There are reasons not to sell to boomers, but not many.  If you don’t build a product that a 50+ demographic relates to, fine.  If you are only set up to build a first time home buyer product with few options, okay.  Otherwise, you should consider selling to boomers. Keep in mind while duplexes and quads or other low maintenance product is still valid for the 50+ market, it is not exclusive to it.  Just as young professionals are buying quads in a mostly retired communities, boomers are building custom homes, buying mid and high rise units and settling in to smaller single family detached in typical subdivisions. The rules for what product type people used to buy have changed.  

Boomers, or “50+” buyers, are generally: 

• Older, more experienced, and have definite ideas about what they want
• Buying lifestyle above all else, even over quality, construction, location, price, etc.
• Not pressed to buy. They can buy, rent, buy pre-owned, or wait.
• They want freedom.  That may be in a maintenance free home, away from traffic, or just emotional freedom from a larger house.  Don’t lose sight of their view of freedom.
• Understand quality, not just quality construction, but quality sales, customer service, and business operations.
• Not easily fooled, tricked, or pushed in to making a decision
• Not price sensitive

By now, you should be thinking higher margins, change order fees, customizations and other profit centers, all relating to money and your bottom line. Money is still an issue from their perspective too, but in different ways. They may be downsizing and investing the difference from what they sell and what they buy. Or, they may be finally spending a larger sum on their final home, a dream home, or even a second home they have always wanted. 

This buyer needs to trust their sales person and have a relationship with that sales person. Since this buyer does not have to move, the sales person has to create the desire and reason for this buyer to move, or at a minimum, align their sales efforts with the prospects personal motivations. Communication is key to successful selling to this buyer. The sales counselor does not have to be mature in age themselves. Many younger men and women successfully sell to this buyer, but to do that, they have learned to communicate in a more sophisticated, more thorough manner, and have almost assuredly, elevated their listening skills. 

VIP programs, as a lead, prospect, buyer and home owner, all have relevance to this demographic. They also care about traffic and other elements, but from a different perspective.  Where a young professional might want to be near the freeway, this buyer might want to be away from it.   The sales cycle can be much longer for this buyer, but if you are using a sales (CRM) system, you should be easily able to have automatic task updates and specific messages for specific lead types, and much more.  Don’t stop marketing to them, or any lead, until they tell you. As builders, we don’t really know when they are going to buy, and using a system, marketing for the long term should be free or cost very little, and it should be easy.  In addition to the “dream”, don’t forget to sell the lifestyle.  Lifestyle is always first, then the other things like product type. Go sell! 

Erik Cofield, CGA has leveraged technology and provided business management consulting for all sizes and types of builders, developers and Remodelers since 2000, including volume, multi-family and custom, to help them improve their business. He is the National Accounts Manager with BuildTopia (www.buildtopia.com), a widely used international construction management software company. He is the Houston Sales and Marketing Council’s 2008 Associate of the Year. He can be reached via ecofield@buildtopia.com. Check out the blog at www.buildtopia.com/blog.