Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate’s new course helps real estate agents leverage cutting-edge consumer and home design trends to upgrade their marketing.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has officially released its Trendmaker Accreditation, which is based on exclusive Better Homes & Gardens magazine homebuyer and home trends data.
The program, which is regularly updated with fresh insights, includes three courses on consumer psychology, home design trends and marketing featuring BH&G Senior Home Editor Lauren Bengtson and Investopedia Editor-in-Chief Caleb Silver. The consumer psychology section explains how economic concerns and lifestyle challenges, such as an expanding family or retirement, continue to drive sales.
Meanwhile, the home design lessons help agents better advise homesellers on staging and renovation and homebuyers on a potential home’s lifestyle fit based on seasonal and emerging home design trends.
The last section brings it all together with interactive workshops that teach agents how to leverage these trends to improve their listing presentations, digital presence and client relationships.
Ginger Wilcox
“Not only do BHGRE affiliated agents help people find a house, they play a critical role in helping them turn it into their home,” BHGRE President Ginger Wilcox said in a prepared statement. “By connecting the dots between the trusted Better Homes & Gardens brand and highly engaged BHGRE network of affiliated real estate professionals, we’re delivering unmatched value to today’s lifestyle-driven consumer.”
In an interview with Inman, Wilcox said the Trendmaker Accreditation has been eight months in the making, with the brokerage testing the program with select affiliates in December 2024. The BHGRE president said affiliate feedback contributed to developing one of the key values of the program, which is that it’s updated throughout the year.
“It’s interesting creating a program like this. That first program, what we quickly realized is that agents needed ongoing updates. So as part of our evolution of the course, we offer monthly updates for our agents so they can come in and get the latest insights and trends, and learn practical applications in that month’s time,” she said.
“We also have been implementing new aspects, for example, snap polls that we issue every other month, which gather insights from our network. We provide that information and insights to program attendees, so they can learn what’s happening right now. And that has been super impactful. That’s not sort of normal in a lot of the traditional training and certifications.”
Wilcox said BHGRE is already working on program updates, which will focus on artificial intelligence. AI, she said, is an invaluable marketing tool that can help agents work faster and smarter.
“Right now, as we look to what’s happening in industry, there’s a lot of talk about AI. There’s talk about how quickly we respond to leads, and how we use the new technology to be able to help on the marketing front?” she said. “I think that that’s all important, and it’s important to be able to respond quickly to consumer needs.”
“We continue to be in a world where trust is eroded in our industry, and we’re at a place where we have an opportunity to redefine what that looks like,” she added. “And I believe wholeheartedly that that has to come from elevating the craft of our profession, and a program like Trendmakers does that.”
The ultimate outcome of the program, Wilcox said, will be creating real estate agents who are deeply committed craftspeople, which is different than being a salesperson.
“This program is really about honing the craft of real estate,” she said. “It enables agents to go beyond just thinking about being transactional, and enables them to be trusted lifestyle advisors that are armed with data that can really support the process. As they work with our clients, they’re able to speak more confidently about how design choices and lifestyle trends influence what’s happening, whether it comes from the perspective of home value buyer appeal or the long-term satisfaction that people have in their homes.”
“It also creates a deeper connection for our agents with this trusted national brand, because they have an accreditation through Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate that’s backed by the editorial authority of a magazine that’s been trusted in homes for over 100 years,” she added. “Many agents are telling us that it’s changing how they’re thinking about the way that they approach their business, because it’s insight-driven. It’s just pure information. And ultimately, we think it’s helping create better craftspeople out of our agents who can deliver a better experience to customers.”
Email Marian McPherson