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Have you ever fired a client? Walked away from a listing?
I have a client who I feel is really just slapping me around. I don't even have the house listed yet and already this person is being a difficult client. I can only imagine how it will be if I get the listing. What do you tell a client who is mistreating you? What do you tell them when they want to overprice their house and you don't want to list it?
What do you tell a buyer who runs you all over the world and then makes an unreasonably low offer and wants the world for a dime?
I would love to hear some stories of clients you have fired and how you did it!
Have you ever fired a client? Walked away from a listing?
I have a client who I feel is really just slapping me around. I don't even have the house listed yet and already this person is being a difficult client. I can only imagine how it will be if I get the listing. What do you tell a client who is mistreating you? What do you tell them when they want to overprice their house and you don't want to list it?
What do you tell a buyer who runs you all over the world and then makes an unreasonably low offer and wants the world for a dime?
I would love to hear some stories of clients you have fired and how you did it!
I'm not in real estate, but I'm in business. I have to tell you that sometimes it's more important to not take a particular client rather than take on everybody who crosses your gunsights. I've had clients whom I had a terrible feeling about from the beginning of the relationship onward, and always regretted taking them on later.
I've also fired clients who a) didn't respect my time or b) didn't respect my need to make money or c) didn't respect my professional opinions. If those clients fit into any of these three categories, run.
Have you ever fired a client? Walked away from a listing?
I have a client who I feel is really just slapping me around. I don't even have the house listed yet and already this person is being a difficult client. I can only imagine how it will be if I get the listing. What do you tell a client who is mistreating you? What do you tell them when they want to overprice their house and you don't want to list it?
What do you tell a buyer who runs you all over the world and then makes an unreasonably low offer and wants the world for a dime?
I would love to hear some stories of clients you have fired and how you did it!
In the case of the listing, you don't have a client yet, only a prospect. Just tell them that their home is overpriced, and you can't sell it at that price. Tell them that you would rather turn them down now than disappoint them later. Tell them it's been a pleasure discussing their home and market with them, but it's not going to work out and you feel they would be happier working with another agent.
For the unreasonable buyer who is lowballing, and you don't want to play the game with them, just then tell them that you are not the right agent for them. When you present an offer and negotiate, you must be able to justify the price that you're negotiating for, and in the case of the lowball offer you can't justify the price so you can't do a fair job of negotiating on their behalf.
Mikijayne - I've been a Realtor since 1990. For the past 7-8 years, I've strictly sold onsite for builders.
The first 10 years I was a General Brokerage agent. What a hard job that is! To be successful means working long hours, many times 7 days a week. Went years without taking a real vacation. I finally realized my business had grown to the point I really need an assistant or two.
Anyway, after one particularly bad experience with a truly crazy seller (she was bipolar, alchoholic and off her meds I later found out), a very experienced agent sat me down and explained to me that my future health and well fare depended on my learning to say "no".
She explained that if I truly was the Real Estate Professional, and a Seller was not in agreement with the listing/selling strategy - turn down the listing. By listing an overpriced house that sat on the market all I was accomplishing was wasting my marketing dollars, tarnishing my reputation as a professional, and expending emotional energy that wasn't going to return any dividends.
Selling a house is a joint effort - the seller has to make an effort as much as the Realtor does. You aren't a miracle worker. Rarely if ever is an overpriced, under-maintained, or filthy house sell-able. The Seller in those cases is almost always ready to loudly and frequently proclaim to everyone who will listen that its the list agent's fault the house isn't selling.
From that point forward, I never again wasted one day on a Seller who was an unwilling, unreasonable partner in selling the house. My listing business actually increased by leaps and bounds because I became known as a listing agent who could get the job done. Almost all my business was referrals from past clients.
It's easy to graciously bow out of listing a house. Just explain to the seller you aren't the right match for the situation, and as you don't want to disappoint them, you must decline the listing.
Buyers are a bit trickier, in my opinion. Sometimes you get so much time invested, you keep thinking "If I hold out for just one more showing, they'll buy!" You just know the minute you tell them "See ya!", they will buy the very next house they see, using an agent they met 5 minutes prior.
Best wishes in your career. I love it, I hate it, I wouldn't do anything else!
"I don't think that we are a good fit. Home buying and selling is a very stressful process and you want to make sure that you work well with your agent. I can see that I am not the agent for you. I would be happy to give you some names of some other excellent agents in town, and I wish you the best of luck on the purchase/sale of your home."
You can't work with everyone. There may be other agents out there that tolerate those behaviors better than you. Set some boundaries, and just say no. Reducing your stress level and enjoying your life have value.
I think we could write a book on "red flag clients." We are in architecture and have had way too many clients that wanted to be office terrorists. We now have no problem telling them just what the other poster tells them, that we may not be the right fit. It is far more rewarding to work with people who appreciate you than those who discredit your service to them. Your expertise and your service are of value. Sometimes saying no feels right.
Mikijayne, Back in aug. I told a client to drop her price she refused, she had an appriasal done. so we then got it lowered, I told her to get rid of the pet smell she didn't told her to clean up the vacant home. She didnt' I did,then she wanted to take the listing when i was waiting on an offer she left it listed,The offer felt short. I went to a training class with one of our trainers. I told him about the listing he said to let it go. But also be prepared for her not to want to move the listing. Because sometimes when you push people away they will come back to you. Well , when i had the listing i told her to drop it 30,000 . she refused and I dropped the listing. As of today she has dropped the listing 60,000 reason the pet smell is still in there.
its been listed for a year be picky . Be up front tell them you will list it there way for a week see if you get any traffic if there is no traffic then when you take the listing. make them sign a change form when you take the listing and date it for a week later for the new price.
if they are not will to work with you then walk away .
Last edited by judithexit; 03-18-2008 at 10:18 PM..
I totalyy understand clients can be horrible. I worked in retail and have experienced and sometimes your glad when they are gone. Soem clients came back every week and you have to deal with them as good as you can since the client IMO is paying for service. When the client is very unreasonable both sides are better off not to go forward with the listing. If something would be in the contract to have the option either way when some one is not happy (maybe if a lot of costs are made the client should pay back for things done on clients behalf and proven to be asked by client) to have the contract void, isn't that better for every one.
And I refer difficult people to other agents and collect a referral fee. That way everybody is happy.
But I find most of these difficulties can be avoided if I take the time to conduct a thorough interview with prospective clients as soon as possible. I'd rather give away an hour and a half early and just pass on a business relationship, than realize later I've got months in with somebody who thinks I don't deserve to pay the mortgage myself, and have all the time in the world.
Another way I've been fortunate enough to work with fewer and fewer difficult people over the years, is to cultivate personal referrals from past clients ...and through BNI. There's much more trust right off the bat when it's a referral rather than a "lead" or a stranger calling on a sign...
Have you ever fired a client? Walked away from a listing?
I have a client who I feel is really just slapping me around. I don't even have the house listed yet and already this person is being a difficult client. I can only imagine how it will be if I get the listing. What do you tell a client who is mistreating you? What do you tell them when they want to overprice their house and you don't want to list it?
What do you tell a buyer who runs you all over the world and then makes an unreasonably low offer and wants the world for a dime?
I would love to hear some stories of clients you have fired and how you did it!
Yes, but only once. He earned it and I withdrew the listing. Told him we weren't meant to work with each other. My only mistake was waiting a month to do it.
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Sometimes its just not worth it.....
