Do Friends/Family Make Good Clients?

Build relationships. That's the advice we get to increase our customer base.

"We mine our personal circles of family, friends and acquaintances to procure the next deal." says Alisha Always Braatz in an article for Inman News. "We invest time and money in massaging those relationships. And for most of us, I'd say it's a natural talent; Realtors are, by and large, a group of People-Persons."

The dilemma comes in when the lines of work and play are blurred. If you are handling a listing for a friend or family member, when does work end and play begin?

"When the line between work and play is blurred," says Braatz, "I can't help but think that everything we do until that transaction is complete is seen through business-colored glasses."

Braatz uses the example of working with her mother-in-law, who loves to flip houses. A match made in heaven, it would seem. But the problems arose when the mother-in-law's staging of the house (which she loved to do) conflicted with the time schedule of actually selling the house!

To move things along, Braatz scheduled a deadline...the Open House, thinking this would stop all the staging and re-staging. Unfortunately, that morning she arrived to chaos, with her mother-in-law redecorating the entire house...again.

"She couldn't hear me as a professional," remembers Braatz, "only as a daughter-in-law. Likewise, I was unable to clearly set my boundaries, ever-desiring to just do what she wanted, not what needed to be done."

"Three weeks down the road it was over. We both agreed that working together was not a great idea. Her expectations could not be met by a family member."

Braatz and her mother-in-law still have a great relationship. Braatz compliments her decorating and her mother-in-law send her referrals. "Nowadays we've established better boundaries," concludes Braatz.

Read the full story at Inman News.

photo credit: jmbmommy