Customer vs Client

Have you ever had a Realtor want you to sign paperwork just after meeting them? It’s gross, as soon as they pull out the paper, you realize they look just like a State Street used car salesman. You notice their cologne smells cheap, their shirt has sweat-stained underarms and their greasy combed-over hair could supply a restaurant deep fryer. You think right then, “Ah-ha! I knew I couldn’t trust this guy. He’s trying to pull one over on me!”. Nine times out of ten, you don’t read the paperwork, you don’t sign it and I don’t blame you.

One of my biggest fears in life is to be perceived as a stereotypical “salesman”. To be thought of as untrustworthy or taking a shortcut to money would kill me. Early in real estate, I realized asking someone to sign paperwork to work with me felt slimy somehow. So, I avoided it completely. I’d only sneak buyer-broker agreement paperwork with the pile of signatures needed when a “client” wanted to make an offer. 

This made me feel like I dodged an awkward encounter and could still be seen as someone who was authentically helping. But, as I rounded near a dozen friends/“clients” ghosting me after showing them the houses and eventually THE house they wanted to buy, I knew there was a problem.

And that problem was me. I treated everyone who expressed interest, who wanted to see a house, who wanted to see how much they could sell their house for, and whoever walked into an open house with questions, as a client. When in reality, they were customers. Metaphorically, these buyers thought of themselves as looking at clothes at the mall, and I saw them as shopping at my store. 

Signing a Buyer-Broker Agreement means you want to be my client, not just a customer. It means I will feel comfortable spending countless hours working for you. It means you have a direct, clear, communication line with me and that you have an expert in your corner.

There is nothing I feel slimy about in that.