In 2015, I took a new approach to selling real estate. I decided to be more selective in who I worked with and what I did. That doesn't equate to discriminating against people based upon Fair Housing laws, but rather, it is discriminating on who is capable of completing a deal?
I had high-end buyers and low-end buyers. I helped some who were on their 
first purchase and needed a lot of help, and I worked with some who wrote a check and closed the deal with little to no help. It wasn't the dollar amount of the deal that was most important, it was who is most likely to get across the finish line?
I get a lot of investors who want to work with me. I take about 5% of those inquiries. When investors, or investor wanna-be's, read my bio, they can easily assume I'm willing to spend all of my time helping them do what I did through the 90s and early 2000s. I'm not. It took a lot of work to buy the volume of houses I bought, and I could look at 20+ a day multiple days in a row. Fortunately for my agent, she got 100% of my purchases until she retired, and I didn't buy cheap profitless homes.
So many of the investors who call me want me to help them find that $15000 house that has the $100000 profit potential, and they want me to reduce my commission and rebate it back to them. What they don't realize is that the $15000 house wouldn't return enough income to my company to pay for fuel to run around showing it to them, meeting inspectors after a contract is ratified and getting it to closing. It's a losing proposition for me. I tend to refer them to the listing agent. My philosphy is that you listed that dog, Sparky. You show it to them.
Another group that I don't tend to work with is the group who is not willing to talk to a lender before shopping for a home. This group is the "dreamer" group. They know they can pay $1000 in rent. They're doing it. Therefore, they can pay $1000 on a mortgage. Not so fast. There is more that goes into a mortgage decision than just what you're able to pay today. It may be true, but then again, it may not. Credit scores, indebtedness, past and current payment history, collections and a host of other things come into play before we can go shopping. If they refuse to talk to a lender, then I refuse to take them out looking at houses.
I also don't work with clients who have a half dozen agents on the string. If a buyer is running a half dozen agents around (and I get those calls monthly), it tells me they have no loyalty to the person who is investing time in them. If they aren't loyal, what would motivate me to be loyal? Besides, it's an ethics issue for me. I never compete with my fellow agents by stepping between them and the people they are working with. Even if the people are not loyal, I am.
I do however, work with buyers and sellers who are willing to make a commitment to buy or sell. I'll do a yeoman's amount of work to get them to a successful close. I give them all the tools they need, including my investor expertise and my contractor experience, to accomplish their stated goals. Every deal I closed in 2015 was done with highly motivated and committed clients. I provided the same level of motivation and commitment to them and we met our expectations every time.
It's not necessary to take every client who inquires about your services. Some will consume your time and energy and provide little to nothing in the end. Others, will listen to your advice, follow your guidance and reach their stated goals with your help, and those clients will be clients and friends for life. Being more selective can lead to better outcomes.
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