Is Any Client Better Than The Kind Of Client You Really Want?

With the recession, many people will take any clients that come along. This approach can cause problems.

Looking For New Business

“Staying at the top means looking for new business.”

So says Leslie Dennis, one featured agent in last night's episode of the Agents on the W Network (available in Canada only).

With 17 years experience and now dealing with high end homes worth more than $1 million, Leslie had neither buyers nor sellers as clients...so needed new business.

Leaving her normal target market, Leslie agreed to work with 2 new clients.

One was developer looking for 3-4 adjoining properties on which he could construct a new building.

The other was a well-known football coach who had just returned to Toronto and was looking for a condo to rent.

Neither turned out well.

To her chagrin, Leslie learned that land assembly during a recession is virtually impossible.

By the end of the show, she had come up empty on her search.

The condo search was equally disastrous.

When she met the celebrity football coach, he had just come from looking at another condo, with another agent.

Undeterred, Leslie took the coach to see the condo.

After a fruitless search for the key, she realized she was in the wrong condo building.

Once in the correct building, she still could not find the key...but that was not a problem.

The door to the condo was unlocked and the current tenant was there.

The place was a mess and the client didn't like it....so he decided to take the place he had seen earlier.

Listening To Your Gut

Katie Abey, last night's rookie agent, on the other hand was helping her first client...the owner of a new home,listed at almost $6 million, sell the property.

Eventually there was an agreement of purchase and sale and Katie had a sizable commission check to anticipate.

For her next client, Katie met with the owner of a 3000 square foot condo that she wanted to sell for $1.5 million.

The property had been listed for 6 months with 2 separate agents.

There had been no showings and the owner seemed unwilling to lower price. Based on her research of comparable units in the same building, Katie thought a better listing price would have been $850,000 and that all things considered, the owner should have been prepared to accept $800,000.

Thinking out loud (for the benefit of the camera no doubt) that 'sometimes you have to listen to your gut' Katie decided to pass on helping this client and move on to other things.

Stress Avoidance

Targeting similar markets, Leslie and Katie faced the same challenge that many of us face in difficult times.

When we need new business, is any client better than the kind of client we really want?

As a result of Leslie deciding yes, she wound up spinning her wheels trying to help the developer and wandering around a condo building with an increasingly unhappy prospective client.

Katie on the other hand 'listened to her gut', and opted out of helping a less than ideal client.

On balance, I'm with Katie on this one.

At the very least she avoided the stress and frustration that Leslie experienced.

By not allowing herself to get bogged down in what would have been a demanding and time- consuming process with the owner of the 3000 sq ft condo, she had the time and energy to pursue more ideal clients.

One further comment on last night's show.

The challenge of accepting out-of-market clients is one of 9 interesting issues raised in in last night's show.

Now that's what I call interesting television.