Working with Internet Buyers in Sacramento Real Estate

Sacramento internet buyers find listings and their agents online today.

It wasn’t that long ago, maybe 10 years back, an agent in my office asked why I would work with internet buyers in Sacramento real estate. This was an astounding concept in 2008. That a Sacramento Realtor could be found online by an internet buyer. Most of that search was organic because other agents were not online. They didn’t have websites nor blogs. Today, everybody has a Facebook, Instagram and Twitter account.

Fast forward 10 years later, and I still maintain a higher internet presence. The difference is many buyers today come from the long tail I’ve created online or from websites where buyers go. I stand out in the sea of ordinariness.  That’s why internet buyers gravitate toward me. They see value. According to NAR, 66% of first-time home buyers are Millennials. Followed by Generation X at 26%. Buyers value experience.

But some home buyers break protocol and try to work with many different buyer’s agents, which is a bit defeatist for them. They don’t often recognize this strategy as a problem immediately. Internet buyers might think everything is for free because they can find it online. But they can’t find everything online themselves, like they hope. Buying a home is not like picking out a loaf of bread. They really need the services of a top-notch buyer’s agent. Creating value for internet buyers is what working with buyers today is all about.

Buyer’s agents should ask themselves when working with internet buyers whether that individual is a loyal client. I laugh when buyer’s agents refer to some loser, gonna cancel the minute I get into escrow person, as “my client” when that buyer is not a client. If a buyer walks into a real estate brokerage and asks to see a property taped on a window, is that person a client?  What do you think? I believe that’s just a customer who asked to see a property.

When a buyer calls a buyer’s agent, it’s the same thing. For whatever reason, the buyer found the agent online. Maybe the agent was featured in a media outlet news story.  Perhaps the buyer discovered the agent through a company website? Through Facebook or a digital ad? It’s more common than not to hear a buyer’s agent refer to a potential buyer as “my client” when they’ve known the individual for all of 22 seconds. That kind of behavior among agents should just stop.

Internet buyers turn into clients when they continually engage with a buyer’s agent. When they ask questions and listen to responses. When they respond to emails. When both parties establish mutual respect.  If an internet buyer fails to respond, it means she is not a client. For whatever reason, she doesn’t feel the love, the connection. Or she has formed a bad opinion of real state estate agents in general due to some horrible past experience.

Understanding Internet Buyers

However, the cold fact is all internet buyers search online. They think they can find a house for sale before their agent will find it. They send countless emails containing requests to see homes that are not for sale because they found those listings on Zillow, for example. To deal with this, buyer’s agents need to show compassion for internet buyers. One of the worst things a buyer’s agent can do is make the internet buyer feel stupid or inadequate.

It’s one thing to say, “thank you for trying to help me,” and it’s another to say what the hell are you doing looking at houses for sale on Zillow when all of that stuff is garbage and half of it is sold? It’s better to explain that Zillow does not allow agents to input their own listings anymore, so nothing that shows up in MLS will be on Zillow before it is in MLS. Yes, MLS rules. But garbage in, garbage out.

Personally, I love it that so much is available online for internet buyers. I often go to The Balance Homebuying website and pull articles from experienced agents, including myself, to send to clients. But some of the advice found elsewhere online is completely wrong. Whenever you get a bunch of agents in one place, you will get a large variety of opinions. Some useful, some not. My advice is always consider the source. This is wise advice for any online searches.

Why Internet Buyers Choose a Buyer’s Agent

But at the end of the day, internet buyers still can benefit from the services rendered by an experienced buyer’s agent in Sacramento. The Elizabeth Weintraub Team provides internet buyers with a complete list of our services, from A to Z, start to finish. Because internet buyers do not know why they should be loyal to one agent unless the agent gives them a reason. If an agent can’t produce 50 reasons to show why that buyer should work with that agent and adequately explain the value the agent brings, maybe agents should reconsider their approach.

Remember, internet buyers don’t know what agents really do. They view the job of a buyer’s agent as easy. Doing it right, the job is messy, statistical, analytical, time consuming, painful, exhilarating; relying solely on experience to learn and education to grow.

Buyer’s agents might ask themselves, are we simply a door opener? It’s easy for internet buyers to click that button to request a showing. Or, are we knowledgable buyer’s agents dedicated to the passion of finding that perfect home for an internet buyer? Winning the offer. Successfully closing escrow. The commitment and guarantee of performance will turn an Internet buyer into a satisfied client.

Besides, we all want that 5-star review nowadays. The difference is an extraordinary buyer’s agent earns it in blood.