A couple of years ago, I met with a couple whom had been referred to me by a previous client. When they walked into the office, he was carrying a notebook and several books, one of which was "Real Estate for Dummies." Oh, boy.
The first words out of the husband's mouth were, "I'm not signing any kind of agreement or contract to work with you."
I just chuckled and said, "Oh, don't worry. I haven't decided if I want to work with you, either."
His wife burst out laughing (whew!).
I continued, "We need to see if it's a good fit; I want you to have confidence in me because of my abilities and because I am going to do a great job for you. Right now, you have no clue about that, do you?"
"Well," he hesitated, "Jonathan did tell me what a good job you did for him."
"Yeah, there's that. But this is about you and what makes you comfortable. So, let's talk about you guys."
I have a love/hate relationship with the BBA...I don't love it, I don't hate it and to be honest, I have only used it when a client requested it.
Yes, that's right, I have had clients request it because they read about it somewhere and thought they needed it. It's okay, I'm happy to give you one, as long as it has an expiration date that doesn't string us both out too terribly long.
Ah, why the attitude, you may ask.
Simple.
I don't want to be contractually obligated to someone who is prone to cheat on me. That's akin to marrying the guy who is texting your best friend behind your back...seriously, he's already showing signs of bad faith, so why would you want to force him into a monogamous relationship for which he is clearly not ready?
There are plenty of good guys out there, so why on earth would I want to be tied up with one that isn't right for me?
And isn't that what we're really talking about here? Trying to lock in a client's loyalty with a piece of paper?
I look for clients with whom I have great rapport, clients who respect my knowledge, experience and work ethic. I look for motivated clients who take the process seriously and who are committed to the home buying or selling process. Clients who trust me to do a good job for them.
If I don't sense it is going to be a good fit and the relationship is not going to be a mutually satisfying one, then I'm the first to say it's time for a change.
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