Until late last year, I was not a texter. I still don’t really consider myself a texter, but at this point I don’t completely ignore those that dare to send me a text. Part of the reason for my attitude change is that my cellular plan increased the amount of texting I could perform without increasing the cost of my bill, since texting is now a standard form of communication.

I purchased my first cell phone at the ripe old age of 21. Back in those days, they were heavy contraptions that no one really used, and I’m sure that texting wasn’t even a feature. Now you can buy toy cell phones for your infant and puppy if you desire. I have a friend whose eight-year-old brother already has a cell phone, and for the record that friend sends about 500 texts a month.

Though I’m a terrible texter and it takes me a long time to create a message that makes sense and is grammatically correct (I am an editor after all), I know that for some of my friends it is the only way to get a response. I would prefer a good old-fashioned phone conversation, but that is not the direction that we are heading as a society. In order to keep up with the times, I must adapt.

While there are many other new developments in the real estate world, texting is a simple one that can highlight the difference between people from different generations. If you want to make a sale or grab a new client, then you have to be able to adjust to the way they operate. If your client is a texter, you better be sure to have your fingers primed and ready to respond to those texts. If your client doesn’t even have texting capabilities, then that is something you need to know before you start typing away.

Everyone is different, and you can’t simply judge a potential client by his/her age. I tried to prove a point by asking a text-crazy younger friend when she received her first cell phone, only to discover that she was also 21. I made an assumption about her because of her age, and I was wrong. You’ll see in our cover story that all the sources say each client is different in their own way that often has nothing to do with their age, but instead has to do with the way they like to get things done.

The key to our Cross-Generational Selling issue is not to learn how to deal with clients that are older or younger, but how to deal with clients in general. A 20-year-old rookie Realtor should have no problems working with the same clients as a 50-year-old veteran. Just know who you are dealing with, and success will come your way.

And now that you know who you are dealing with here, be sure to next time you’d like to get in touch with me to give me a call instead of sending me a text, or better yet, how about an e-mail?