In with the new boom, out with the old boom. The American workforce now has more Millennials than baby boomers. Generationally, these 20-and-30-somethings grew up during the initial tech boom and social media explosion. Their unique experience means millennials can build bridges between the old ways of accomplishing deals and the modern workflow. Millennials bring more than an ability to work a rolodex and navigate social media to the workforce. Particularly in commercial real estate, the millennial generation’s overarching attitude and love for tech equip them for success.
Millennials Embrace Technology
Having wet their toes fording the Oregon Trail, practiced social networking on AOL Instant Messenger, and remembering when Facebook was only for college kids, millennials jump on experimenting with and adopting emerging tech trends. After all, this is the generation that moved from disc players to iPods, landlines to flip cell phones to the first Blackberry. Now that the CRE industry is catching up in terms of technological innovation, Millennials are on the forefront of the Internet of Things and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) adoption. Millennials welcome the tools that make working in CRE easier: customer relationship management solutions, automated marketing tools, and video tours. Thanks to this generation’s willingness to try new tools, the CRE industry is seeing more listings with virtual reality tours, more content marketing on new developments, and the re-invention of retail spaces.
Efficiency is King
The reason why millennials jump on new tech developments corresponds to the generational love of efficiency. Why waste time calling brokers for details when a simple text will suffice? Don’t mistake efficiency for laziness. Millennials make the personal contacts that close CRE deals, but instead of relying just on a contact database, they are more willing to work the Internet. Using their social networks, millennials have a broad reach to leverage to their advantage. They don’t want to waste their time–or their clients–looking at properties that are not the right fit. For clients that like to be in the know, millennial CRE agents use technology to keep clients in the loop via text, email, and phone. The millennial generation’s positive outlook and enthusiasm, combined with an attention to detail, make this group ideal CRE agents and brokers.
Millennials Like Data
Numbers and data don’t scare away millennials. Rather, they’re interested in using the numbers to their advantage. How can they improve their processes? How much more efficient will this SaaS make them? Just look at new startups disrupting the CRE industry: many are data-based providers with a focus on using numbers to reduce inefficient workflows. The CRE industry relies on hard data to everything from justifying a leasing price to reducing time spent on rent rolls. In embracing these data tools, millennial CRE agents produce better results for their clients.
No Millennial is an Island
Millennials value collaboration. In the CRE industry, the ability to work with numerous partners to close a deal is essential. Commercial property deals take time to negotiate, whether leasing, buying, or selling. Millennials are willing to do whatever they can to satisfy their clients and sign the dotted line.
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