He who disdains buys. This proverb suits a category of customer called the “hypercritical customer”.
This person wants to buy your property, has already selected it from the many available, but once inside your home, has objections to everything. He/she points out small defects, criticises the choice of the layout, devalues the geographical location, complains about the services available nearby and raises problems even where there are none.
The question arises as to why he/she has come to visit your property and why the real estate agent must be put in such an awkward situation in front of the owners.
The answer is very simple. The hypercritical client wants to wring your neck and pay much less than the market price.
If you have to deal with this type of client, we advise you not to give in and to let yourself be advised by your trusted professional who will be able to stand up to the client’s provocations.
Another example is that of the “insecure customer” who visits your property three, four, five times.
He is accompanied once by his brother, another time by his mother-in-law, then by his friend, the next time by his architect and again by the boyfriend of his cousin who has just bought somewhere else.
In short, a lot of patience and time is needed with this type of customer. It happens that during the visits all possible and imaginable questions are answered, but the feedback is never sufficient.
This client has no confidence either in himself or in the people close to him who advise him.
With this type of client, it is important to remain neutral and detached, without trying to condition him, but rather to set limits and deadlines. After a period of silence of varying length, you will see that he will come back and finally buy your property.
The last profile is the “curious customer”.
This type of customer is the one who has no intention of buying your house.
You can tell by the questions he asks and the very evasive answers. Instead of focusing on the property, he is more interested in your lifestyle, the power of your car or where you have been on holiday.
When you ask him specific questions, such as when to buy, or essential criteria of the house, he is not prepared.
He comes to your home because he has a lot of time on his hands and is often bored.
With this type of client, it is important to avoid the visit at all, but rather to start with a bank analysis to ensure that the investment he is interested in is in line with his current financial situation.