Engaging Seller Leads in Senior Living Communities

Seniors are on the move! The truth is that today's seniors are interested in living their best lives. As a result, the concept of "moving house" among the 65-and-over crowd is much more common than it used to be. Seniors are looking for convenience, comfort, amenities, great weather, and other features that allow them to feel empowered and independent. For real estate agents, this new trend of seniors optimizing their living situations instead of settling for aging in place in a home they feel lukewarm about presents both challenges and opportunities. Most seniors that move into assisted living communities because they need support have a property that needs to be sold. Others may simply be on the move after deciding that a home or unit they've purchased in a 55-and-over community isn't their cup of tea. Both scenarios require a real estate agent to earn the trust of their clients. The truth is that seniors are often wary of anyone who is trying to approach them about selling a property. Here's a look at some tips for how to identify and approach senior leads in senior living communities.

You'll need to start with little research. Identify all of the assisted living communities within your self-determined market radius. Create a spreadsheet with all of the addresses. Next, visit each community's website to find contact information for the general manager or marketing manager.

One of the best ways to become a go-to real estate agent in your local senior market is to get cozy with management at senior living communities. Create a small campaign that involves sending marketing material to managers of senior living communities. This can include cold calling or sending tangible marketing materials. You can even consider sending gift baskets to managers around the holidays to become a familiar face! These relationships are important because senior living managers can offer your name as a referral when residents are gearing up to list their homes.

Many new residents arrive in assisted living communities with homes that need to be sold. If you've completed the step above, you'll be in good shape to get a referral. Ask if your business card can be placed in welcome packets that are given to new residents.

Pew Research data published in 2022 shows that 96% of Americans ages 50 to 64 use the internet. Among those 65 and older, usage is 75%. Like the rest of the population, seniors are very active online! That means that real estate agents looking for leads in the senior community should 100% be sourcing leads online. One of the best ways to bring in leads is through search engine optimization (SEO).

Most agents are already using SEO to bring in local leads. However, tweaking your SEO strategy to attract the niche audience of seniors in assisted living communities looking to sell can help you collect relevant leads. Some ways to get this done include:

• Blog posts providing advice for how to sell as a senior in your local market.
• Checklists for preparing to sell.
• Advice for helping adult children to assist their parents in selling or relocating. This can be useful for catching leads who are researching on behalf of their parents.
  
  Building leads through your own unique content is especially effective when you're selling yourself to seniors. Many older adults are "suspicious" about anyone who is trying to push them toward making a move or committing to a big decision. Their awareness of their increased vulnerability can cause them to put up walls. By creating content that answers their questions and provides empowering information, you can build authentic trust.

There's a common transition from 55-and-over communities to assisted living communities. The truth is that the move can be overwhelming and confusing for many seniors who assumed that they'd spend the rest of their lives in homes they purchased specifically for aging in place. For real estate agents, there's a big opportunity here to provide valuable, reassuring information while also collecting leads.

Consider approaching a local 55-and-over community's event coordinator about offering an annual or twice-annual seminar or luncheon. During this event, you can offer a presentation about commonly asked questions about transitioning to assisted living. You can provide information about how to determine that it's time to pivot to assisted living, how to list your home, and the general market outlook at the moment.

What if you can't get coordinators to sign on? You can simply create a postcard campaign inviting residents to attend your seminar or luncheon at a location of your choosing. While this increases the budget and planning needed, one perk is that you can host residents of multiple 55+ communities at a single venue instead of focusing on one community at a time. Each attendee can receive a voucher for a free home assessment to help them determine how much they could get for their home. Attendees will also be added to your marketing funnel after supplying their email addresses.

In real estate, networking is one of your strongest assets. Agents looking to identify and approach seller leads in senior living communities should consider creating referral partnerships with local estate planners. Getting your business card in an estate planner's "attendee" packet can be a great way to get your name out to leads. In addition, you can consider asking for 10 minutes of "talking time" at estate-planning seminars or events that are put on by estate planners. 

Handling leads in the senior living market requires sensitivity. While most seniors and their families know when it's time to pivot to a new arrangement, they don't want to feel like they are being pressured into a choice. That's why establishing yourself as a trusted local expert sharing useful information through things like seminars and referrals can be so effective.