Sometimes I just have to say WOW!  With all of the "lead generation" techniques and marketing strategies sometimes a lead can come from an unexpected source.

About this time last year, I got a call from a gentleman that had come to an open house of mine in 2006. Although he and his wife bought a condo at that time without using a buyer's agent, they had received some follow up material from me and used my website as a source of information over the years. Now it's time to sell and they call me out of the blue to have a market analysis done. 

I visited their condo unit and prepared an analysis for them.  I followed up with a couple of phone calls only to find that they went on with another Agent for about $20,0000 more than I recommended. This happens all the time.  No big deal.

Well the home was on for the peak season (overpriced) and it never sold. I received another call just before Thanksgiving from them asking my advice on what they should do.  From our conversation based on their motivation and the fact that we were heading into the holiday season that did not look promising for Seller's looking to maximize their profits, we came to the conclusion that it would be best to hold off until the first of the year.  YOU GUESSED IT! They went on two days later with another agent. 

Needless to say, I was getting very frustrated with them telling me that I seemed to have a good pulse on the market and then doing the exact opposite of everything I told them.  Well. the property sat on accumulating "DOM's" and they ended up renting it (something they really did not want to do according to our discussions) in order to buy the home that they needed.

FAST FORWARD TO LAST FRIDAY.  As I sat in the line of cars with parents waiting to pick up their kids from school, my cell phone rings.  On the other end is a very nice woman claiming that she wanted to sell her home and that her friend strongly recommended me. I asked who her friend was and yes indeed..... It was the couple that refused my advice twice.

While it is still frustrating knowing that I had a good chance of selling their home last spring if they took my advice... I do appreciate the fact that they respect my opinion enough to refer me to to their friends over the other Agents that they worked with.  You just never know!