Red flags to watch out for in clients – and how to handle them

He said the issues mainly stemmed from clients forgetting that the relationship with a BA was a partnership, not an employment relationship, and that BAs needed to set boundaries to ensure their expertise was respected.

“Some clients, when they sign up, just think they own you. But no, there is an agreement, a partnership as you go forward,” he told REB.

“Set the boundaries so that you are protected, that your time with your loved ones is protected, so the client’s not going to encroach that.”

Asking for discounts

Ash said one typical client red flag was people persistently asking for discounts, getting too fixated on the cost of service, and showing they clearly didn’t appreciate the BA’s time.

“That’s a red flag that the client’s going to be very difficult to work with during the journey because there’s a lack of trust to start with and they’re clearly not valuing your service.”

He said giving in to discount requests wouldn’t reflect well on BAs, who needed to be good negotiators of property.

He added that while he used to compromise with clients who asked for lower costs, he always regretted doing so and now outright rejects such requests.

“They just need to respect what you do. So now don’t bow down to that at all, my time is valuable, and if they don’t respect that, then there’s someone else.”

Failure to take action

Aside from asking for discounts, Ash said another frustrating experience was when clients failed to make a decision, instead waiting for a “unicorn deal”.

He explained that a unicorn deal referred to an extremely rare and high-value property opportunity.

“It could be $100,000 under market value with 7 per cent yield in an amazing suburb with value-add potential, which is going to triple in the next 10 years or whatever, and they just don’t exist.”

He said that despite buyers’ fears of missing out on a better opportunity, they needed to understand that time was money, particularly in a fast-moving market.

“If the market’s moving quite quickly and that market goes up 1 per cent, you can see that waiting has cost you x amount,” he said.

He said that BAs should sit down with their clients, taking them through the ins and outs of the market, showing examples of properties in the suburbs they were looking to buy in, and how prices had changed.

“Just showing results in the market and how they’re moving.”

“The top investors in my mind are the people who can make decisions quickly and take action. That’s easy.”

Distrust

According to Ash, a failure to take action can also stem from distrust in a BA, with some clients even believing they could outperform property professionals in securing deals.

He said this distrust can often show up in clients’ onboarding meetings, allowing him to identify the issue early on.

In one recent case, an individual who wanted to get a BA due to being time-poor told Ash that he was competitive and seemed to be doubting the BA’s skills.

“There was that conflict in him where it was kind of almost like he felt he could compete and get better deals than you,” Ash said.

“As soon as we heard that, and there were all of these other questions that came up, we knew that it wasn’t going to be a very good fit.”

Ash told the man he was better off finding deals on his own, thereby freeing up his time for other clients.

“When that comes up on a call, and you can see that there’s clear distrust and there’s other ulterior motives, that’s a big one,” he said.

Couples disagreeing

Finally, Ash said BAs needed to be wary of couples in disagreement, as he often saw partners in conflict over the decision to use his services.

“That’s another big red flag that they’re going to be a very difficult client to deal with. They need to be on the same page,” he said.

“We had one couple, I spoke to the wife, you could clearly see she was in. Then, during the boarding session, the husband came, and he just felt like he was being forced into it.”

“He had his arms crossed, and you could see the body language wasn’t great. He was actually a very tough obstacle the whole way through; it’s just working against you the whole time.”

Ash said that, despite being a painful experience, a couple in disagreement didn’t always stop him from taking them on as clients.

He said that some couples may even get on the same page during the boarding session.

“Back in the day, I wasn’t doing it as much. But now, it is important because, I don’t know about other BAs, but I’m someone who has hit financial freedom.”

“I want to help people and stuff, [but] if someone’s going to ruin my mood or ruin my time with my family, then I’m very protective of my time now,” he concluded.

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