The world is changing and the way people are buying homes is changing along with it. You can choose to adapt or you can choose to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Information technology and digital channels give easy access to information for everyone. A buyer can easily perform most of the steps in the home buying process. This unfettered access to information enables buyers to become self-sufficient and their need of a real estate professional either changes or disappears.

Do buyers need us?

That depends. Each buyer has a different level of knowledge and self-sufficiency. The “super-expert” buyer is skilled in gathering information from many sources and is self-sufficient in using that information to make a buying decision.   At the other end of the scale is the “information-seeking” buyer, who wants help collecting, examining and evaluating the enormous amount of information available. Most fall in between these two book ends.

Smart agents match their selling approach to the type of buyer and the buyer’s underlying needs.

Does the “super-expert” buyer need our help?

Pushing information or opinions on them will only cause threads of conflict and keep us from being invited to the table. If, on the other hand, we discover how and if we could add value to this unique buyer, and then deliver this value, we will be a welcomed addition to the transaction. Perhaps we can benefit them through skilled negotiations with the seller, or perhaps we can connect them with trades that are hard to find.

What are some other ways that you can add value to the “super-expert” buyer?

Information technology and digital channels are powerful tools in an agent’s arsenal and can help us become more effective and efficient but they can also be a source of disconnect and confusion for our buyers if they are used without a solid strategy that is unique to each buyer.

To adapt our selling approach to each individual buyer we need to be skilled at understanding them. This brings us back to the human skills of emotional intelligence, social intelligence and practical empathy – the three cornerstones of Move More People®.

So again – do buyers need us?

That depends on what you are delivering. If you adapt to their level of knowledge and self-sufficiency and offer services that are valuable to them, yes. If you stick to what you think they want and need, you will be of little or no value and the buyers will either work alone or choose an agent who is better equipped to serve them.

There has never been more opportunity to rise to the top of the real estate field. Old school agents who don’t adapt will leave space for agents who are willing and able to learn the important skills that are required of real estate professionals in the connection economy. The digital tools give us an opportunity to connect more vertically and more horizontally with human beings and when we truly connect, we have the opportunity to serve their deepest needs.