Is The Client Always Right?

There will be times in your career you know with every fiber of your being your seller is wrong. It might be about pricing, improvements needed, repairs, etc. It could be about anything.

When you bring those issues up with them, they fail to see it. In their mind, there has to be another reason the home hasn't sold. Although that can be frustrating, always remember they're the boss and it's their home.

When that happens, I don't take it personally. I just reply "OK, you're the boss" without any snarkiness in my voice, and I follow their instructions. I won't bring it up again unless they want to revisit the conversation.

Once I've made the suggestion to my client, I've done my job. If they ignore them and the home continues to sit there, it's really out of my control and I'm OK with it.

However if the client sees me as the reason nothing's happening, it's time for a conversation. I'll explain we're just on different pages and if we can't reach an agreement, I'll thank them for the opportunity, offer to terminate my listing agreement, and wish them the best of luck. And I mean it.

I've had clients surprise me and ask me to stay on, but others have taken me up on the offer. Sure, I've lost the time and money I've put into selling their home, but no listing is worth keeping when there's that kind of tension with your client.

Could I Be The One Who Isn't Right?

Now let me explain why you have to be careful about voicing strong opinions. I've had listings in the past, usually luxury homes, I was absolutely convinced were overpriced. They sat on the market for weeks or sometimes months with few showings and zero serious interest. Then, completely out of the blue, a great offer came in and after some negotiations we ended up with an excellent sale price.

If I'd been hounding those sellers to drop the price or make some expensive renovations, they'd naturally be thinking if they'd listened to me it would have cost them a lot of money. And they'd be right.

When I believe it's time for either a price reduction or spending some money on the home, I'll support my opinion the best I can and make recommendations. But I'll always add ... "We might get a full price offer tomorrow for all I know, but my instincts tell me this is what it's going to take to sell your home". And that's absolutely true.