Compromise

Compromise? Wrong - it may just be a compromise to your way of thinking. The problem is that sometimes you really are not inside the head of your client, no matter how much you have tried. You really can not see, or feel, or think things about the house in the way that the client has fallen for, in exactly the same way they do. So regardless of how you feel – regardless if you look at this house and think to yourself that you wouldn’t even put your annoying brother-in-law’s dog in the house, it’s the one the client wants. Even houses that may not be in the best shape, or may be foreclosures, may appeal to your clients.

Give the client your best advice on the place, including some of your reasons for hesitation. Give the client all the pros and cons, then listen to their decision and get them the best deal you have ever made for the place they want to live in.

A year after closing, go by the house. See what changes have happened. Visit your clients on the very real excuse that you want to see what they’ve done with the place. If they are not happy, well then, your foot is in the door for another sale, isn’t it?

If, however you get to the client’s home and find that they have polished the diamond in the rough to a sparkle that you just didn’t think was there, then congratulate them on a stunning success and ask if they’d be interested in letting you do before and after shots for a brochure, or see if they might be interested in a similar house that could use their special talents. Never waste an opportunity to put a hook on a line.