Learning to sell to new generations is a challenging undertaking that affects several industries, including Alabama residential real estate and beyond. From Baby Boomers to Gen Xs and Millennials to Gen Zs, every generation is complete with their own set of unique characteristics from personal ambitions to purchase behavior.
At the 2020 ALAres conference, Lexi Edwards, Culverhouse College of Business Sales Program Director of Collaborative Learning and Professor of Marketing, will share who the Gen Z consumer is and how real estate agents can reach them in her talk “The Next Generation of Selling.” Combining all of her research and personal experiences, Edwards will discuss the best strategy for selling, communicating, and connecting with Gen Z consumers. She stresses that the seller “must continue to adapt and be flexible as the consumer continues to change.”
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 86 percent of Generation Z plans to own a home someday. They are the youngest potential home buyers entering the market, showing “a preference for buying homes in culturally diverse neighborhoods.” They value ownership, seeing it as an ultimate life goal and majority expect to purchase their first home between the ages of 25 to 29. The top two motivations to buy is for “a place to call home” and the investment value of owning a home. Gen Z has more feelings of being unsettled and insecure and actively avoid risk.
“The Gen Z consumer is very different from previous generations; they communicate differently, and have different perspectives, goals, and experiences,” Edwards said about her talk. “Sales techniques will be introduced to improve an agents’ ability to work with the growing group of home buyers. The Next Generation of Selling combines survey statistics and interview insight from a 5-year research effort, along with my personal perspective from working with this generation daily. The specific, tactical takeaways for the audience are the 5 Methods to Modern Selling, which will challenge and encourage them to adapt to a generation with such a unique perspective.”
For more information on Gen Z’s impact on the housing market click here and be sure to attend ALAres 2020 to hear Lexi Edward’s talk on “The Next Generation of Selling.”
