The other day I was reviewing a pipeline with one of our commercial real estate broker/coaching clients, evaluating the status of each opportunity. As part of this evaluation, we run a series of reports (15 in all) that tell us everything we need to know about a client’s business.
We have a saying here at the Massimo Group – ‘your pipeline is your bloodline’. Unfortunately, in some cases, there is going to be some bad blood. ‘Bad blood’ is defined as those opportunities that are going nowhere – the transaction is at a standstill and/or the client relationship is digressing.
In these cases, it is easy to consider a parting of ways. When it comes down to it, there are 2 reasons why you should fire a client:
The cost of emotional energy is higher than the perceived benefit of the transaction. Ok, I get it – you’re thinking “if I close this deal I will make thousands, hundreds of thousands”. I have heard it. The issue with this train of thought, is that you preface this reasoning with “IF this deal closes”. That’s the first hint that the deal is not positioned to close, and all of the emotional energy you are expending (that could otherwise be allocated to more likely prospects) is being wasted. In very rare cases, a single transaction can catapult you to the next level of success – but again, this is very rare.
The cost of emotional energy is higher than the client relationship. Deteriorating client relationships are toxic. This toxicity permeates everything around the transaction, and all transactions you are involved with. Your frustration, bad mood, and stress level is obvious to your spouse, children, friends, and peers – but not to you. I know, I know – “but this client owns/leases so many opportunities”, right? You are convincing yourself that all the toxicity is worth the potential dollars. See reason number 1 above.
Don’t misunderstand me – I am not suggesting you should proactively identify clients to fire. However, you should proactively and consistently look at your pipeline and ask yourself two things; can you move the transaction forward, and/or can you move the relationship forward? If the answer to both is ‘no’, it’s time to evaluate how you are spending your time and expending your emotional energy.
If you are interested in only speaking with qualified prospects, and no longer wasting your time chasing those who will never make a decision or those that do not value your time, click below for our free download!
