Ragnar has a point, though. There are plenty of times when building true value with your customer is more important than making a quick buck off of him.
Fully and wholeheartedly agree. Unfortunately, that segment of the buying public is, at best, very small. In the meantime you're left to deal with every Tom, Dick and Mary who want you to give them a bunch of free info so they can go get whatever it is from someone else.
I wish all my clients were as loyal to me as am I to the folks who help me with stuff. My mental makeup simply won't let me do any different. That's what makes me so disappointedly cynical towards the Great Unwashed Masses who don't give a rip, caring only that you did something for free so they can save a few pennies somewhere else. They will take all the time and effort you're willing to give knowing full well they are unable or unwilling to reciprocate. When you throw in the arms-length anonymity provided by the internet, it becomes worse by orders of magnitude.
What's saddest of all is that my cynicism isn't innate, it's learned, and learned the hard way. Over, and over, and over. I used to spend hours, sometimes days, putting together information for people. I gave them all the info they asked for and more - data, stats, opinions, school systems, churches, contacts, etc. Know what happened more often than not? One or two emails later they dropped off the face of the earth. All that time trying to cultivate a new client and earn their trust down the drain. I finally had to give up trying because it was consuming a huge chunk of my time. Now 'net-based information requests are all answered the same way. They get an emailed full detail sheet on the property, my contact info, an invitation to call if they have any questions, and a follow-up message in a couple of days. If I were to give it a stat, I'd say that maybe one out of twenty will actually respond. Of those, maybe half will actually be serious inquisitions and not curious neighbors or people just passing time on the computer or driving around seeing houses.
Honestly it can get downright disheartening. I just try to keep the good clients in mind, those that do care, and that do send me business because they feel that I did a good job and deserve their referral. That makes it worth the stress and disappointment... most of the time.
Brad
