August 16th, 2017

Can you think of someone who drives you nuts?

In just about every business, there are certain clients that can drive you crazy. This is especially true in the real estate business.

However, there’s a difference between “Bad Customers” and “Difficult Customers”. (Click to Tweet)  You want to avoid one but learn from the other so you can build your business.

Difficult Customers

It’s difficult to play an instrument or learn a new language. It’s difficult to play golf or learn to surf, but there’s a payoff.

When you become an expert in these difficult skills, you feel good about yourself. You’ve improved and learnt and grown as a person.

Difficult customers are the ones who are notoriously hard to please, like a wealthy buyer who has exacting expectations. They can be finicky and fastidious and fussy.

It takes more time and effort and patience to find their perfect property, please the client and get the sale in the bag. But when you do finally satisfy their needs you earn more than commission – you earn respect.

What’s more, because you satisfied your hard-to-please client, he or she will likely recommend your services to other clients with high buying power. At the end of the day, this type of client can greatly help your business and your future customers will also benefit from your new knowledge, experience and skills.

Bad Customers

Food that’s difficult to eat can still be good. Think of Laksa, pistachios and bruschetta.

But food that’s bad – you throw that out. It’s not good for you. And it’s the same with customers.

It’s worth persisting with difficult customers, but bad customers are unlikely to help your business, and may actually end up hurting it. (Click to Tweet)

For example, a buyer who constantly shows up late to appointments can throw off your schedule and cause you to be late to other appointments. This can damage your reputation with other clients.

Likewise, a seller who takes days to respond to your requests to show his or her property can cause prospective buyers to doubt you. In cases such as these, it is likely better to cut ties with the client, rather than risk harm to your business and reputation.

Catering to Discerning Clientele

While you should try to distance yourself from “bad” clients, it is in your best interest to put in the extra effort necessary to please “difficult” clients. One of the best ways you can do this is by expanding the services that you offer, and making life as easy as possible – for both you and your client.

Here at Pixilink, we offer a suite of services, including professional real estate photography, feature sheets and floor plans. And we make it easy to work with us by offering a free app where you can book and manage all your photography appointments and marketing needs.

Get in touch with us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you grow your business, and take care of challenging customers!