Qualifying a Buyer:
A strong justification for using a yacht broker is his ability to qualify a buyer. However, even brokers sometimes have difficulty qualifying buyers. We recently wrote an offer that I knew from the 1st time I met the client that the client was a problem. The client drove in from 160 miles away from a small desert town in the S. California desert. He arrived at my office complaining about traffic. When I asked him what route he took he barked " the only route ". I own a home not too far from his town and know that there are a number of routes, including an over-the-mountain route and the freeway direct route. I was just trying to make conversation but the client immediately was on the defense.
The next issue was his dog. Do I have water? Where can he leave his dog? Can he bring the dog to the boat? Everything was a big issue for this guy. Yes to all the above but the guy just kept on complaining. He finally decided to drive his car to the boat and lock the dog in the car. So, off we go to see the boat, a wonderful, lovingly maintained 30' Cape Dory sailboat.
After more then an our aboard I was ready to strangle the client. The only thing the client was interested in was if he could stretch out in the v-berth ! The client never looked at the engine, rigging, sails, electronics, deck, hull, bright work. Only the sleeping arrangements! He insisted that I remove everything stored in the v-berth- cockpit cushions, sails, sleepover bags,etc., no less then three (3) times. My client never sat in the cockpit, never stood at the helm to get the feel of the boat, never uncovered the sails. He just wanted to see if he could stretch out in the v-berth.
The client also refused to discuss his occupation, how he was going to use the boat, or anything at all. He kept saying " I'm not going to tell you!!" to my (qualifying) questions.
We finally returned to my office at which time has turns to me and asked " where is Santa Monica?" and " where can I find a cheap motel? Turns out he does not have a map, does not have a GPS or smartphone, and has no idea where he is. I took the bait and attempted to give him directions and a list of motels at which point he said "never mind", turned around and walked out of my office. When I asked " can I call you" he replied "no"!
The showing was a showing for one of my salesman that was unavailable that day. I relayed my story to my salesman with the comment " this is the worst client I have ever worked with. Good luck with him".
Turns out the client had no interest in the Cape Dory 30 but wanted a Baba 30!! And, he was only looking for a " condo on the water" and not a blue water sailboat, which is what the Cape Dory is.
It took my salesman and me many n days to work this out . The client had recently purchased and sold a 26' Pacific Seacraft for a nice profit and wanted to do another deal while having a place to sleep in Marina del Rey (CA). Qualify. Qualify qualify!!
To my salesman's credit he did locate a 30' Baba, did get an offer from the client that was accepted by the the Baba 30 owner, and did a successful sea trial for the Baba 30.
That was not the end of the story and we did not have a happy ending of sell the boat!! You have to listen to the little voice in your head that says " this guy is a nut case".
The buyers deposit check arrived just prior to the sea trial. Then buyer proceeded to tell us that his account was closed because of identity theft and he would need a few more days to reopen his account. We relayed the story to the seller and the seller decided to proceeded with the sea trial under these conditions. . When it came time to deposit the check into my trust account - buyer requested I hold off the deposit for 4 days- and when it was time for the haul out and survey, the client proceeded to complain that my salesman was not doing enough and he should not have to pay a commission, and proceeds to cancel the purchase!
I notified the seller that the client canceled the purchase but that I believed he would try to contact him direct to make a deal. The seller was aware of the terms of out listing agreement and wanted nothing more to do with this client.
10 days after the cancellation and we or the Seller have heard nothing from this buyer. As you can see from this example buyers can waste a huge amount of the salesman's and boat owners time even after the clients seams to be a qualified client. The lesson here is: if it quacks like a ducks and looks like a duck then is probably a duck. The signs were there from my initial meeting with the client - I knew something was not right when I met the guy. My salesman and I owned it to the Baba 30 owner to follow the transaction through the process and did out best to accommodate the buyer. This time is was a bust - no sale.
There are a lot of "clients" who initially "feel like buyers" but in truth are "boat junkies" that just like to walk the docks, sit on boats, write offers, and do sea trials, but never buy a boat. I believe this client falls into this category.
So what could we have done ? The hint came when the buyer requested we hold his check till he had access to his checking account. At that point we should have stopped the transaction and sea trial until the funds were in my trust account.
Listen to the signs - it could save you a lot of time!
Randall Burg
30' CAPE DORY
94' CUSTOM MONK DESIGNED SKY LOUNGE YACHT FISHER
JUST LISTED - 2007 44' SEA RAY SUNDANCER - ASKING $345,000
