I had to fire a client / Best decision ever?

About three years ago, I had a client (let’s call her Karen)).

Karen was buying a $520K home, which would've been about a $7k commission for me.

On paper, she was a great prospect. Good credit, solid income, plenty of down payment.

But working with Karen was a nightmare.

She would text me at 10pm asking random questions that could've waited until morning.

She would call me on weekends "just to check in" on things that hadn't changed since Friday.

She questioned every single fee, every single document, every single step of the process.

And worst of all, she was rude to my Loan Officer Assistant, snapping at her when she asked for documents and accusing her of "not knowing what she was doing."

About three weeks into the process, my Loan Officer Assistant came to me in tears and said:

"I can't work with him anymore. She’s crazy."

I had a choice: keep the $7K commission and deal with Karen's behavior, or walk away.

Old me would've sucked it up, dealt with the drama, and closed the deal.

But something in me snapped that day, and I realized I didn't want to build a business where I had to tolerate disrespect just to make money.

So I called Karen and said:

"Karen, I have a personal policy to be honest with people. You strike me as someone who appreciates direct conversation. Can I be direct with you?

(Pro Tip: always ask for permission before giving advice)

Based on how things have been going, I don't think we're the right fit to work together. I'm going to refer you to another lender who might be a better match, and I'll make sure all your paperwork transfers smoothly."

She was stunned, then angry.

"Are you seriously dropping me three weeks into this?"

I said: "I am, and here's why: my team works incredibly hard to provide great service, and the way you've been communicating with them isn't acceptable. I think you'll be happier with someone else, and honestly, so will we."

She hung up on me.

Blasted me on Yelp.

Two days later, she emailed asking me to reconsider.

I politely declined and referred her to another LO (one that I didn’t like, lol).

I lost that $7K commission, but I gained something way more valuable - my self-respect and the respect of my team.

My LOA said: "Thank you. Thank you for doing that, it means a lot to me.”

And within two weeks of firing Karen, the “Sales Gods” rewarded me and I got 3 more higher quality leads.

Always remember that 67% of all your leads will be “Bad” or “Ugly”.

Bad leads respect you and your time, BUT are unqualified.

Ugly leads are qualified, but DO not respect you, your time or expertise.

33% of all your leads will be good leads: qualified AND respect you and your expertise.

TLDR: not every prospect is worth keeping, and sometimes the most profitable decision you can make is to walk away from money that comes with too high of a cost.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you!

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