situation.
Lastly - adapt and maintain control of your game plan. Let the customer guide you or lead you where they want to go, but you can stay in control since you have a game plan that can adapt.
My game plan when working with 55+ customers is to find out at least five things about them to get initial clues as to their "why."
Where do THEY live right now, and what do they love about their home?
Where is THEIR extended family located?
What are THEIR daily routines and favorite hobbies?
What do THEY want to accomplish today?
How much time do THEY have?
None of these five things have anything to do with your community or your homes (yet). It's not about you; it's about them and letting your customer lead the initial conversation. Keep it simple for you and your customers. There are many different directions you can go and specific questions to ask and follow up on depending on their answers, but if you get information on those five things and allow the customer to feel comfortable with what they know, you have a better chance of helping customers along in their decision-making process.
