Let me clarify something, the client is someone whose home you are trying to sell, whose home is on your website, property portals and in your window, the client is the person who will pay you once you have completed on their sale. The client is the most important person to your business, without them you are just an empty office.

Sounds obvious I know, but I bet there are quite a few of you out there who refer to purchasers as your client, i.e. “We have clients looking in your area”, it’s a simple slip of the tongue that can make a vendor feel as though you will place a purchasers needs above their own.

The customer on the other hand is the person who walks into your premises, phones in or emails to ask you to find a home for them, they have no loyalty to you at this point and will have registered their details with many other estate agents in your area, compared to your client who has signed a contract to be with you.

Whilst there is a definitive line between the two, this seems to get blurred in some cases even from the viewing stage. Agents informing purchasers that the vendors need to sell so try an offer or giving out information of a past offer that was accepted or guiding them with rejected offer figures. Why does this happen? Generally the agent thinks they are doing the client a service by effecting a sale on their home, but they also have one eye on the customer and by giving them information which allows them to easily purchase a property the agent assumes they have done their job.

The blurred line occurs because the agent is trying to gain maximum business and by that I mean the vendor will have sold and when the purchasers come to sell, that agent will be the first one they call out for a valuation. Although both parties would technically be happy with the outcome, I personally would class this as lazy estate agency.

The vendor has instructed you to sell their home, learn everything about it, where the schools are, which direction is the nearest shop, are there any shortcuts, access to major roads and most importantly why the vendor bought it in the first place – now match it with your customers (assuming you have done more than just asked for price and bedrooms), automatically you are closing in on customers who want what you have and are more likely to get closer to the asking price, your client may accept the offer that comes in or may not, either way you should always try for more, why? Because it’s your job! You have readdressed the line and are fighting for your client which has major benefits, your client will undoubtedly tell others of this early success, how you went above their expectations even if you didn’t succeed which in turn will breed business. Your customer on the other hand will know that when they come to sell their home that you will be working for them, so you will not only get called out for that valuation but are more likely to garner that instruction too.

Understanding that working for your client is the most important part of this business, never let the line get blurred and let your customers know this. The more confidence that people have in your business – the quicker it will grow.