Coco 's LA Condo Lifestyle Blog

All clients are not created equally.  It's not a judgment but a fact.  Different clients have different needs.  And because there are some people whose needs I cannot meet, it follows logically that there are some people I should not take on as clients.  It's smart business to acknowledge that there are prospective clients I am not going to be able to help and to focus my energies on those that I can help.  The trick is being able to quickly and accurately discern the difference.  This is why I believe in the art of the interview.

When I have a prospective new client I always insist upon a meeting before anything else happens. When I go to the meeting I am cognizant of the fact that this is a two way interview - They are checking out me as a prospective agent and I am checking out them as a potential client.  To this end I ask a lot of questions.  I tell the clients up front, I want to get to know you, I'm going to be helping you find your dream home and to do that I really need to know you.  I ask questions about their current life and their plans for the future. What are their long and short term goals?  I ask about their children and their children's interests.  I ask them what is their favorite thing about their current home and neighborhood.  Then I ask them what they don't like about the current home and neighborhood.  I am like a private investigator ferreting out all the tidbits of information.  I listen to what my prospective clients say, but I also listen to what they don't say.  At the end of the conversation we talk about expectations - what do they realistically hope to buy, in what neighborhood, what is proposed timeline and how much do they hope to spend? How much money are they expecting to use from the sale of their current home?  Some of the questions are hard.  The harder the question the earlier it should be asked.  If you can tackle all the painful stuff early on you can get down to the fun of house shopping in a really productive way.

Once I have a clear picture of the financial situation and the expectations, I can offer the client my point of view.  If their financial reality is in alignment with their real estate dream - fabulous, I can help that client.  If the money and the dream don't match, I don't discard them as a client, but we do have a discussion about what I think is possible.  If they are willing to be flexible about either the money or their dream we can move forward with a clear plan and a new expectation.  Some clients when faced with the financial reality of their expectations are amazed when I recommend not to selling their home, to renovate/make repairs instead.  If someone is not ready or not in a position to realistically own that which they hope to purchase, then I have no business representing them.  I find that people really appreciate honesty.  And we all appreciate not having our time wasted.  I have turned down many clients only to have them call me years later when they were ready to buy a new home.

If I have conducted the interview correctly I should have a successful relationship with the prospective client regardless of whether they become a client or not.  I find the benefits of getting to know my clients to be so far reaching.  It may seem like a lot of time initially, but ultimately it is the biggest time saver!