A handful of my clients are telling me it feels as if the commercial real estate market is slowing down a bit. Some may be afraid of this perceived (or indeed real) slowdown and start scrambling for business resulting in taking listings that you would have never otherwise accepted. Don’t fall into this trap, it will suck you dry.
When business slows down it is very tempting to take on new clients who may be less then ideal. But there is nothing more lethal to your business then accepting poor listing or tenant rep assignments. You know the ones they’re over priced, poorly located, a dump, the owner is a total pain in the neck and so on.
You know in the back of your mind you will never sell or lease this property. Perhaps it’s a tenant rep assignment you’ve taken but you know you can never find the property that meets the client’s requirements – it’s just impossible. But, you take the assignment anyway – it’s work after all isn’t it?
WRONG, the truth is you are just wasting your time with these assignments! They might make you feel (and even BE) very busy. But you will be very busy making NO money. Is this what you want? Of course not. So next time you consider a new opportunity ask yourself these 5 questions:
Can you fulfill the requirement?Is the result your client desires even attainable? Specifically, can you lease, sell, or find space for your client within the parameters your client has set out? Or, will you have to beat your client silly in order to convince the client to accept less then the desired outcome? This tactic never comes without a price tag. You will not have a win-win deal transaction when you have to steamroll the client (at either end of the deal).
Buyer’s remorse may be the end result here; just think of the time required to fix buyer’s remorse! Think WIN – WIN here.
Will the assignment take more time then is usual?How much time will you need to allocate for this assignment? Are you trying to convince yourself, “business has slowed down, I know this is a long shot but I really need the work”? Only to find you have spent an ENORMOUS amount of time and have produced NO results. Be mindful of this. Your time would be better spent implementing a lead generation system designed to deliver your perfect client! And, you’d have a lot more fun doing it.
Is the client reasonable?OK, let’s figure you have decided to take the assignment anyway, what are the chances that the client will be reasonable once he realizes he was incorrect about getting what he wants? Do you have any history on this client?
Also, does the client expect you to be available 24/7, no matter what? Does the client disrespect your boundaries. Don’t ever put yourself in the position of being at the end of someone else’s string. This will get old really fast. You can have a great listing and an unreasonable client in this regard and it then becomes a listing you should not get involved in. Let someone else have it!
Are you working harder on this listing then your good listings (after all, they absolutely require more work)?Hopefully you are aware of the typical time required to be spent on a particular client’s needs each week. Is the time for the listing in question excessive? Can it be fixed? If not, move on or it will drag you down – guaranteed.
Will this one listing zap ALL of your energy leaving little left over?What is the mental cost (mental cost is the amount of time spent thinking and worrying about the client and the desired result expected) of taking this on? How much sleep are you losing waking up at 2 AM consumed with worry over this one client? Whether you waste countless hours trying to produce, or spend time trying to avoid the entire mess the mental cost is bigger then you will ever be able to measure. Your energy will be COMPLETELY drained leaving nothing else for the “good” clients.
If you answered, “yes” to even one of these questions proceed with caution.
I can’t tell you how many clients have actually lost income as a result of spending an enormous amount of time and energy working on tenant rep assignments or property listings that were never going to result in a done deal.
The exception to taking on a client you’re not sure you can perform for is to have a client with extremely reasonable expectations. In other words you might say something like, “OK Mr. Smith, I will take this listing, implement my typical 9 step marketing sequence and we will see what happens. If it is unsuccessful I will need you on the reality page with me. We will then need to go back and determine what’s wrong. The rent, sales price, type of tenant or buyer marketed to, whatever. I will need your agreement that depending upon the results you will alter your expectations if necessary.”
Remember the best clients energize you, are easy to deal with, and send you referrals. You don’t dread or avoid a conversation with these people.
And finally, real estate goes through cycles from being great to being near disastrous. These cycles are necessary, even welcome because they weed out all of those who need to get out of the business. The seedy brokers and agents, the clients who can never seem to make a decision, and so on. Those left in the business can have the best years of their careers during a down cycle. Just ask any old timer you know!
So, chin up – the next 12 months will be your best yet, you don’t need to lower your standards for the type of work you’re willing to perform!
5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Accepting a New Client
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