Takeaways:
- Each Golden Girl personality can be broken down into a type of buyer.
- The Dorothy buyer is the one who can’t stop sending you the Zillow homes she’s found.
- Blanche hasn’t met a man — or in this case, a Realtor — she didn’t like.
If you know me, you probably know I have a love affair with “The Golden Girls.” My poor husband has endured countless repetitious episodes of the four single, older — but spunky — women.
It would seem only appropriate that inspiration would strike me one evening during a late night marathon of my favorite show.
I realized that a lot of things I’ve learned in my life I’ve learned from this famous foursome. And I’ve chosen to share with you just one nugget of this wisdom.
It came to my attention that each GG (Golden Girl) personality can be broken down into a type of buyer. Let me explain.
The Dorothy Zbornak buyer
She’s the know-it-all and pessimist. She worries that when her ship (or house) comes in, it will be leaking. That said, she is sure she has it right.
She’s researched all the houses she wants to see, she knows how much they are worth, and she knows what she will be willing to pay. (Ugh!)
The Dorothy buyer is the one who can’t stop sending you the Zillow homes she’s found. On the plus side, she’s got her preapproval letter in hand, she knows what type of financing she will do, and she’s not interested in lengthy, waste-of-time showings.
The Blanche Devereaux buyer
And then there’s Blanche. Blanche hasn’t met a man — or in this case, a Realtor — she didn’t like. Once quoted as saying, “A one-night stand only happens one night!”
I’m sure you know this buyer: She calls every Realtor she can find, meets them all, doesn’t tell you if you are the only one in her life, and she leads you on until the very end.
I think we can all agree that this type of buyer is one of the hardest personalities to handle. How do you get them to commit? And then once you do, they usually are the most loyal customers you can have, but be careful with your heart and your time.
The Rose Nylund buyer
The favorite GG for most people is Rose Nylund. She is the Minnesota farm girl who moved to Miami for her golden years. Although you can take the woman out of St. Olaf, you can’t take St. Olaf out of this woman.
She is known for wearing her heart on her sleeve, but that’s not where the problem lies. This kind of buyer is the naïve and not too sure what to do, but she wants everyone to be happy.
They are fun and loveable, but inexperienced to the whole house-buying experience, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because they can make you so excited about the transaction — usually they are first-time homebuyers.
But the downside is you have to hold their hand and answer the same questions at least 50 times, and you might have to hear a lot about St. Olaf. But in the end, everyone is still in love. Why do you think Betty White is the only one still kicking?
The Sophia Petrillo buyer
Finally, picture this: a buyer who hasn’t bought a home in 40 years — enter Sophia Petrillo, the no-nonsense Italian mama, who tells it like it is. Sometimes you like it, and sometimes you don’t.
Have you had this type of buyer? They can be a challenge because this isn’t their first rodeo. Everything has changed since the last time they bought a house, but they don’t believe it. That’s OK.
After going through the process and losing a couple of deals, these buyers become avid learners and listeners, and in the end, they preach your knowledge all over town.
So there you have it. Don’t take everything so personally when it comes to selling real estate. We all have to take a moment or two and laugh at ourselves and our customers.
Relax and sell some houses. But if you come across four older ladies looking for their dream home, I say point them in the direction of Miami and get a referral.
Sue Benson aka The Pink Lady of Real Estate is a Realtor associate at Re/Max Marketing Specialists. Find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @sueispinky.
